A JOUST AT ELSINORE

Hokitika Guardian, 26 August 1926, Page 4

A JOUST AT ELSINORE

MEDIAEVAL SCENES REVIVED (From J. N. M. JEFFRIES.)

ELSINORE, Denmark, July 9. Here in this old town of Elsinore, which is celebrating its 500th anniversary, there was held to-day on an open stretch of land on the border of The Sound, a joust between knights in armour. Sixty or 70 years ago at Eglinton Castle, in Scotland, such a tourney was held, and Napoleon HE, then an exile in Britain, was one of the contestants. However, rain spoilt the sight. So, with this solitary and not so prosperous exception, to-day’s spectacle would appear to be one which lias not been seen in Europe for many hundreds ol

years. As far as could be managed it was an exact reproduction of a joust held at Gummeltor in 1569. in the reign of King Frederick IT. of Denmark. The knjghts who charged in the lists and the soldiery who guarded them were drawn from the Hussar Guard of the King of Denmark. Ten thousanU spectators gathered for the occasion from all parts of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and there were visitors from France and England, and even from Spain, amid the crowds gathered in the banner-bedecked, red-gabled, narrow streets of Elsinore. It has been no easy thing to organise this tournament. It was arranged in combination between the Hussar Guard officers, and Air Johannes Poul--1 sen, Denmark’s chef actor and great student of the past.

l'irir CENTURY ARMOUR. The armour itself was not such a difficulty as might have been imagined. The Royal Armoury of Copenhagen took down from its walls lor the occasion 12 suits ipf black armour of the period. These were worn by Hussar Soldiers forming ti’ie immediate guard of the knights. The old armour was too precious to be risked in the lists upon the persons of the knights, but fortunately Denmark’s national theatre possesses a series of harnesses, fashioned after the tyle of the late lGl’kcentury period, made of genuine steel strong enough to resist the shock ,of lances, the possible unhorsing of the men. or other chances of the torn net. The helmets worn by the knights when charging were, however, genuine ! ones from the Copenhagen Armoury. I The horses were another difficulty. ! and—as the tourney was to prove—the ; major difficulty. The jousting horses 1 of modireval and Renaissance days were heavy, slow, broad animals like Percherons and Clydesdales. Possibly the sort of horses which drew London s horse omnibuses would have made goodisb jousting horses. Nothing of the sort being available here, the 6ffioors who took the part of knights felt hack on regimental chargers and artillerv horses.

Several of the horses which thundered through tlie dust to-day with emhroidered silk housings streaming in tin; breeze around them were fiom Dublin—lrish mounts bought for the Danish Cavalry—and all had a pronounced thoroughbred strain in them. As a matter of fact they were too mettlesome on the whole, hut did thou strange work with enough alacrity to prove that •horses are prepared for anything at the hands of men. In the centre of the jousting ground was a canvas-covered, brown-painted harrier about 60 yards long, the actual so-called lists on either side of which the musters’ horses ran and over which the musters’ lances met. W.CnV THAT MISSED. Some tilting at a Turk’s head, and then the stage was set for jousting. A shrill blast of trumpets at the nod of the golden herald, and then two knights were manoeuvring their steeds to each end of the lists. One was red and silver, and one was green and silver. .They pressed their long lances in the hollow of their arms, pushed their helms forward and were off. At the ends of the lances were rounded heads to give more nine msc oji the breast of an adversary. 1 lie object of the gallant joust was not to unhorse cn ndvevsarv but to break the knice on his chest while retainingoiie s own. seat.

The green knight came clown like a whirlwind, hut just as t ! ’e knights drew abreast the horse oi red and silver curvetted sideways aml the blow missed.

One felt that if the blow had been delivered the red would have had much ado to retain 'bis seat. All the knights had. indeed, been insured with a Copenhagen company against the obvious dangers of the joust, but as course after course was run it was proved that the mettlesome horses were the chief obstacle to unseating blows being delivered.

No two knights splintered both lances at the same time. There was a dull bang of wood on metal which rang over the ground as the green knight struck his antagonist full in the breastplate hut both, showed no signs of losing their seats.

Twice the knights had their lances torn from their grips by the weapons of their opponents. The red, while and blue knight, Count J.erehe, rode a splendid course, standing high in his gtirrups, against Captain Sehtdin, in black and silver, and splintered his spear half-way up, riding the rest of the course with tho broken, dangling spear end. Then with pennons floating in the wind the whole cortege rode hack over the moat through the heraldic gateway of Kronburg. As the last black coat of mail and last plume were lost in the shadows of the .castle, a light seemed to out and the modern costumed throng seemed so infinitely dull. The ioust lasted about half an hour.