JAN SZYMCZAK out of Conceit and Vanity
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FASCICULI ARCHAEOLOGIAE HISTORICE, Fasc. VIII, PL ISSN 0860-0007 JAN SZYMCZAK KNIGHTLY TOURNAMENTS IN MEDIEVAL POLAND 1. Introductory Remarks «mundinae vel feriae, quos vulgo torneamenta vo- cant» serve as evidence in this respect3. The tournament quickly became extremely po- The genesis of tournaments can be found in ga- pular and spread all over Europe. The tournament mes of skill and military exercises, which had been is also an inseparable element of the period of the known since remote antiquity. Descriptions of such dominance of horsemen on the battlefield and, con- exercises are already offered by the writers of antiqu- sequently, it is not by accident that the full deve- ity. As a result of the development of courtly culture lopment of the tournamnet took place in the 12th the custom of holding simulated fights was given some century. The mounted knights were always in the ideological foundations and a suitable organizational foreground, while the infantry, armed with pikes and framework. The very word torneamentum appeared bows, remained in the background. Of course the in the chronicle of Martin of Tours, in which book the tournament was no place for individual fight. It was death of a few barons was recorded in the year 1066. real battle in the open field or even in the streets of One of the barons was Gotfryd de Preuilly, who see- a town — all this for the pleasure of fighting and mingly «torneamenta invenit»'. for money. The tournaments were a substitute for real figh- A tournament was a very expensive underta- ting. They were training in the difficult art of wiel- king and an exclusive social event for both the orga- ding shaft-weapons. They helped acquire the skill of nizer and the participants of the competition. The unhorsing one's enemy. In the relevant literature the winner won not only fame but money, and the loser entertaining and military character of the tournament paid with his health or even life, as well as free- as a kind of group fight consisting in a frontal attack dom. He had to give all his kit to his opponent and of two troops of armed horsemen in battle array is stres- frequently went bankrupt. sed2. In accordance with their character, i.e. the fron- The entertaining, training and military character tal attack of two groups of armed horsemen, the to- of tournaments was reflected in the vocabulary used urnaments took a heavy toll of injuries, wounds and in the accounts of such competitions.Terms such as deaths. It is said that 200 participants of a tourna- ludus militaris, hastiludium, tirocinium, but also ment suffocated because of the crowd, heat and dust4. Despite their entertaining character the com- petitions were not less brutal than a real battle. Like 1 Chronicon Santi Martini Turonense, [in:] Recueil des hi- in a battle, two groups of mounted warriors faced storiens des Gaules et de la France, vol. XII, Paris 1968, p. 461; each other on a great battlefield. They fought bra- Chronicon Andegavense breve, [in:] ibidem, vol. XI, Paris 1968, vely to defeat their enemies and take them captive. p. 169; cf.: M. P a r i s s e, Le tournoi en France, des origines à la They sometimes stroke mortal blows and killed their fin du XlIIe siècle, [in:] Das ritterliche Turnier im Mittelalter Be- iträge zu einer vergleichenden Formen- und Verhaltensgeschich- opponents by accident. tedes Rittertums, ed. J. F 1 e c k e n s t e i n, Göttingen 1985, pp. The Church was against the tournaments. It 176, 180. was of the opinion that the participants unnecesari- 2 F. L o t, L 'art militaire et les armées au moyen âge en ly risked death, the loss of life and property and Europe et dans le proche orient, vol. I, Paris 1946, p. 119; J. F. took part in the competitions spreading debauchery Verbruggen, De Krükskunst in West-Europa in de midde- leeuwen (IXe tot begin XlVe eeuwe), Brüssels 1954, p. 150; P. Czerwiński, Die Schlacht und Turnierdarsttellungen in den 3 Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis conditum a deutschen höfischen Romanen des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts. Zur Carolo du Fresne domino du Cange actum, vol. Villi, Paris literarischen Verarbeitung militärischer Formen des adeligen Ge- 1938, pp. 129-131; M. P a r i s s e, op. cit., pp. 182-183, waltmonopols, Berlin 1975; R. B a r b e r, J. B a r k e r, Tourna- S.Krüger, Das kirchliche Turnierverbot im Mittelalter, [in:] ments, Jousts, Chivalry and Pageants in the Middle Ages, Wood- Das ritterliche Turnier..., pp. 401-406. bridge 1989. 