The herald will also say the singer:
“She is the mistress of the heart, In tournaments fought for her
Invincible spear.
And by her the sword was inspired, Who has killed the husband of so many wives:
The hour of death has come for the Sultan -
Muhammad did not save him either.
A golden strand shines.
The number of hairs cannot be counted, -
So there is no number for the pagans, Which death has taken away."
Beloved! Honor of victories
I give you; I have no glory.
Rather open your door!
Dressed the garden with night dew;
The heat of Syria was familiar to me
I'm cold in the breeze.
Open your chambers -
I brought glory as a gift of love."
(Walter Scott "Ivanhoe")
Over time, tournaments from preparation for war turned into a bright and colorful sport with its own sweepstakes and rules, very, very conditional. In previous articles, it was, for example, about this type of duel, like rennen. So, already by 1480, a number of its varieties had emerged, such as: "mechanical" rennen, then "exact" rennen, Bund-rennen, "mixed" rennen, which was also called rennen with a crown spear and, finally, field rennen … They all had their own differences and their own specifics, and the audience understood all this.
"Hard" Rennen. "Hard" Rennen differed from others in that the tarch was attached with a screw (see photo) to the cuirass tightly. It was just necessary to break the spear on the enemy's tarch and knock him out of the saddle, after which he dropped out of the competition. The horse's forehead was "blind." (Dresden Armory)
Let's start with the "mechanical" rennen, as the simplest. To participate in this duel, the knight needed a minimum of armor. That is, the armor of the renzoig without bracers and leggings, which replaced the shields attached to the saddle, called dilje. Sleeves - with puffs. Saddle - no high bow.
There were also two types of this type of tournament. First: "mechanical" rennen with tarch ". The essence of the duel was to get into the tarch, arranged in such a way that the spring mechanism hidden under it threw it into the air. It is clear that all this was done in order to amuse the most respectable audience, it had no other meaning.
Miniature from The Art of Athletics (Volumes I and II), manuscript from the middle of the 16th century. from the Bavarian State Library. In this treatise, more than 600 pages in volume, more than 120 colored miniatures depicting various types of armed struggle (volume I), and in the second volume - varieties of knightly tournaments. Some scenes are based on actual tournaments that took place. The miniature depicts the Bundrennen armor. It is clearly seen that the combatants, in general, do not need any special armor, since the target, the tarch attached to the cuirass, is large enough. It can also be seen that the face is not protected by anything.
Its variation was the "mechanical" rennen with a chest target. What difference does it make if, in any case, the target was a chest tarch? Just in this case, the metal plate attached to the chest, after the blow of the spear, remained in place, and only wedges flew out to the sides, with which it was fixed in the “cocked state”. It was less spectacular, but safer for the rider. It is important to note that due to the lack of a high bow at the back, it was not easy to sit in the saddle. And the one who flew out of it along with the wedges of the target was no longer allowed to the next fights!
Such a duel with the participation of Emperor Maximilian I, who loved this kind of "fights", was depicted in his drawing by the English artist Angus McBride.
The "exact" rennen differed from the two previous varieties only in that the tarch, curved outward, was attached to the cuirass on hooks and it was necessary to hit it so as to knock it out of this attachment. At the same time, he slid up, covering the opponent's face, and then fell to the ground. There was no particular danger in all this, since the helmet had a chin. That is, the tarch could not hit you in the face in any way. The tip of the spear was sharp, otherwise it would not have been possible to do this. That is, it was necessary for it to sink into the tarch, and not slide over it!
"Hard" Rennen. The tarch is attached with a thumbscrew to the chin, and he himself is rigidly screwed to the cuirass! The figures and costumes are simply amazing! (Dresden Armory) As you can see, the knights are really covered in the most minimal way. But the equipment itself is distinguished by extraordinary splendor.
Dilzhe close-up. (Dresden Armory)
The same group, but from the opposite side.
This photo clearly shows a figured tarch and dilge with a lily, as well as a "skirt", which was at that time a popular attribute of a knight's costume. But why the points are made on the shaft of the spear, I cannot say yet. On all previously seen miniatures, the shafts of the tournament copies are completely smooth. (Dresden Armory)
Such armor for the aforementioned types of rennen was quite enough! (Dresden Armory)
The most dangerous type of tournament in the Rennen style was Bundrennen, which differed from others in that the Rennzoig armor for him was equipped with a special bib - a Bund, under which there was a spring mechanism, which, with a successful blow with a spear, threw the tarch high into the air, and at the same time it also flew to pieces. The danger was that the chin was not worn in this case. Tournament salad only. After all, no one was aiming at the head, but only at the tarch, while the "trajectory" of his movement was also known, because he slid along two "rails" and flew up without touching his face. But … One had only to forget a little and make a head-forward movement when shooting the tarch, as it was possible to easily remain without a nose. So this type of duel was considered dangerous for a reason!
