#KNIGHTS CHIVALRY CODE JOUSTING RULES SERIES#

TM 627, Rolls of Arms, The Genealogie Royall and Lineall Discent of all the Kinges and Queenes of England followed by other Rolls of Arms, including the Dunstable Roll of 1308 and others, England, necessarily after 1558 but prior to 1603, c. This specific Dunstable tournament is important since it is the oldest surviving English Tournament Roll of Arms giving details of all 289 combatants: including their names and coats of arms. The last folios of TM 627 (part of our successful program Manuscripts in the Curriculum) report the names and arms of the knights present at a tournament that took place in Dunstable, England in the month of March 1308. Testing his jousting skills in a tournament was another chance to prove himself. Paolo Uccello, Saint George and the Dragon, 1430-35, Musée Jacquemart-André. A holy knight, a dragon and a damsel: all the main characters are united here.Īnd if no dragon was available at that moment? Have no fear. Who doesn’t know at least the name of one legendary knight always wandering around the countryside trying to make a name for himself, looking for a damsel in distress, a dragon to kill, or perhaps even the Holy Grail! And what about knighthood? Well, unlike samurai, knights had to gain their status, through worthy and virtuous achievements. Very much like the titles of the nobility in Western Europe. Being a samurai was a hereditary status proudly passed from father to son.

On the right a 'daish ō', the two swords, usually a 'katana' (long sword) and a 'wakizashi' (short sword).

#KNIGHTS CHIVALRY CODE JOUSTING RULES SERIES#

Original Woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861), 'Samurai Asahina Yoshihide' from the series 'Stories of the True Loyalty of the Faithful Samurai,' Japan, 1843-1844. Samurai were members of a caste (the only one allowed to wear two swords, the daishō) created in the eleventh century that lasted officially until 1876 when, being an outdated feudal and military institution, it was abolished. 1525 (likely after 1524), f.1v, two knights on their horses facing each other. Jean de Baudreuil, Sommaire abrégé des ducs de Orléans-Longueville, France, likely Paris, c. Regardless, knights remained crucial characters on the European scene until the sixteenth century, when changes in the art of the war, the army, and the weapons used made them obsolete. At first glance they seem very much alike: both knights and samurai were usually members of the upper classes, both were trained in the military arts and both were considered the elites of their militaries: and then a moment arrived when they were simply no longer relevant, disappearing or transforming into a representative/bureaucratic class.Įxactly when the first knights appeared in Western Europe is debated by modern historians - some arguing a knightly class existed as early as the Carolingian era in the ninth century, others tracing its origins to the eleventh century. They travelled, fought and inspired the societies of Europe and Japan for centuries – and still do today as we’ll see later. Here we go!Īmong both the Japanese and European nobles, there was a class of brave warriors that followed a code of virtue, rectitude, and loyalty: these resolute soldiers were known as Knights and Samurai. Nonetheless, human societies often tend to shape themselves following similar paths as seems to be the case in this instance. Culturally they are without any doubt very different. Paris and Kyoto, two cities separated by 5,970 miles. Can they have something in common? Hard to say. Two regions whose paths crossed only in 1543 when Portuguese traders, the most skilled sailors at that time, arrived, most likely in Tanegashima one of the islands south of Kyushu. A long trip from Western Europe to Japan.

Knights chivalry code jousting rules