4P. C z e r w i n s k i, op. cit., p. 289. http://rcin.org.pl JAN SZYMCZAK out of conceit and vanity. The first bans were anno- In Bohemia tournaments were inaugurated during the unced in the period of the crusades, because the tour- reign of Venceslas I, i.e. in the second quarter of the naments diverted the knights from these holy expe- 13th century10 and they quickly gained great popula- ditions. It was already in 1130 at the joint ecclesiasti- rity. Similarly like in other countries, a group of pro- cal councils of Clermont and Reims that these, as they fessional, so to speak, competitors appeared. These were called, unfortunate meetings and fairs («nundi- followers of Wilhelm Maralek sought in the lists not nae») were criticized. The tournament showed many only fame but fortune. characteristics of a fair, like the presence of vendors, horse-breeders, blacksmiths and other craftsmen, the 2. Tournaments in the Poland of the Piasts noise and throngs of people. Heavy expenses borne in connection with these Most information about tournaments in Poland competitions by the knights, who readily ruined them- can be found in Iohannes Dlugossius's work. The selves, their families and children in order to win vain pieces of information are of different value. The data fame and acquire the reputation of being a very bra- concerning the period of the first Piasts should be ve man, were said to call out for universal condem- submitted to especially critical examination. Accor- nation. In the heat of a battle the regular fighting ru- ding to the chronicle writer, it was already in 1067 at les were broken and the opponents frequently ridicu- the wedding of Boleslas the Generous and Wszesla- led each other in order to shine before the eyes of the wa that knightly games and jousting with lances («lu- audience. The knights were to take part only in regu- dis militaribus et hastarum») took place11. It has been lar battles in order to train for war against the infidels assumed that the whole paragraph is a free interpre- or for other heroic acts'5. Thus, the tournament was tation offered by the chronicle writer, who frequen- not totally condemned. Its training function was re- tly introduced this element of courtly entertainment, cognized and appreciated if it served the purpose of undpubtedly very popular in his times, i.e. in the 15th the crusades. century, into his accounts of different festivities, espe- However, the elements of lay culture were do- cially weddings. Another mention referring to a si- minant in tournaments. Consequently, the third La- mulated fight found in Iohannes Dlugossius's chro- teran council of 1179 categorically condemned tour- nicle is dated 1121. The chronicle writer decscribes naments and forbade to bury their victims in conse- the wedding of Prince Vladislas II the Exile and Agnes crated ground. The ban was confirmed in 1215 and (referred to as Christina by Iohannes Dlugossius). the Church repeatedly criticized tournaments until the This historical fact is dated at the end of 1123 or the 12 beginning of the 14th century6. beginning of 1124 . The mention says that the cere- At the beginning the tournament was a French mony was accompanied by tourneys, especially jou- sting with spears and swords, organized in honour of speciality, which was reflected in the opinions of 13 chronicle writers, who referred to 'hastiludia vel tor- and for the entertainment of the guests . This piece neamenta' as «conflictus Gallicus»7. It quickly spre- of information is not confirmed by source analysis, ad in other countries of Western Europe, especially either.The characteristics of the tournament presen- in England, Italy, subsequently in Germany, where ted in the work do not correspond to the spirit of such the first such competition mentioned in the source material, «tyrocinium quod vulgo nunc turneimen- tum dicitur», took place next to the city walls of [in:] Das ritterliche Turnier..., pp. 390-391, has recently moved Würzburg in 1127 at the instance of Duke Frederick the beginnings of the tournament in the Kingdom of Hungary to 8 and Konrad Stauf . The first tournament in Hungary the end of the 12th century. is said to have been organized in Bratislava in 12209. 111 See: W. I w a ń c z a k, Turniej..., pp. 42-43; idem, Tropem rycerskiej przygody. Wzorzec rycerski w piśmiennictwie czeskim XIV wieku {On the Trail of Knightly Adventure. A Model 5 Cf.: S. K r ü g e r, op. cit., pp. 403, 413 . Knight in the Czech Literature of the 14th Century, Warsaw 1985, 6 P. C z e r w i n s k i, op. cit.. p. 226; S. K r ü g e r, op. cit., pp. 179-182; J. M a c e k, Das Turnier im mittelalterlichen pp. 401, 406 seqq. Böhmen, [in:] Das Ritterliche Turnier..., pp. 371-372. 7 Matthaeus Parisiensis, Chronica Minora sive 11 J. D ł u g o s z, Annales seu cronicae incliti Regni Polo- Historia Anglorum, ed.