Lets go down to the Melee part 1

In the early days a tournament was essentially a large pitched mock battle between two opposing sides. The idea being to practice for war but instead of killing the opponent you made him your prisoner, entitling you to some ransom or a choice of his armour and horse or both.
Most assuredly this was the way William the Conqueror and Richard the Lionheart thought of a tournament, though it is doubtful they would have ever used that word in the context we know today and doubtless he would have been most perplexed and interested in equal measure at how this test of arms changed with time, so what is a Melee you ask? Follow me and lets find out. Continue reading “Lets go down to the Melee part 1”