Sunday, September 07, 2008

Jousts on Foot

There are several surviving accounts of what might be described as jousts on foot. The first is Froissart’s account of an encounter at Vannes in 1380, which he describes with exactly those words. His vivid account must be taken with at least a grain of salt. There is no reason to think he was present, and another account differs in many details. However, both accounts agree that in the third encounter with spears the combatants met so violently that the English champion was knocked to the ground twice.

Oliver de la Marche gives a detailed account of a similar encounter on foot with lances between the lord de Ternant and Galiot de Baltasin in 1446.

The lord de Ternant and Galiot de Baltasin also met each other with estocs or thrusting swords as part of the same deed of arms, in a combat that closely resembled the contest with lances, and with the estocs used very much like short lances.

Also, Sir Jacques de Lalaing fought with estoc against Jacques d'Avanchies in 1450 in a contest much like the estoc combat between de Ternant and Galiot de Baltasin. Here is De la Marche's Account and Chastelain's Account.

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