 | * * * Combats on Foot * * * The next scheduled tournament will be held on | |
f the Undertaking of a Tournament
* * * Combats on Foot * * *
The next scheduled tournament will be held on
Saturday, March 21st, 2009 at the
Royal Ontario Museum, Currelly Gallery in Toronto
between noon - 5:00pm
Although, the words "tournament" and "jousts" are used indiscriminantly, historically, "tournament" refers to the mêlée or mounted combat between two parties of knights, and the "joust" describes a single combat between two horsemen who agree with a number of passes with lance. It is normal for language to evolve over time and acquire new meanings and original terms from the medieval period are not immune to this phenomenon. We will take the word "tournament" and narrow its meaning to a series of "combats on foot", each bout being defined in terms of weapon or weapons to be employed,
 |
| The inspection of helms before a tournament: the judges have ordered a helm to be removed. (Olivier de la Marche, Hardoun de la Jaille, Anthoine de la Sale..., 1878, "Traicté de la Forme et Devis comme on Faict les Tournois") |
In the original sense, the jousts originated in the early 12th century known as "hastlitudes" or "spear play". These early martial exercises offered warriors of the time opportunities to sharpen their battle skills. Injuries and even death was not entirely uncommon in these earlier martial exercises. These were of the form of a mêlée. It wasn't until later in the 14th century that these event evolved into a chivalric event, offering opportunities for advancement for nobles and warriors alike, and to demonstrate one's prowess to the ladies and lords spectating the event. The colour and pageantry including heraldry became prominent during this period, extending into the 15th century where the event evolved into less of a martial exercise and more of a mounted sporting event.
The structure of the tournament at AEMMA focuses on "combats on foot" only and encompasses numerous attributes of a late 14th and early 15th centuries balanced to satisfy the expectations of the spectators in a 21st century context by allowing them to witness extraordinary unscripted armoured and unarmoured combat, while providing opportunities for the combatants to demonstrate their prowess and technique through the challenges presented in the bouts by the appellants and all the while, maintaining a strong foothold in its historical counterpart.
Navigating the tournament page: to find specific topics with respect to the medieval tournament structure, rules, arms and armour requirements, etc., use the navigation strip at the top of this window, and select "training" followed by selecting "tournaments @ AEMMA" which will bring up a sub-menu of all of the relevant topics. Not all topics found in the drop-down menu are physically in this page, however, we encourage you to scroll this page to fully understand the structure, roles and combatants' accoutrements presented on this page.
Tournaments will be planned and scheduled on a periodic basis (annual, or bi-annual tournaments), with invitations to two or more parties external to AEMMA whose members are known known as the appellants [ 2 ] ( the "visitors" ). Members of the "home team" (AEMMA) are known as the defendants [ 3 ]. It is expected that the appellants will be comprised of representatives from other schools, academies or Western Martial Arts organizations including AEMMA Affiliates and Associate Groups.
Once a date to hold a tournament is decided by the defendant (the hosting organization) and the venue where the tournament is to be hosted is agreed to by the host, an invitation dictating an agreement detailing the rules, regulations and requirements will be communicated to appellants within their respect organizations. Their agreement should be secured by the defendants prior to planning their participation in the tournament. The invitation and agreement will also describe the various types of combats which can be undertaken and regulations regarding harness and weapons and other accoutrements. The date and place are determined by the defendants, however, in some instances, in coordination with the appellants, a mutually convenient date and location may be decided. The appellants and defendants may, if agreed, decide to share the cost of the tournament, however, an entrance fee to be defined for the tournament will be incurred by each tournament participant, regardless of combat style participating.
The successful execution of a tournament relies entirely on the personnel volunteering each executing their specific role and function while embracing the overall mission and execution details of the tournament. The overall smooth execution of the tournament falls onto the shoulders of the "King of Arms". Other important personnel include the heralds, their assistants and Marshals. The roles and responsibilities are detailed below.
Note: click on any of the sections below to view the relevant individuals and officials in the various positions, or to view the complete tournament roll in a pop-up window, click tournament roll containing more details the tournament officials listed as well as a listing of the defendants and appellants.
Grand and noble patrons hosted tournaments for variety of reasons including enhancing their aristrocratic status, to deliver a spectacular social display or to satisfy political agendas, and in some cases, simply for the sport of it. Patrons had assumed the responsibility of publicising the event, providing the venue, or hosting the banquet following the tournament, or offering of prizes for the knights identified as "best amongst equals".
