Tournament

The tournament resembled in many senses a modern spectator sport: with crowds of fans, chants, national teams, team colors, inflated salaries, transfer fees, celebrity cults and a lifestyle notable for its excesses. A mock battle, at its height between 1100 and 1300, it was conducted by two arbitrary battalions over many square miles of open country. It was a one-day event, although certain ancillary festivals could extend it to several days. The center of the enthusiasm was across north and north-eastern France, where--in the twelfth century--thousands of knights assembled from across northern Europe to seek reputation and profit. But the passion for the tournament extended much further. Tournament holding had penetrated England, Germany and Austria by 1200.

David Crouch is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Hull and is the author of The Normans: The History of a Dynasty (Hambledon and London).