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Sports
The thrill of the joust
Tournaments gallop into Southern Maryland
Friday, Aug. 24, 2007
 Click here to enlarge this photo File Photo by Theodore McGinley
Michelle Fuller, 14, daughter of Wendy Fuller of Calvert County, prepares to spear a ring in the 140th Calvert County Jousting Tournament at Christ Church in Port Republic. This year’s tournament will be held Aug. 25 and mark the 141th meeting of the state sport in the county.
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Knights heavily clad in gleaming armor lower their long, pointed lances — beribboned with the favors from their ladies — and charge into the ranks of their opponents. Once through the lines, those warriors still mounted slowly wheel their mounts to repeat the attack, mindless of those who had been unhorsed or even pierced by the lance skills of others.
When one side finally concedes defeat, those still astride their horses are declared the winning knights, no matter how many had been injured, maimed or killed.
So much for ‘‘fun” tournaments of the 12th century, according to the National Jousting Association.
The ‘‘sport” of jousting — using a long pole to defeat an individual rider — was generally viewed as competition between various nobles, particularly during times of peace in Europe, rare though they were. Not that the contests were widely approved of by either the Roman Catholic Church, which thought it a great waste of energy and distraction from the Crusades, or the liege lords of such nobles, who could only see the diminution of forces they might need to repel covetous neighboring rulers.
Being a popular and knightly way of letting off steam, though, neither church nor state could very easily disallow such sport as they were outnumbered by the armed combatants. It also enabled those who survived to become more skilled in unseating the enemy, friendly or otherwise, something which was indeed needed when protecting realm or religion.
Gradually, time and gunpowder made the lance useless as a weapon and popular as a way for chivalrous (from the French word cheval for horse) gentlemen to entertain the ladies at feasts and festivals.
The tournaments — at the time the word was only used in reference to jousting, although it has become synonymous with nearly every sporting playoff — changed from bloody and costly to skillful and rewarding, either in favors from the ladies or in recognition from others for great patience and horsemanship.
So what, do you say? Should you be prepared for a renaissance of the Middle Ages? No, just a touch of 15th-century Maryland.
This rather loose early history is all in aid of telling how jousting came to America and why it was declared a state sport by Maryland in 1962.
Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore, a name which should be vaguely familiar to all but the newest residents of the state, is credited with bringing jousting to Maryland when he established his land grant in 1634. It became a popular activity on this side of the Atlantic, even as it faded on the other.
Although it was enjoyed through war and peace, the first jousting association was not formed until March 1950 when the Maryland Jousting Tournament Association was formed. Interest grew from the initial 22 riders into several state groups and groups in several states, including Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
Maryland became the first to declare a state sport, designating ring jousting as that sport on June 1, 1962.
By then, Calvert County had been holding annual tournaments for 96 years. This year, the county will hold its 141st joust and dinner beginning at noon Aug. 25 at Christ Church in Port Republic. It is one of two tournaments held in Southern Maryland, the other being conducted Sept. 22 at the St. Mary’s County Fair in Leonardtown.
The competitions no longer require armored riders astride huge steeds to knock one another off their mounts, but to use more refined skills by aiming pointed lances in order to pluck rings off ribbons hanging from a designated height.
That is no small task, as horse and rider have to move as one, the competitor using great hand-eye coordination to retrieve the prize.
According to the information on the church’s Web site, and having witnessed the sport first-hand, it is very difficult to acquire one ring, let alone the three that mark a successful single run. Riders must spear three rings with diameters of 1 3⁄4 inches within a distance of 80 yards, making it as much a sport of nerves as one of skill.
Riders get three chances to gather nine rings, with those collecting the most declared the winners. Ties are determined by riding and collecting even smaller rings.
It makes for a very exciting and interesting tournament, from novice to professional levels. Age and gender are no limitations, as most riders begin at an early age and many winners are of the fairer sex.
James Yoe, chair of the jousting tournament, said the ratio of boys to girls, or men to women, was pretty even.
“It’s pretty close to 50-50 percent boys and girls. It’s purely a matter of skill,“ Yoe said. “A lot of these people say they don’t consider themselves great riders, big in dressage or things like that. It’s a matter of knowing your skills and horse. It’s a unique set of skills you acquire over time.“
There will be somewhere between 60 to 70 riders, which Yoe said were typical numbers for participants. At any given time during the tournament, there are probably 300 to 400 spectators.
“It naturally peaks for the professional class. The order of riding is novice, professional, amateur and semi-professional,“ he explained. “Then there is the trophy class. That’s when the winners in any class get a chance to ride against the top pros. It gives even the novices a chance to compete against the more experienced riders.“
And if any of the uninitiated attending for the first time find themselves interested in taking up the sport, Yoe said there would be plenty of people around to get them started.
“There will be club members, representatives from the MJTA. People will be glad to tell them how they began,“ he said.
While the jousting is the focus of the event, those easily distracted can enjoy the church bazaar, which begins at 11 a.m. Indoors, nine organists will present a variety of organ music, from Scott Joplin to sacred compositions, on a Mohler two-manual pipe organ. The 30-minute programs will run from 12:30 to 5 p.m.
A country supper featuring fried chicken, deviled crab or ham will be available from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. If you can’t stay for the tournament but want an early supper, boxed meals will be available from noon to 6 p.m.
So turn your steel steeds in the direction of Broomes Island Road and get a taste of Maryland’s unique history from Calvert County’s modern knights and maids. Let the medieval moment provide a brief respite from the madness of modern corporate combat.
