The Medieval Tournaments By: Sarah     Back in the Middle-Ages, the tournaments were the most popular type of entertainment around. But the tournaments did not become popular until around the 15th and 16th century. They were usually held at the Field of Gold, in France. The Kings and Queens held the tournaments, and usually spoke before each event, like the feasts and the games.   The joust was the main event of the tournament. The knights would use blunted swords and lances, which are sharp spears, to battle. They wound mainly use lances during the joust. Using these dangerous weapons would usually lead to severe injuries. During the tournaments, the knights were always mounted, this meant that they fought on horses. Another game was the melee. Melee was a rough fight between different groups of mounted knights. The object of the game was to knock the flag off the other teams' backs. The object of the joust was to knock the opponent off his horse.   Tournaments were series of combat fought as contests. The winner of the battle would receive glory, and sometimes a small purse of money. But to win the knight must follow the "Knight's Code of Honor". One of the codes of honor was chivalry. This meant that the horses had to be stallions, which are male horses. Also, the women would give the knight something like a scarf or glove to show their gratitude to their "special knight".   In the Middle-ages, the tournaments were very important to the citizens. It was like going to professional baseball game or a Broadway production. It was the Olympics of the Middle-ages. Without them they would not have any interesting entertainment… okay maybe not that bad. But without them, we probably wouldn't have got any great ideas.   Middle Ages Jousting By:Sadaf  Cling, clang. The joust has begun! The mounted knights charge at each other, weapons ready. Being mounted meant being on horses. Jousting was a form of mock combat, in which knights charged at each other hoping to unseat the opponent. Jousting was normally the main event of a tournament.   Knights didn't use many weapons when they jousted. The two main weapons were lances and blunted swords. Lances, long spear like weapons, where used to get opponent of their horse and to penetrate the armor someone's armor. Lances, in the Middle Ages, were made mostly of wood, and ash. The tip was made of metal, iron, or steel. Lances were 9-14 feet long and two feet in diameter. The other weapon was the blunted sword. These swords were used to attack an opponent. They were blunted to protect the contestants. Both of these weapons are extremely hard to use, but knights had so much practice that they use them as easily as we use knives and forks.   Back in the Middle Ages, there were three different types of jousting. The different types are tilting, Joust a Plaisance, and Pas D'armes. In tilting, contestants were divided by a low barrier to keep their horses from colliding. Joust a Plaisance was a type of jousting where there were a series of elimination rounds with more than two knights. In the end there was one over all winner. In Pas D'armes a knight sent out a proclamation saying that he would take on all challengers at a specific time and place. This joust could last for many days because there could be many talented knights fighting. Jousting was a huge part of a knight's life and is still honored.     Knight's Armor By: Alex   Armor, nowadays its hardhats and bulletproof vests. It was much different during Medieval Times. Back then they had helmets with visors and metal gloves called gauntlets. And that's what a knight had. To become a knight, you needed to train as a squire first. And even before you're a squire, you need to serve as a page. That's another story. Also, to become a knight, you have to be able to afford all the armor or weapons. If you can't afford it, you can't become a knight.   To become a knight, you have to be able to name all the parts of armor. There are many parts, and they are heavy. Its about 60 pounds total! After a while, you build a tolerance to it and you can move freely. Some parts are the pauldron which protects the shoulder; the sabaton, which is like a metal shoe; and the couter, the elbow guard. Something that most of us are familiar with is the shield. Actually, it is classified as a weapon, not armor.   Did you know that chain mail is woven metal? Yes, but in later times it was replaced with plates of armor. The squires still use it, though. Knights even used spurs, just like cowboys! A squire uses them until he's a knight. Then he gets golden spurs. If you wonder if they had decorations, they did. They had lames (fancy designs) on elbow and knee joints. Some had Burgonet helmets. They fully cover the neck, let you move freely, and they look fancy. Talk about expensive!   Pages and squires by:Alex and Tasia Medieval Times. You're seven. Time to become a knight! Now get ready to be shipped of to your relative's castle to train! Yep. That's what would happen to you if you were in Medieval Times. You'd learn good manners, and skills like singing, dancing, and playing chess. You'll also play tag and wrestling. You'll learn how to use a sword and shield and you have chores. Imagine training like that for seven years. You think its over right! Wrong! Advance to squire. A squire is kind of like a waiter. He does kitchen work when he isn't training. You have to be at least 14 to be a squire. When he is going to become a knight, he bathes and prays the night before.   Now, we would be better off the way we are because knight's armor won't stop bullets as well. Plus, we don't use swords or arrows or lances etc, we use more high-tech weapons. So don't go around in armor or chain mail, it will only make you a laughing stock.   Chivalry By: Tasia "I'm hungry! You there! Peasant! Give me your food, if you want your house to stay up!" That's what would happen to you if you were a filthy peasant in Medieval Times, at least before Chivalry, a set of laws. Knights would steal food and burned villages to a crisp ash, and fight each other till their heads fell off. The Christian Church tried to stop this ruthlessness by creating a set of laws. The laws were called Chivalry, which means "mounted man" in French. Unicorn, symbol of Chivalry The Code of Chivalry Defend thy religion and Church Protect the weak including women, widows and orphans Keep thy fit by exercising; hunting, attending jousts and tournaments. Acting in a honorable way Show devotion to thy lady Never be satisfied with what thy has done but always wish to do more Be brave, loyal, generous, polite, honest, but never brag Not attack an unarmed knight Treat other knights well even if they are taken prisoner and held for ransom  So, Chivalry is a set of laws telling knight to be fair and Loyal, but chivalry was forgotten in the dawn of the Renaissance.