Jousting in its basic form is a martial sport between two knights mounted on horses and using lances. It can also consist of a series of competitions using a variety of weapons, usually in sets of three per weapon (such as tilting with a lance, blows with the battle axe, strokes with the dagger, or strokes with a sword), often as part of a tournament.[1]
Jousting was just one of a number of popular martial games in the Middle Ages referred to generically as hastiludes and took great skill to do.
Though the first recorded tournament was staged in 1066, jousting itself did not gain in widespread popularity until the 12th century.[citation needed] It maintained its status as a popular European sport until the early 17th century.[2]
Jousting was added to tournaments several centuries after their inauguration. The joust permitted a better display of individual skill and, although dangerous, offered large sums of prize money. Many knights made their fortune in these events, whilst many lost their fortune or even life. For example, Henry II of France died when his opponent's lance went through his visor and shattered into fragments, blinding his right eye and penetrating his right orbit and temple.[3]
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The skills used in tournaments were a reflection of the martial skills applied to battle where the primary purpose was to try to kill or disable an opponent. The primary purpose of the jousting lance is to unhorse the other by striking them with the end of the lance while riding towards them at high speed. This is known as "tilting". Other weapons were also used for jousting.[1]
The lists, or list field, is the arena in which a jousting event or similar tournament is held. More precisely, it is the roped-off enclosure where tournament fighting takes place.[4][5] It is mentioned frequently in the novel Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott.[6] In the late medieval period, castles and palaces were augmented by purpose-built tiltyards as a venue for "jousting tournaments".
The two most common kinds of horse used for jousting were warmblood chargers and coldblood destriers. Chargers were medium-weight horses bred and trained for agility and stamina, while destriers were heavy war horses. These were larger and slower, but helpful to give devastating force to the rider's lance through its weight being about twice as great as that of a traditional riding horse. The horses were trained for ambling, a kind of pace that provided the rider with stability in order to be able to focus and aim better with the lance.
During a jousting tournament, the horses were cared for by their grooms in their respective tents. They wore caparisons, a type of ornamental cloth featuring the owner's heraldic signs. Competing horses had their heads protected by a chanfron, an iron shield for protection from otherwise lethal lance hits.
Other forms of equipment on the horse included long-necked spurs which enabled the rider to control the horse with extended legs, a saddle with a high back to provide leverage during the charge or when hit, as well as stirrups for the necessary leverage to deliver blows with the lance.
Jousting was popular from the high Middle Ages until the early 1600s, when it was replaced as the equine highlight of court festivities by large "horse-ballet" displays called carousels, although non-combat competitions such as the ring-tilt lasted until the 18th century. During the period jousting was popular, armour evolved from being chain mail (called simply mail at the time), with a solid, heavy helmet, called a "great helm", and shield. By 1400 knights wore full suits of plate armour, called a "harness". A full harness frequently included extra pieces specifically for use in jousting, so that a light military combat suit could be reinforced with heavier, "bolt-on" protective plates on the cuirass (breastplate) and helmet, and also with jousting-specific arm and shoulder pieces, which traded mobility for extra protection. These extra pieces were usually much stronger on the side expected to take the impact of the lance. Special jousting helmets were sometimes used, made so that the wearer could only see out by leaning forwards. If the wearer straightened up just before the impact of the lance, the eyes would be completely protected. Some later suits had a small shield built-in the left side of the armour. In some cases this was spring loaded to fly into pieces if struck properly by the opponent's lance.
In modern times, jousting is often done for show or demonstration purposes, and the lances used are usually made of light wood and prepared so that they break easily. Lances are often decorated with stripes or the colors of a knight's coat of arms. In a real joust, the lances were of solid oak and a significant strike was needed to shatter them. However, the (blunt) lances would not usually penetrate the steel. The harnesses worn by the knights were lined on the inside with plenty of cloth to soften the blow from the lance.
Modern day jousting or tilting has been kept alive by the International Jousting Association, [1], which has strict guidelines for the quality and authenticity of jousters' armour & equipment, and has developed the use of breakable lance tips for safety.
Jousting under the International Jousting Association rules follows a points system where points are given for breaking the lance tip on the opposing knight's shield; note that there are no points given for unhorsing an opponent[citation needed]. International Jousting Association sanctioned tournaments also include skill at arms where the riders display their horsemanship and weapons handling skills with swords on the Moors Head, they use spears for the rings and spear throw, and use the lance against a spinning quintain. Many International Jousting Association tournaments also include a mounted melee with fully armoured riders using padded batons in place of swords for safety. None of the International Jousting Association events are theatrically based and they offer the public a chance to observe living history as opposed to entertainment oriented jousting.
Today, tent pegging is the only form of jousting officially recognized by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports. The sport involves using a lance or sword to strike and carry away a small wooden ground target. The name "tent pegging" is derived from the cavalry tactic of causing confusion in enemy camps by galloping though the camps and collapsing the tents by pulling up the tent peg anchors with well-placed lance tip strikes. The actual sport of tent pegging, however, originated in medieval India, when horse cavalrymen would try to incapacitate elephant cavalry by striking the elephants with lances on their extremely sensitive toenails[7].
Ring jousting is the official state sport of Maryland, and was the first official sport of any American state.[8]
The Italian town of Foligno also holds an annual jousting tournament, the Giostra della Quintana, that dates back to the 1613. The Knights have to spear rings from the statue of the Quintana.[citation needed]
The Italian town of Arezzo continues to hold an annual jousting tournament, which dates to the Crusades. Jousters aim for a square target attached to a wooden effigy of a Saracen king, whose opposite arm holds a cat-o-three-tails — three leather laces with a heavy wooden ball at the end of each lace. The riders strike the target with chalk-tipped lances and score points for accuracy, but must also dodge the cat-o-three-tails after they have struck the target.[9]
Modern theatrical jousting competitions are popular at American Renaissance fairs and similar festivals, and feature riders on horseback attempting various feats of skill with the lance, which may not always have a basis in history.
