“Joust” Cardiff Castle 2014

Jousting is a medieval and renaissance martial game or hastilude between two combatants on horse or foot. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism.

The term is derived from the Old French poster, ultimately from the Latin mixture, “to approach, to meet”. The word was loaned into Middle English around 1300 when jousting was popular among the Anglo-Norman knighthood. The synonym tilt (as in tilting at windmills) dates c. 1510.

Jousting on horse is based on the military use of the lance by heavy cavalry. It transformed into a specialized sport during the Late Middle Ages. It remained popular with the nobility in England and Wales, Germany and other parts of Europe throughout the whole of the 16th century (while in France, it was discontinued after the death of King Henry II in an accident in 1559). In England, jousting was the highlight of the Accession Day tilts of Elizabeth I, James VI, and I, and also was part of the festivities at the marriage of Charles I.

Jousting was discontinued in favour of other equestrian sports in the 17th century, although non-contact forms of “equestrian skill-at-arms” disciplines survived. There has been a limited revival of theatrical jousting re-enactment since the 1970s.