The roles of the Patron(s) of the Tournament will include the introduction the tournament to the spectators, summon the King of Arms to officially begin the tournament, provide the venue in which the tournament will be executed, and may also provide the prize and award the prize to the combatant voted "best amongst equals" at the post-tournament dinner/banquet. In addition to these roles, the Patron's Lady will award to each of the combatants, a medalion which commemorates his/her active engagement in the bouts in the tournament.
Click here to view details of the Patron(s) of the tournament.
Kings of Arms were heralds - usually the best or most senior or most expert herald who were selected by a prince or other noble to be the head of his heraldic entourage and who would have other responsibilities assigned to them by their liege. He also ensured that everyone's arms were in order, and that there were no duplications of arms, and therefore, no conflicts between the knights intending to participate in the tournament. He may have had a scroll of all of the arms of all of the participants in the tournament, and may have memorized many details of the knights participating in the tournament such as their appearance at military parades or coronations, number of followers the knight possessed and other indications of the knights' position in the military hierarchy.
In the case of this tournament, the King of Arms will be responsible for the overall execution of the tournament, ensuring that the heralds and heralds' assistants/squires are aware of the tasks, personnel are familiar with their roles, order of the bouts and timing of each bout to a maximum of three minutes. The King of Arms ensures a smooth execution of the tournament from start to end.
The King of Arms is the only one responsible to conclude any bout when the three-minute limit has been reached. When he indicates the bout is over, the Marshals must act immediately to separate the combatants to forcebly conclude the bout.
Click here to view details of the King of Arms of the tournament.
 |
| An illustration of an Herald wearing an Herald's tabard while supporting a number of banners of the would-be tourniers. (Olivier de la Marche, Hardoun de la Jaille, Anthoine de la Sale..., 1878, "Traicté de la Forme et Devis comme on Faict les Tournois") |
Their primary responsibility is to announce to the spectators, their liege's name, origin and biography ( bio - this occurs only at the first appearance of the combatant in the lists ). These individuals must have good vocal projection and be comfortable speaking to an audience, and possess "wit". The Heralds are free to introduce "banter" between themselves to add "colour" and entertainment value to their auditory presentations to the spectators. The Heralds will be wearing a Herald's tabard, fashioned after the tabard worn by Richard Beauchamp, fifth Earl of Warwick (1381 - 1439), depicted on the right. The Heralds are to wear leggings, a tunic (white, off-white), tabard and footwear appropriate to the period. Depending upon the venue, they may be required to wear wireless microphones.
The tabard worn by the Heralds will be provided by AEMMA. There are two styles: a) the defendants' Herald's tabard is emblazoned and quartered with the AEMMA arms with the arms of the Friends of the Medieval Studies Society (FMSS), Royal Ontario Museum (ROM); b) the appellants' Herald's tabard is and quartered with emblazoned with the arms of the Ottawa Medieval Sword Guild (OMSG) with the arms of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada (RHSC). These designs commemorate the tournament's first venue held at the ROM, participation and cooperation by the FMSS, OMSG and RHSC in March 2008. These Herald's tabards will continue to represent the appellants and the defendants in the future, regardless of location of the tournament and partners.
The Heralds will be provided with a script detailing each of the combatants they are representing, including name, origin and biography. Each combatant may provide a short biography or bio to embellish their auditory presentation by their respective Herald. If no biography is provided, the Herald has creative liberty say a few words on the spot if he/she so desires.
Click here to view details of both the defendant's and appellant's heralds of the tournament, and their heraldic tabards to be worn.
In the period, each combatant would have a retinue of individuals supporting him in the tournament. In order to remain somewhat consistent with these attributes of a medieval tournament in the 21st century, two Pursuivants (a pursuivant, or more correctly a pursuivant of arms, is a junior officer of arms) are required, one for each side (the defendants and the appellants) who will be "visible" in the lists during the entry and exit of the combatants. Their role would include functions of a herald or Pursuivant, squire and retainers. Their responsiblities are:
The tabards worn by the Pursuivants will be provided by AEMMA in the fashion indicated earlier. There are two styles, the defendants' Pursuivant will wear the tabard quartered which bears the arms of the original group of armoured and armigerous combatants in the 2008 tournament. The tabard is quartered and thus, bears eight arms. The tabard worn by the appellants' Pursuivant is also quartered and bears the arms of the original group of armoured and armigerous combatants of the appellants in the same tournament. The Pursuivants are to wear leggings, footwear appropriate to the period, a tunic (white, off-white) over which the assigned tabard is worn.
