Deportes
Jousting and Medieval Tournaments. Olympic Sport or just entertainment?
By: Luis Guillermo Mojica
Medieval jousting and tournaments are a unique form of combat that is made between two or more people on horseback, armed with a spear and with armor, in the joust they use real weapons that can possibly hurt or even kill the opponent, and the tournaments are done with fake weapons that can´t harm participants.The sport was practiced a lot in the middle ages, mainly for its chivalrous spirit and also to settle accounts with someone, to win the hand of a woman or to presume vigor and strength. Another way in which the sport was celebrated was to make an entertaining spectacle for the people, sometimes as coronations, marriages, baptisms, conquests of new territories, among others.
The jousts and / or tournaments already seemed to be a very convenient way of solving an argument, and it could also be said that it had become an important sport, but many people believe that jousts and tournaments have the caliber to be an Olympic sport.
"You can see jousts from Russia to Australia, not to mention the west of California," says Dominic Sewell, one of the largest contributors to this cause. "It is becoming a truly international sport and that is why we are calling for it to be recognized at the Olympic level"
And not only is Sewell who supports that the joust is an Olympic sport, because next to it is a charity of English origin called "English Heritage", that has been made charge of restoring historical places of England like Stonehenge between more than 400 Places, in order that the people live the history of England by itself and knows historical places like castles and gardens. This means that people like members of English Heritage consider jousting not only an Olympic-caliber sport, but also consider it part of the living history of countries like England.
Sports from Middle Age to now
By: Nicolás Garay
The sports have change, the people look for new things to do, most of the times the old stuff end up being boring for the people (of course not in all the cases). The people doesn´t get entertain easily anymore, it is not easy for someone to have fun outdoors in these days.
The sports still very fun and popular today, but in the XXI century, some people started preferring to play virtual games, because the technology has improved a lot.The Sports of the Middle Ages are sometimes very different from today, but in other cases the sports of those times are like the fathers of the sports that we practice.
Some examples of old sports are the Chivaldry, which was a very famous sport for the people in higher classes, it was made for the entertainment of hurting the people. The Palma was another sport that is like the father of the Tennis, it was used to play with a very rustic racquet and a really heavy ball. The Soule is another sport of the Middle Ages, which was frequently played in France (it got very well developed there), it is also a father of a very popular sport in this ages, the Rugby, the objective was to take a ball and don´t get pushed or hit by the other players.
In conclusion the sports have change, but not that much, you can play an old sport and feel playing a really common sport.
The Sports And The Games In The Middle Ages
By: Jerónimo Vanegas J.
¿Which were the sports and the games in the Middle Ages and what were their importance and characteristics?
In the Middle Ages sports were practiced to win, what they could win? Prestige, fame, honors, riches among others.
What kind of sports were practiced at this ages? Jousts, Medieval Tournaments and horse-carriage races were the most memorable.
What were these competitions about?
Medieval Tournaments: They were a horse fight among several people in squares. This squares battled and hurt each other. Each one persecuted their opponent. It was an imitation of a battle, it lasted several days.
Jousts:
In the Jousts there were the following rules:
1. Not fight outside the rows.
2. Several knights cannot fight against one.
3. Not hurt the rival’s horse.
4. Only attack the face and chest of the rival.
5. Not attack the knight that raises his combat helmet.
But the reality was different, it always ended with blood.
Ending the parade both teams were placed at the arena, an at the signal of the captain or referee they launch against each other, the battle ended at sunset if non the two sites have stood as a clear victor.
But now I’m going to talk about the gambling games which were considered dangerous through the Middle ages because they were the cause of many conflicts between citizens.
The most common gambling game were the dices and card games thanks to this games people were able to gain riches but also to lose them, and this was the reason of why people was always in the middle of discussions and fighting’s.