Read Online The Last Knight Errant: Sir Edward Woodville & the Age of Chivalry by Christopher Wilkins - Free Book Online
Authors: Christopher Wilkins
Tags: nonfiction, History, Biography & Autobiography, Medieval, England/Great Britain, 15th Century, Military & Fighting
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hand; and truly he seemed a person well worthy to be King for he was a tall handsome Prince, Kingly in manner. An earl held the Sword of State before him, a little on one side and around his throne were grouped twenty or twenty five councillors all with white hair.’
Below the King, sitting in massed ranks, were nobles, knights and squires. The Archers of the Crown were on parade and heralds, the Kings of Arms in full regalia complete with their crowns, were at each corner. The Earl of Worcester, as Constable of England, was the Master of Ceremony and the previous May he had issued new rules for jousts and tourneys, so everyone was clear about how affairs should be conducted.
The first to ride into the lists were the Duke of Clarence and the Earl of Arundel, each carrying a helmet for the Champion. Other lords carrying his battle-axe, lances and sword followed them, together with his nine horses, ridden by pages, all in flamboyant trappings. Anthony rode in alone; his horse had trappings ‘of white cloth of gold, with a cross of Saint George of crimson velvet, bordered with a fringe of gold half a foot long’. He did reverence to his king before going to his blue satin pavilion to arm. The Bastard, wearing the ducal arms, and his entourage made an equally impressive entrance.5
Eventually the two champions, encased in alwite – gleaming bleached–plate armour6 and mounted on their chargers, were ready at opposite ends of the lists, the horses no doubt snorting and stamping and the crowd expectant. When the trumpets sounded, the contestants loosed their reins and spurred their chargers forward. Their shields up and lances couched, they thundered towards each other...and missed completely. Giving up their lances and heaviest armour, they drew their swords and charged again. This time they crashed together. The Bastard’s horse gashed its nostril on Scales’s saddle; the ‘pain was so bad that the horse reared up and fell over backwards’. The Burgundian was extracted from under his unconscious horse and Anthony was obliged to prove he had not resorted to dirty tricks. The King offered the discomforted Burgundian another mount.7 ‘It is no season,’ said the Bastard and muttered to his friend, Olivier de la Marche, ‘Doubt not, he has fought a beast today, tomorrow he shall fight a man.’
The next day they resumed the tournament and set to with their battleaxes. These were poleaxes or ‘head’ axes, beautifully balanced weapons, some 4ft 6in (140cm) long with a head which combined a steel spike on the length for thrusting, an axe blade on one side and a hammer head on the other, used either for striking or tripping.8 The contest would have had the rhythm of a heavyweight boxing match, ducking and weaving with the added excitement of the wallop and thrust of top-class quarterstaff work or bayonet fighting.
Anthony, confident and flamboyant, did not bother to lower his visor and the spectators loved it. The contest was furious and became so violent that the King thought it should be stopped for fear of serious injury so shouted, ‘Whoa!’ and threw his staff down between them. Yet the combatants continued to exchange ‘two or three great strokes’ before breaking off their fight.9 Eventually the heated warriors were persuaded to take each other by the hand and promise ‘to love together as brothers in arms’.
‘The Lord Scales had the worship of the field’,10 but there was great debate over who had done best. The English believed Anthony was starting to hurt the Bastard, while the Burgundians took the opposite view. ‘Ask of them that felt the strokes, they can tell you best,’ suggests one contemporary scribe, while Fabyan reported that Anthony had ‘the point of his axe in the visor of the Bastard’s helmet and so by force was likely to have born him down’. Young Edward was then about nine years old and must have felt immensely proud of his elder brother.
The Excerpta Historica reports: ‘As
Below the King, sitting in massed ranks, were nobles, knights and squires. The Archers of the Crown were on parade and heralds, the Kings of Arms in full regalia complete with their crowns, were at each corner. The Earl of Worcester, as Constable of England, was the Master of Ceremony and the previous May he had issued new rules for jousts and tourneys, so everyone was clear about how affairs should be conducted.
The first to ride into the lists were the Duke of Clarence and the Earl of Arundel, each carrying a helmet for the Champion. Other lords carrying his battle-axe, lances and sword followed them, together with his nine horses, ridden by pages, all in flamboyant trappings. Anthony rode in alone; his horse had trappings ‘of white cloth of gold, with a cross of Saint George of crimson velvet, bordered with a fringe of gold half a foot long’. He did reverence to his king before going to his blue satin pavilion to arm. The Bastard, wearing the ducal arms, and his entourage made an equally impressive entrance.5
Eventually the two champions, encased in alwite – gleaming bleached–plate armour6 and mounted on their chargers, were ready at opposite ends of the lists, the horses no doubt snorting and stamping and the crowd expectant. When the trumpets sounded, the contestants loosed their reins and spurred their chargers forward. Their shields up and lances couched, they thundered towards each other...and missed completely. Giving up their lances and heaviest armour, they drew their swords and charged again. This time they crashed together. The Bastard’s horse gashed its nostril on Scales’s saddle; the ‘pain was so bad that the horse reared up and fell over backwards’. The Burgundian was extracted from under his unconscious horse and Anthony was obliged to prove he had not resorted to dirty tricks. The King offered the discomforted Burgundian another mount.7 ‘It is no season,’ said the Bastard and muttered to his friend, Olivier de la Marche, ‘Doubt not, he has fought a beast today, tomorrow he shall fight a man.’
The next day they resumed the tournament and set to with their battleaxes. These were poleaxes or ‘head’ axes, beautifully balanced weapons, some 4ft 6in (140cm) long with a head which combined a steel spike on the length for thrusting, an axe blade on one side and a hammer head on the other, used either for striking or tripping.8 The contest would have had the rhythm of a heavyweight boxing match, ducking and weaving with the added excitement of the wallop and thrust of top-class quarterstaff work or bayonet fighting.
Anthony, confident and flamboyant, did not bother to lower his visor and the spectators loved it. The contest was furious and became so violent that the King thought it should be stopped for fear of serious injury so shouted, ‘Whoa!’ and threw his staff down between them. Yet the combatants continued to exchange ‘two or three great strokes’ before breaking off their fight.9 Eventually the heated warriors were persuaded to take each other by the hand and promise ‘to love together as brothers in arms’.
‘The Lord Scales had the worship of the field’,10 but there was great debate over who had done best. The English believed Anthony was starting to hurt the Bastard, while the Burgundians took the opposite view. ‘Ask of them that felt the strokes, they can tell you best,’ suggests one contemporary scribe, while Fabyan reported that Anthony had ‘the point of his axe in the visor of the Bastard’s helmet and so by force was likely to have born him down’. Young Edward was then about nine years old and must have felt immensely proud of his elder brother.
The Excerpta Historica reports: ‘As
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