Click here to view details of both the defendant's and appellant's Pursuivants of the tournament, and their heraldic tabards to be worn.
Squires were in the period, the knights attendant and/or armourbearer. This responsibility really hasn't changed for a tournament such as this, except for the fact that the Squire will also function as the combatant's banner bearer (standard bearer should the combatant have in his/her possession a standard as opposed to a banner). Combatants may bring along their own "squire" with a maximum of two squires. AEMMA will provide a minimum of one squire for the defendants and one squire for the appellants. These individuals will not only assist the combatants in preparing for their bout, but will also retrieve water or other beverage requests. This individual will also ensure that there remains an adequate supply of water for the combatants in their respective pavilions.
The defendants will have a minimum of two Squires who will assist with the arming of the combatants, and providing assistant to the combatant by preparing him/her with the final touches of arming, such as presentation of gauntlets and helm. The weapon(s) to be employed in the bout will be taken to the lists and given to the combatant's Pursuivant in the lists for him/her to present the weapon(s) to his/her combatant. These same Squires may double as unarmoured combatants and be ready to be called upon to bout should time permit or is deemed necessary due to timing issues. These Squires will wear typical training garments, i.e. gambeson, leggings and period footwear. These Squires will also act as "runners" to obtain refreshments and satisfy other requests by the combatants.
The appellants will provide their own minimum two additional Squires to serve the same function as described in the preceding paragraph. They must also be prepared to engage in a bout should they be summoned by the King of Arms. The dress requirements are typical training garments as stated earlier. These Squires will also act as "runners" to obtain refreshments and satisfy other requests by the combatants.
Click here to view details of both the defendant's and appellant's squires of the tournament.
The principle role of the Marshals is to administer each bout and preserve and maintain the safety of the combatants, and secure the safety of the spectators at all times. The Marshals have the authority to halt any bout at any time for any reason. The Marshals may also refuse to allow any combatant to fight if it is deemed in their opinion to be NOT in the service of safety to do so. Marshals may disallow the use of any armour or weapon that they deem to be unsafe or to offer undue advantage to the user.
Marshals are to wear period garments, the simplest version of a tunic, belt, sidearms (arming sword & dagger), leggings and period shoes. This can be expanded to include a light-weight gambeson if the individual wishes. Each marshal will be provided with a 6ft baton, painted with purple and white stripes or squares. The operating principles of the Marshals are described below:
The second role of Marshals is to inform the victory of the bout to the King of Arms. In most cases this role will be simply the restating of an obvious fact. In most bouts, the victor and the vanquished are clearly indicated by the resulting posture of the combatants. One will be standing the other will not. The King of Arms will inform the respective Herald (appellant's or defendant's) of the victor of the bout and who will then announce the victory of his liege to the spectators.
Click here to view details of the marshals of the tournament.
Combatant's Accoutrements Requirements
In period tournaments, it was customary for the combatant to be equipped as an honorable man-at-arms. This includes one's harness, weapons, and other relevant accoutrements, and a retinue of followers equipped in livery of garments displaying the colours and/or heraldic devices of their lord (combatant), comprised of a herald or pursuivant, squires and retainers. For the purpose of this tournament, held in the 21st century, some compromises are made, distilling the array to the following basic requirements for each combatant with respect to ceremony.
These requirements are not mandatory for participation in the tournament, however, all combatants are encouraged to conform to these requirements in order to satisfy the visual historical spectacle of a medieval tournament and therefore, enhancing the spectators' visual experience.
An example of a banner is illustrated above left. In this case, the banner is square. Longer rectangular banners are also permitted or shapes such as a standard (the bottom narrowing to a point or rounded). Banners can be constructed in a number of ways, each which will incur varying costs. The simplest manner is to use appropriate material, and paint the arms onto the material. This is the least expensive manner, and remains historically correct. The second method is through applique, which is the application of different coloured materials or in some cases, leather to a foundation material. This method is more expensive to construct the banner or standard and is consistent with the period.
Prior to Opening the Tournament
On Arms and Armour Inspections
Important: Combatants (appellants) not members of the OMSG must forward to AEMMA the following details at least two months before the tournament:Particular attention to be made with helmets, hand protection and foot protection or footwear and underlying mail ( thrusts with any weapon included in any bout is permitted, as well as striking any part of the body with hand, elbow, knee or foot, pommel or quillon strikes, and grappling ("abrazare") during the tournament ). The images, descriptions, bio and fighting experience can be emailed to AEMMA with
- detailed photographs (front & back) of the combatant's harness worn as they plan to appear in the tournament,
- a textual description of the harness and under-harness garments and mail,
- a description of the combatant's level of experience and weapons experience,
- a description of the armoured training, sources or texts studied from, names of instructors offering the training.
