. Military and religious life in the Middle Ages and at the period of the Renaissance. reludes, which w^ere often graced bythe presence of the ladies, were termed eprouves (trials), vepres du tournoi(tournament vespers), or escremie (fencing bouts). The esquires who dis-tinguished themselves the most in these trials were frequently immediatelyadmitted to the rank of knighthood, and allowed to take part in the ensuingfeats. Like the Olympic games of Greece, tournaments, which were realpopular solemnities, excited the ambition and quickened the pulses of , usually roofed and closed in,
. Military and religious life in the Middle Ages and at the period of the Renaissance. reludes, which w^ere often graced bythe presence of the ladies, were termed eprouves (trials), vepres du tournoi(tournament vespers), or escremie (fencing bouts). The esquires who dis-tinguished themselves the most in these trials were frequently immediatelyadmitted to the rank of knighthood, and allowed to take part in the ensuingfeats. Like the Olympic games of Greece, tournaments, which were realpopular solemnities, excited the ambition and quickened the pulses of , usually roofed and closed in, were erected at the ends of the liststo afford shelter to persons of distinction in the event of bad weather. Thesestands, sometimes , were divided into boxes, and more orless magnificently decorated with tapestry, hangings, pennants, shields of i 66 CHIVALRY. arms, and banners. Kings, queens, princes, dames, damoiselles, and theolder knights, the natural judges of the combats in which they could nolonger take a personal share, stationed themselves there. The camp. Fig. 133.—The Champion of the Tournament, from the Collection entitled Yita Imperatori;Maximiliani, engraved by Burgmayer from drawings by Albert Diirer (Fifteenth Century). marshals and the seconds or counsellors of the knights, whose duty it wasto enforce the laws of Christian chivalry, and to give their advice andassistance to all who might require it, had also their respective posts. Thekings-at-arms, the heralds, and pursuivants-at-arms, stood within the arenaor just without it, and were expected to narrowly observe the combatants, CHIVALRY. and to draw up a faithful and minute report of the different incidents ofthe combat, without forgetting a single blow. Every now and then theylifted up their voices to encourage the younger knights who were makingtheir first appearance in the lists : Recollect whose son you are ! beworthy of your ancestry ! they cried, in loud tones. Besides these, varlet
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Keywords: ., booksubjectcostume, booksubjectmiddleages, booksubjectmilitaryar
