Medieval Jousting at Concord

Jousting was a crowd-favourite entertainment act during the Middle Ages. It usually took place at Medieval ‘tournaments’, which provided a venue for Knights to practice various forms of combat to the delight and the amusement of crowds of onlookers. On 26th of September, Concord’s History Department revived this tradition by hosting a medieval event for students and teachers to spectate, allowing us to engage with this British Medieval culture.

My experience of medieval jousting was phenomenal. Jousting is an activity where knights in armour fight on horses using lances, which, during the Middle Ages was the most common form of entertainment. During the jousting, we witnessed two knights charging at each other on horseback, attempting to knock each other off their horses with lances. Despite the unpleasant weather, many students and visitors gathered together at the back of Main Hall for the eye-opening experience. The audiences were very supportive; there were continuous and enthusiastic cheers for the jousters.

This event reminded me of the power of tradition in uniting people of different ages, gender and interests. Additionally, I was fascinated when I found out that one of the jousters is one of the United Kingdom’s only female jousters. She was unbelievably charismatic when performing and I really admired that. Overall, it was an incredible experience and I hope that I will be able to enjoy the charm of this traditional culture again in the near future.

Venice – 6.2