Prior to the commencement of the tournament on the day all prospective combatants must present themselves to the King of Arms and Marshals in full harness with all of the weapons they intend to use. These officials will determine the fitness of the arms (weapons) and armour with respect to the tournament's armour requirements and weapons requirements and approve or deny the combatant's entry to the tournament. If clarification or verification of the arms/armour is determined necessary, the officials reserve the right to physically test the arms (weapons) and/or armour.
A physical test could include a forceful counter cut to the contestants weapon conducted within a pre-defined safe testing area. If the officials determine the arms and or armour are not compliant with the requirements, the combatant may be denied participation in the armoured bouts in the tournament, however, the combatant may be able to participate in the unarmoured bouts if he/she satisfies the minimum requirements for this form of combat. Broken, poorly fitting or inauthentic harness will be rejected. Inappropriate dress or deportment is also grounds for rejection. Once rejected no amount of "field repair" will enable armour to pass and be used. Every combatant must have their own harness although weapons may be shared.
All armoured combatants will present their helms to their Squire which will then be placed on display on a table at the front of the lists. This will provide the spectators to view and possibly examine the helms, under the watchful eye of one or two volunteers. At the conclusion of the opening of the tournament, the respective Squire Heralds will return the helms to their rightful owners, and the tables removed from the lists.
All appellants will be provided with a burgundy ribbon which will be tied around their left arm signifying the "visiting" team. The defendants will be wearing a gold ribbon signifying the "home" team.
The opening of the tournament begins with a procession of all those participating in the tournament, including the Patron, Heralds, Marshals and combatants. If available, medieval marching music will be piped over the intercom at the venue, or the procession would be lead by a piper. The order of the procession will be as follows:
The Patron would introduce himself to the spectators, describing his role with respect to the tournament, and then he summon the King of Arms, who would obtain the attention of the spectators with "Or oyez, or oyez!" ( "Hear ye, hear ye!") and introduce the Heralds, Squires and Marshals and describe their roles briefly. He would also introduce the combatants (collectively, the defendants (home team) and the appellants (away team). The combatants will each be introduced directly in the lists at the time of their bouts by their respective Herald.
The King of Arms proclaims that the tourney begins, and requests everyone to position themselves accordingly. The Patron sheaths his sword, and leaves the lists and joins his wife in the spectators stands. The banners/standards bearers will insert the banners/standards into the standards stand (not the middle stand, as this is reserved for the pair of standards for the bouts), however, the Patron's standard will be inserted into the middle of the lists standard stand (the combatants' banners/standards will be inserted in either side of the Patron's standard) during the bouts.
Setup and Conducting the Bouts
The principle purpose of a tournament is to offer the opportunities for one to test one's mettle against another brother-at-arms. However, spectators need to be considered during the execution of a tournament, and therefore, communicating the various attributes and victory conditions agreed to for the bouts during the tournament to the spectators will ensure that they too have a positive experience witnessing the spectacle. Therefore, etiquette and ceremony is an important part of the tournament and are handled by knowledgable individuals which will also minimize the complexity of the ceremony from the combatant's perspective. The ceremony of executing each bout is described below:
The above steps are repeated for each and every bout, regardless of whether armoured or unarmoured. It is important that the King of Arms keeps the procedures going with little or no interruptions.
Given the day will be a hard day, it is not prudent to have a procession similar to the opening leaving the lists. The closing will be a simple re-assembly of all concerned which were in the opening of the tournament, in the lists. The Patron will say a few words, and hope to see everyone again at the next tournament. The Patron may invite the spectators to meet the combatants in person as we start to packup and take down.
Minimal take-down is required immediately after the tournament, and the focus is to collect the standards and arms, to take them for display at the aprés tournoi (post-tourney) dinner/banquet. The complete take-down is scheduled the following day.