Several international organisations, such as the Society for Creative Anachronism and the International Jousting Association.[10], promote rules to govern their jousting events.[11]
In Port Republic, Maryland the annual Calvert County Jousting Tournament is held every August on the grounds of historic Christ Episcopal Church. In 2005, the tournament was featured in an edition of ESPN's SportsCenter.
Joust | Table of Contents | Walkthrough
| Joust | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Williams |
| Publisher(s) | Williams |
| Designer(s) | John Newcomer |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Action |
| System(s) | Arcade, Atari 8-bit, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Atari ST, Atari Lynx, Apple II, NES, MS-DOS, Web browser, Xbox Live Arcade, GameTap, PlayStation Network |
| Players | 1-2 |
| Rating(s) |
ESRB:
 Everyone |
| Followed by | Joust 2: Survival of the Fittest |
Joust arrived at the height of the golden age of arcade games, and swept players off their feet. It presented a novel game play in a novel setting that captured the imagination. The player, mounted on an ostrich sized bird and carrying a lance, must "joust" against enemy players in a battle for air supremacy.
Set inside a cavern of sorts, complete with lava, the battle took place between floating segments of land. A pterodactyl would make its presence known if the player(s) stuck around for too long. Killing an enemy would make an egg appear. If left alone, the egg would hatch into a new enemy that would replace its fallen brethren. And a lava troll waited for unsuspecting victims to fly too close to the lave before reaching a claw out to grab his next meal.
Atari saw Joust as another title to snatch the rights up to and add to its library. It saw more official releases to Atari systems than any other title, including Ms. Pac-Man. While it made the rounds at Atarisoft, it was actually release for very few other platforms. Joust served as a source of inspiration twice for Nintendo; once for the simultaneous two player concept that appeared in Mario Bros., and then more directly for the gameplay found in Balloon Fight. Joust itself had an arcade sequel, Joust 2: Survival of the Fittest. Joust was released for download on the Xbox Live Arcade in 2006 with online multiplayer, enhanced graphics and new Achievements.
The yellow knight and the blue knight are the last two champions of the Joust that takes place in a world where men ride atop giant birds, and height determines the victor. Help them take on wave after wave of would-be challengers who wish to take away their title.
| Joust | |
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| Developer(s) | Williams Electronics |
| Publisher(s) | Williams Electronics Arcade Atari Atari 2600 Atari 5200 Atari ST Atari 7800 HAL Laboratory NES Nintendo Gameboy |
| Designer(s) | John Newcomer |
| Release date | Arcade: 1982 (NA) Atari 2600: 1983 (NA) |
| Genre | 2D platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single player 2 player Cooperative |
| Age rating(s) | N/A Arcade Atari 2600 |
| Platform(s) | Arcade Atari 2600 Atari 5200 Atari ST Nintendo Entertainment System Atari 7800 Nintendo Game Boy (As part of Arcade Classic 4: Defender / Joust |
| Input | Arcade: 2-Way Joystick, Button Atari 2600 Joystick NES Controller Atari 7800 Joystick |
| Credits | Soundtrack | Codes | Walkthrough | |
Joust is an arcade game released in 1982. It was ported to the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Atari ST computer system, and the NES. It was followed in the arcades with Joust 2: Survival Of The Fittest.
Each player controls a different knight and each of them rides a different mount. The first player is a yellow knight who rides on a flying ostrich. The second player is a light blue knight who rides on a giant stork.
There are three different enemy knights who all ride on giant buzzards and each of them are colored differently. The enemy knights are red Bounders, silver Hunters and dark blue Shadow Lords. The other enemies include the "unbeatable" pterodactyl and The Lava Troll, a giant hand that reaches out and grabs from one of the two lava pools at the bottom of the screen.
In each wave throughout the game, you must defeat every enemy knight in a joust. Everytime you defeat an enemy knight in a joust by ramming him atop his head, he will turn into an egg. You must then capture the egg before it hatches, otherwise, the egg will hatch and the knight will become the next more-difficult character. In other words, a Bounder will become a Hunter, a Hunter will become a Shadow Lord, a Shadow Lord will become a Bounder and so on. After the egg hatches, a new mount will fly out to pick up the newly-hatched enemy knight. You can also collect an enemy knight after he has hatched before he mounts his buzzard.
Sometimes the eggs will fall into the lava pits at the bottom of the screen in later waves. During the first two waves, there are platforms at the bottom of the screen that will allow you to walk over the lava pits, but in later waves, the platforms will be burned away. Also, in later waves, flames will start to burn in the lava pits.
Sometimes, a pterodactyl will show up in some of those waves, usually if you take too long. The pterodactyl will sometimes try to fiercely charge right at you. The only way you can kill the pterodactyl is by ramming him in the mouth to desintagrate him.
If you have your feathered mount fly too close to either of the lava pits, The Lava Troll will reach out and grab your mount by the legs and pull you both into his fiery home. If this happens, you must have your mount repeatedly flap really hard to escape from the grip of The Lava Troll. The Lava Troll will also grab the enemy knights on their buzzards and occasionally pull them in with him.
Even in the later waves, platforms will collapse and disintegrate. Occasionally, there is an Egg Wave where you must grab all the enemy eggs before they hatch. As you advance to later waves, the difficulty constantly increases.
A prototype version of this game was developed by Atari for the ColecoVision, but was never completed or released.
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