You should at least equip yourself as an honorable man-at-arms, without any great fault or lack in your harness or equipage. But the ladies will be better pleased if you bear a noble crest upon your helm and coat-armor with your arms upon your person, and besides, they will thereby be better able to remark your prowess in the field.
More recently, one of the comers to a noble deed of arms came in the guise of "The Champion of Bacchus", with a cluster of grapes as his crest and a great rout and retinue of nymphs and satyrs, and the said "Champion of Bacchus" is commonly supposed to have been the noble Duke Vissevald incognito.
It is very honorable and profitable to have a herald or pursuivant to announce you and speak your challenge for you well and properly. And it is also a noble custom for you and your retinue to cry your war cry in the lists. And all these matters will be set forth more plainly hereafter.
First, examine your harness. Is it of one consistent
period? Can you find a picture of a medieval Knight that looks
like you do? Are there glaring anachronisms? Few harnesses conceal
enough of blue jeans to hide their essential nature. Dark sweat pants, with socks in
a matching color, are better and hose are better still. Two-tone
Nikes don't look very medieval. All black sneakers are better,
and medieval shoes or sabattons are better still.
The right covering can conceal a multitude of sins. Essentially, you have two approaches. Before 1350, the armor was less challenging, but the surcoats were usually sleeveless, so they covered less of it. When sleeves were worn, they were rarely longer than elbow length. After 1350, the armor was more sophisticated, but garments called jupons or coat-armors, often with long sleeves, sometimes covered much of it. From 1400 on uncovered plate armor became increasingly popular. The later a period you choose, the more dependent you become on a good armorer.
It is difficult to mount a crest and mantling on the pointed skull of an ordinary bascinet. There is no evidence that medieval gentleman ever did so. When they wanted to adorn a bascinet, the normal approach was to mount a gilded ball (called a pomme) at the apex, with several feathers springing from the top of that.
Liveries were often parti-colored, and sometimes
tri-colored. The colors were not restricted to the pure colors
of heraldry. Other options included light green, tawney (orange-brown),
russet (rusty red-brown) and murrey (purple-red, or mulberry color).
Liveries might consist of complete suites of clothing,
sleeveless jackets, or sometimes simply hoods.
Badges might be made from metal, appliqued, or embroidered.
Popular locations included upon the sleeve or hat, the middle
of the chest and back, or upon what would now be the lapel, usually
on the wearer's left side.
A noble that really wanted to show off at a tournament
would put his retinue not simply into matching clothes, but into
elaborate costumes. Besides the examples I mentioned earlier,
Claude de Vauldrey came to one 15th c. Burgundian tournament
with a retinue of wildmen and wildwomen. Another had costumed
moors in his train.
This does present some opportunities for people with
personas that aren't your standard late-middle ages West-European
types. A Celt might come as "The King of Lyonesse" with
a retinue in fringed cloaks, carrying Irish javelins. A Berber
from the Maghreb might be followed by turbaned moors with nakers
and kettledrums. (A real 15th century Burgundian doing this would
of course try to find an elephant or pair of camels to add to
the procession.)
The ideal thing would be to really push it over the
edge, so that instead of just being a Scadian with knotwork on
your shield, you look like a Burgundian that decided it would
be cool to outfit his entire following in Arthurian fancy dress.
The greater nobles would often bring several men-at-arms as part of their following, to fight beside them in the tourney.
Don't assume that your choices are embroidery or
nothing. Medieval banners were often painted.
These banners were not the gonfannons so often seen
in the Society (that is, a banner hanging from a horizontal crossbar
attached to a central pole), but like modern flags, except for
their proportion.
It is difficult to be certain if these banners sometimes
had a horizontal support at the top. Often they drape in a way
that would be impossible with such a horizontal support. Sometimes
they are shown standing so stiffly that you might assume that
a horizontal support would be essential. Yet this could simply
be an artistic convention, to better show the Heraldry.
If you want a crossbar, here one way to have one. Drill a hole through your pole perpendicular to its length, as close to the end as you can and just large enough to accept a dowel by press fit. Make your banner with a casing for the pole, and a narrower casing for the dowel. Leave the dowel casing open at both ends, , and make the dowel casing open into the pole casing. You can now use your banner with or without the support dowel. Or, with a longer dowel, you can hang the banner flat against the wall without the pole.
Lengths of broken lance shaft must have filled the same ecological niche then that pieces of broken rattan too short to turn into a decent sword do today. After a day's jousting they must have been knee deep in the stuff.
To uphold your dignity properly, to make your challenges
and announce your entry, a personal herald is a fine thing. A
personal herald should wear a tabard or coat-armor with your device
on it. There are many who would covet such a position as an escape
from interminably droning:
Your-honor-to-the-crown-of-the-East-and-to-your-lady-if-she-be-present...
Even more would take the job if you paid them.
Seriously, field heralds live for this kind of stuff , and the right one can be a great help with your challenges. Besides, it's so hard to be heard from inside your helmet.
A cry could be based on a name ("a Chandos! a Chandos!"), a place ("Guienne!") a patron saint ("Notre Dame!") or a combination of these elements ("Montjoie et St. Denis!). We will assume that if your cry contains the name of a saint you are not calling on supernatural aid to assure victory (which the Society frowns on) but asking the saint's aid to fight fairly and honorably (and who could object to that?)
Copyright Will McLean, 1996, 1997
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