All bouts will have a 3-minute time limit, regardless of whether the tally of three landed blows was reached or any of the victory conditions were not met. All bouts share the same victory conditions unless some additional constraint is agreed to by the combatants prior to the start of their bout. The King of Arms of the tournament will be responsible for the timing of each and every bout, and inform the marshals of any new constraint in place for that particular bout. The reason for this limit are two-fold: a) there will be numerous bouts in the tournament, therefore, it would be prudent to not allow the combatants to become overly fatigued in any single bout; b) as combatants become more fatigued, errors in judgment or technique increases, resulting in an increased probability of incurring injuries.During any bout, should a combatant breach the agreed to constraint(s), for example, if an agreement was reached to NOT strike the knee during the bout and a combatant intentionally strikes the knee of his/her opponent (usually due to the former loosing badly during the bout), the strike will be considered a foul, or at the request of the recipient, the bout could be immediately terminated and the bout would be awarded to the recipient. No constraints in terms of l'arte dell'armizare is permitted (i.e. combatants cannot request the removal of abrazare (grappling), thrusting or strikes with the hand or foot or pommel, etc. The tournament bouts are designed to display prowess and skill of the art not only to the other combatants, but to the spectators as well.
In order for the tournament to be executed with success, it is important that all combatants and marshals are on the same page with respect to their understanding and identification of decisive blows, indicental blows and fouls. There are two key points which must be internalized: a) valid target for any and all blows is the area inside the neck and appendages, or, in other words, the torso; b) blows which are included in the tally must cause visible displacement of the valid targets. However, the target area is extended during gioco stretto or "close-quarters combat", where strikes to the helm is permissable.
The bout concludes when the tally of decisive blows landed has reached the maximum of three counts, or should any one of the other victory conditions be met, or when three minutes has been reached. It is the responsibility of the Marshals to identify well placed and decisive blows delivered to valid targets to be included in the tally. There is no interruption of the bout until the tally, victory condition or time limit is reached. The King of Arms during the bouts will inform the Pursuivants, Heralds and spectators of who was awarded the count or the foul. At the conclusion of the bout, the King of Arms informs the respective Herald (the appellant's or defendant's) who was awarded the bout.
This eliminates the "tag" or "slash and bash" form of fighting, which for all intents and purposes in armoured combat can be safely ignored. Should a thrust from a longsword or spear target the breastplate and lands squarely on the breastplate with no visible force thus causing no displacement of the opponent, the blow would not be included in the tally. However, if the same thrust be delivered with force causing visible displacement of the opponent will be included in the tally or which results in an unbalanced situation, that is, "unbalanced" (3-points down) will be considered a landed blow and will be added as a single score to the tally. Any strike is permitted, including thrusting with any weapon, percussive blows, cuts, etc. except for those strikes considered "foul". It is completely valid in armoured combat to take a "hit" to the body or arm or leg with an edged weapon in order to setup a decisive blow (a thrust) to a valid target. The list below details what is considered a "landed blow" based on weapon used:
 |
dagger: The obvious offensive attribute of the dagger is its point. The rondel daggers were designed to be essentially spikes to penetrate mail and are extremely effective in gioco stretto or "close-quarters" combat engagements. Any and all thrusts or percussive blows to the opponent causing visible displacement of valid targets while using the rondel's pommel or point, or strike to valid targets with hand, elbow, knee or foot are permitted and useful for setting up a follow-on strike to other valid targets and will be counted towards the tally. The same strikes which causes an "unbalanced" or "cast down" would also be added as a single count to the tally. |
 |
longsword: The offensive characteristics of the longsword in armoured combat is its point, pommel, quillons, hilt and blade all of which can also prove to be effective offensive weapons. Any cut or thrust causing visible displacement of the recipient to valid target areas, or which causes an "unbalanced" or "cast down", would be added as a single count to the tally. During gioco stretto, any percussive blows to the opponent's valid target areas, now including the helm, using the sword's pommel, quillon or hilt causes a visible displacement or the combatant becomes "unbalanced" or "cast down", would also be added as a single count to the tally. Note: Edge or thrust strikes to the helm while in gioco largo will be considered a foul. |
 |
poleaxe: The offensive attributes of the poleaxe is its head and its dag (the spike on the head). Any blow with the poleaxe head or dag to the opponent's valid target areas which includes the helm, causing visible displacement will be included in the tally, and if the blow results in an "unbalanced" or "cast down" situation, would be added as a single count to the tally. Any blow with its queue (the other tip of the haft) will be considered as incidental and NOT included in the count. |
 |
spear: The offensive attributes of the spear is its point and its queue. A thrust to the valid targets including the helm causing visible displacement would be included in the tally. Any upward-oriented thrust to the throat area with the point or its queue would be considered a foul. Being struck with the queue which causes visible displacement in the combatant resulting in an "unbalanced" or "cast down" would be added as a single count to the tally. Any other non-displacement strike with the queue may be useful for setting up a thrust with the point, but would be considered an incidental strike would not be included in the tally. It would be unlikely that a side-strike with the spear head or with the queue would cause any significant displacement and is at risk of breaking the spear. |
The following describes other conditions which can terminate or conclude a bout. None of the engagement conditions listed are negotiable. Any of these conditions supercedes the landed blows victory condition and the resulting awarding or non-awarding of the bout is made. These conditions are designed to provide a "safety net" for the combatants to reduce the probability of incurring injury.
