King René's Tournament Book
Encyclopedia
René I of Naples
René of Anjou , also known as René I of Naples and Good King René , was Duke of Anjou, Count of Provence , Count of Piedmont, Duke of Bar , Duke of Lorraine , King of Naples , titular King of Jerusalem...
of ca. 1460 describes rules of a tournament
Tournament (medieval)
A tournament, or tourney is the name popularly given to chivalrous competitions or mock fights of the Middle Ages and Renaissance . It is one of various types of hastiludes....
.
The most famous, and earliest, of the many manuscript copies is kept in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris (MS Fr 2695). This is, unusually for a de luxe manuscript, on paper, and painted in watercolour. It may represent drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
s by Barthélemy d'Eyck
Barthélemy d'Eyck
Barthélemy d'Eyck, van Eyck or d' Eyck , was an Early Netherlandish artist who worked in France and probably in Burgundy as a painter and manuscript illuminator...
, intended as preparatory only, which were later illuminated by him or another artist. Barthélemy worked for René. There are twenty-six full and double page miniatures.
The description given in the book is different from that of the pas d'armes
Pas d'Armes
The pas d'armes or passage of arms was a type of chivalric hastilude that evolved in the late 14th century and remained popular through the 15th century...
held at Razilly and Saumur
Saumur
Saumur is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.The historic town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc...
; conspicuously absent are the allegorical
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
and chivalresque ornamentations that were in vogue at the time. René instead emphasizes he is reporting on ancient tournament customs of France, Germany and the Low Countries, combining them in a new suggestion on how to hold a tournament.
The tournament described is a melee
Mêlée
Melee , generally refers to disorganized close combat involving a group of fighters. A melee ensues when groups become locked together in combat with no regard to group tactics or fighting as an organized unit; each participant fights as an individual....
fought by two sides. Individual joust
Jousting
Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two knights mounted on horses and using lances, often as part of a tournament.Jousting emerged in the High Middle Ages based on the military use of the lance by heavy cavalry. The first camels tournament was staged in 1066, but jousting itself did not...
s are only briefly mentioned.
External links
- BnF 27 images Add "Français 2695" to left "Cote" box, click "Chercher" and "Images"
- online translation of text