Before the Lance: A History of Jousting
Before lances were invented, in the medieval days knights rode unicorns in jousting tournaments.
The unicorns would clash their horns together and the people in the stands would cheer. Still very much wild beasts, they were meant to live in dark and dense forests - not the hustle and bustle of kingdoms. Reared (or captured) at a young age, they were trained to become competitive and agitated creatures. These so-called “domesticated” unicorns were solitary animals and were never able to adjust to living in pens among people and other animals. They would become depressed and without contact with other unicorns many their lifespan was halved – with or without jousting.
Jousting was the leading cause of unicorn deaths, but it was a long time before anyone took notice. At the beginning of the 14th century, there was an uprising of unicorn rights activists in France and Wales. The views of these activist groups spread rapidly and gained so much popularity that attendance to jousting tournament decreased drastically. At the encouragement of the Earl of Oxford, King Richard II had attempted to hold a Jousting tournament; this was the final straw for many in Britain. It was among the many catalysts for the Peasants’ Revolt (or the Great Uprising) that began in 1381. Jousting had all but disappeared, except for some underground tournaments here and there.
It was a tool designed by an Italian smith, used for shaking the tops of olive trees that had been the inspiration for a Spanish knight. In the 1423, a knight was rode past an olive grove where this tool was being used. It was a long piece of wood and tapered into a point at the tip with a guard around the handle to prevent it slipping through the user’s fingers. Knight had watched it being used until it dawned on him what the tool reminded him of. Some historians suggest that he must have called out to the olive picker for the name of the smith and then immediately rode into town to find the man immediately for it was not long after that these tools – lances, started appearing in cities across Spain and France and eventually in England and Germany.
There was a resurgence of jousting across Europe, when unicorns were replaced with horses and lances; once it was known that unicorns were no longer involved in these games, the people of Europe were more than willing to fill the seats of these jousting stadiums once again.
Jousting remained a favourite form of entertainment in these countries long into the late Middle Ages and renaissance period. The population of unicorns had dwindled to just a few in Europe and England; however, unicorns were able to roam and live free in their natural habitats - never to be used in jousting tournaments again.