A victory condition achieved when one of the combatants has lost his/her balance, or is forced into loosing his/her balance and places some part of their body other that the soles of their feet in contact with the ground while the remaining combatant remains standing. If both are carried to the ground then the bout continues with the combatants returning to a standing position and continuing until stopped by the Marshals (three minute time limit) or one if the combatant's becomes unbalanced.
This victory condition is achieved when one of the combatants has cast down their opponent to the ground/floor using some throw or take-down technique and the remaining combatant remains standing. If both are carried to the ground then the bout is halted momentarily and the combatants return to a standing position in the middle of the lists and continues until stopped by the Marshals (three minute time limit) or one until one of the combatant's is thrown to the ground/floor.
The bout would be awarded to the combatant who was able to tally two landed blows, however, the bout continues to three blows. At this point, it is immaterial who achieves the third landed blow.
The Marshals may stop any bout in which one of the combatant's is unable to effectively defend against attack and is at undue risk of injury. This situation does not award the bout to any combatant, and is essentially "scratched".
If a combatant is disarmed of his/her last weapon, the bout concludes. What this means, is that should a bout allow the use of multiple weapons, the bout will continue until every weapon wielded by the combatant has been disarmed.
A combatant of their own choice stops fighting and gives up yielding the bout to his/her opponent. This will be indicated by releasing the weapon allowing it to fall to the ground/floor and the bout is awarded to the other combatant.
If a combatant is forced out of the lists, the bout is terminated and the bout is awarded to no one. If a combatant leaves the lists in error, the combatants are to return to the centre of the lists, and the bout continues to its logical conclusion. If the combatant willfully leaves the lists, this is the same as "Yield", the bout is terminated and the bout is awarded to the remaining combatant.
The armoured judicial duel was typically held between nobles, fought in armour with the knightly weapons that include the spear, longsword and dagger, and were usually fatal [ 7 ]. Essentially, the duel was a private affair and the role of the judge was only to
 |
| Preparation for the judicial duel, extracted from Talhoffer's 1459 manuscript. (Det Kongelige Bibliotek, Copenhagen, Thott 290 2, 150 ff. Bayern 1459 - Talhoffer's "Alte Armatur und Ringkunst") |
In the case of a minor offense, the trial would be stopped by the judge when one of the combatants was exhausted, wounded or perceived as being clearly overwhelmed. In this case, the judge could stop the fight and ask the parties if they'd like to consider the issue settled and the point being proven. If the parties agreed, the fight would stop, if not, they would continue, but again not necessarily to the death. The fighting style in the judicial duel will comply with eskermir à outrance as defined above.
Additional requirements over and above the tournament arms & armour requirements will include:
The biers were assumed to be used as a stretcher used to carry the dead from ths list. For additional background information on a judicial duel, an extract from the Froissart's Chronicles of the life-and-death duel between James le Gris and John de Carogne is available for study. Also refer to the video segments of a judicial duel conducted by AEMMA and hosted the WCJA in Orangeville below. For more information and references on Judicial Duels, refer to the Armoured Judicial Duels below.
Medieval Tournament and Deeds of Arms References
Armoured Judicial Duel References
Blossfechten/Fechtschule References
The tournament is much more than a sporting event, it is a venue where the principles of historical Western Martial Arts can be practiced and applied. Some may feel that the above outlined tournament pays far too much homage to the medieval era. In truth, it would be difficult to disagree and even more difficult to not execute a tournament in such a manner in order to embrace these principles, however, it is this period that interests AEMMA most and it is this period that many of us focus our studies on. We have tried to create a format that is both workable and historically based.
Many of our tournaments will be presented in the public view and so we should endeavor to imbue our tests of skill with the history that formed the art.
| David M. Cvet AEMMA Founder & President Acknowledged Instructor for Armoured Combat, IMAF | Brian McIlmoyle AEMMA Co-Founder & Principle Instructor Acknowledged Instructor for Armoured Combat, IMAF |
combatants' menu |
|
the combatants list rules of engagement definitions of blows & fouls engagement conditions combatant's accoutrements armour inspection harness requirements arms requirements |