Shakespeare A to Z | Tournaments
Many Elizabethan sports, such as jousting and archery, were related to the serious business of WARFARE. Tournaments, which dated from the Middle Ages, began as organized events that provided opportunities for soldiers to test their combat skills against each other in a controlled situation.
Jousting tournaments were open only to men of the upper classes. They gave the rich the opportunity to show off their armor, clothes, and well-groomed horses. During the Middle Ages tournaments had involved melees, mock battles between two large groups on horseback. By the late 1500s, however, most...
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