CHAPTER X.

OCTOBER.

"Rivet well each coat of mail;
Blows shall fall like showers of hail;
Merrily the harness rings,
Of tilting lists and tournay sings,
Honour to the valiant brings.
Clink, clink, clink!"--_Armourers' Chorus_.

Tournaments--_Mysteries_--_Moralities_--_Pageants_.


In the days of chivalry, when gallant knights used to ride about in
search of adventures; and when there were many wars, battles, and
crusades, martial exercises were the chief amusements of the people
of England. We have already mentioned some of these sports in which
the humbler folk used to show their strength and dexterity, and now
I propose to tell you of those wonderful trials of military skill
called tournaments, which were the favourite pastimes of the
noblemen and gentry of England in the middle ages, and afforded much
amusement to their poorer neighbours who flocked to see these
gallant feats of arms. Tournaments were fights in miniature, in
which the combatants fought simply to exhibit their strength and
prowess. There was a great deal of pomp and ceremony attached to
them. The lists, as the barriers were called which inclosed the
scene of combat, were superbly decorated, and surrounded by
pavilions belonging to the champions, ornamented with their arms and
banners. The seats reserved for the noble ladies and gentlemen who