In the "mixed" Rennen, one knight put on a shtekhzog and armed himself with a spear with a crown tip, while his opponent was in a rennzeig and had a spear with a sharp tip. The task is to knock the enemy out of the saddle.
Participating in the "field" rennen, the knight put on armor with legguards and bracers, that is, it was practically combat armor. The front bows on the saddles are high, but the rear bows are shallow. Horse masks are often deaf, or rather “blind”. The task of this duel is to break the spears when hitting the tarchi. The fight was of a group nature. In addition to the spear, other types of weapons were allowed, but not often. Sometimes after the first fight with spears, the knights continued the fight, fighting with blunt swords.
During the reign of Emperor Maximilian I, foot duels of opponents armed with spears, but fighting through a wooden barrier, became fashionable. Spears - fighting, that is, with sharp points. The armor is also combat, but only for the torso. The legs are not protected by armor. The purpose of the duel was rather strange - to break the enemy's spear, and in one battle it was allowed to break no more than 5-6 spears. Naturally, the judges carefully watched that no one struck below the belt! Sometimes three pairs had mixed weapons - two spears and four swords, or on the contrary - four spears and two swords.
Rennenzoig - "armor for rennen", circa 1580-1590 Dresden or Annaberg, Wes. 41, 45 kg. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Armor for the "new" Italian duel at the end of the 16th century. from the Higgins Museum, in Worcester, Massachusetts.
The influence of the Italian Renaissance was reflected in the conduct of tournaments. The "German tournament" went out of fashion, and by the middle of the 16th century, tournaments according to Italian rules became widespread in its place: "free" tournament or "free" rennen and "fight over the barrier". For the first, the usual combat armor with a pad on the left shoulder was used. For the second, shtekhtsoig type armor was used, but in a lightweight version. The helmet is like a regular armé. The left arm and shoulder were now protected by a massive piece, and the plate glove had a huge bell. One of the features of this equipment was the use, as noted above, of conventional combat armor, but with a reinforced helmet on the left side and the use of a shtech-tarch, which had a surface with a diamond-shaped lattice of metal rods. Why was this necessary, because the spear tip could no longer slip off her? But just for this, so that the crown tip does not slide over its surface, because this is … "more interesting"! Moreover, sometimes this removable tarch was decorated with painting, etching and blackening in the cells of a rhombic lattice, although the armor itself was smooth and devoid of any decorations.
Armor set of 1549 of Emperor Maximilian II. (Wallace Collection) Stech-tarch with a "grid" for the Italian tournament over the barrier.
Equipment for the "new" Italian fight over the barrier. From the tournament book of Hans Burgkmair the Younger. OK. 1554 (Princely Museum of the Hohenzollern in Sigmaringen).
But this is a very interesting photo with which I can say I was lucky. It is generally difficult to photograph a spear - they are too long. But even if this succeeds, then how to determine their length, if it is not indicated? And then this long German turned out to be next to him - height 192 cm, and agreed to pose for me. Well, and the spear - they stand behind. On the right in the photo are two identical "swords of war". They can be called two-handed swords, and they are often called that, but this is not entirely true. These are the swords of the riders, which were required in order to hit an infantryman who fell to the ground, or another rider, using such a sword as a spear. That's why its length mattered. The sword in the middle, with a leather cushion to protect the hand, weighs … 8. 25 kg! The medallions on its top make it possible to attribute it as belonging to Juan of Austria (1547-1578), who commanded the fleet of the Holy League at the battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. With such a wide sword, one could easily chop off an arm in battle or take off the head.
The knights are participants in the "Saxon tournament". The rod is clearly visible, attached to the back shell and to the helmet, which gave this "system" rigidity, which was important when hitting a spear and falling to the ground. (Dresden Armory)
And this is a knight in "Saxon armor". (Dresden Armory)
Tournament competitions ceased in the 16th century, when the knightly cavalry lost its role and was ousted by pistol cavalry and infantry from spearmen and musketeer riflemen recruited from townspeople and peasants. The formal reason for the ban on tournaments in France was an accident that occurred in 1559 at a tournament in honor of the conclusion of peace treaties between France, Spain and Savoy, when Count Montgomery mortally wounded King Henry II with a spear that hit the king in the eye. True, in Germany they lasted until 1600, but it was already an “endangered” sport.
