part in the jousts or tournament; but the yeomen and young farmers
used to practise similar kinds of sport, such as tilting at a ring,
quintain, and boat jousts, which have already been mentioned in a
preceding chapter. Richard I., the lion-hearted king, was a great
promoter of these martial sports, and appointed five places for the
holding of tournaments in England, namely, at some place between
Salisbury and Wilton, between Warwick and Kenilworth, between
Stamford and Wallingford, between Brackley and Mixbury, and between
Blie and Tykehill. But in almost every part of England tournaments
or jousts have been held, and scenes enacted such as I have
described. Sometimes two knights would fight in mortal combat. If
one knight accused the other of crime or dishonour, the latter
might challenge him to fight with swords or lances, and, according
to the superstition of the times, the victor was considered to be
the one who spoke the truth. But this ordeal combat was far removed
from the domain of sport.

When jousts and tournaments were abandoned, tilting on horseback at
a ring became a favourite courtly amusement. A ring was suspended on
a level with the eye of the rider; and the sport consisted in riding
towards the ring, and sending the point of a lance through it, and
so bearing it away. Great skill was required to accomplish this
surely and gracefully. Ascham, a writer in the sixteenth century,
tells us what accomplishments were required from the complete
English gentleman of the period. "To ride comely, to run fair at the
tilt or ring, to play at all weapons, to shoot fair in bow, or
surely in gun; to vault lustily, to run, to leap, to wrestle, to
swim, to dance comely, to sing, and play of instruments cunningly;
to hawk, to hunt, to play at tennis, and all pastimes generally
which be joined to labour, containing either some fit exercises for