Equestrian:Activity - Jousting - General

General

Jousting is based on the military use of the lance by heavy cavalry, and transformed into a specialized sport during the Late Middle Ages. It remained popular with the nobility in England and Wales, Germany and other parts of Europe throughout the whole of the 16th century.

The SCA has two types of jousting, based on lance type and requiring different armor - foam lance jousting, and wooden lance jousting. Conventions (lance techniques and arm signals) are the same for both.

Practicing with jousting equipment against a non-human target (i.e. a quintain or similar) falls under the skill-at-arms activities. Participants can train on a tilt, in armor, with the appropriate lances, ground crew and staff as if in an actual joust, without striking another person or being struck.

Wooden lance jousting requires a special authorization from marshals within the Society's Wooden Lance Jousting Program.