Weapons Used at the Barriers

Ayre, Picardy 1494: “at the push of the lance, at a barrier at the height of the navel, and after the lance is broken strokes with the axe, according to the discretion of the judges and those that guard the field”

Greenwich May 1510 Casting spear and target followed by twelve strokes with a two handed sword

Greenwich, October 1510 Axe. Not explicitly described as a barrier fight, but barriers seem to have been typical for foot combat in this period.

Paris 1515 Challenge by the Dauphin in honor of the marriage of the French King “First six foins with hand spears, and after that eight strokes to the most advantage if the spears so long held, and after that twelve strokes with sword” also casting spear and target followed with two-handed sword

Noseroy 1519 “two against two, with strokes of the lance, turning the large end of the said lance; and afterwards they were to fight with sword in one hand, as long as my lords the judges ordered them to.” The next day of combat “each one threw a stroke of the partisan and afterwards they fought with the two handed sword as long as it pleased my lords the judges.” Combat with axes at the barriers was originally planned but apparently not actually fought.

Field of Cloth of Gold 1520 Two pairs at a time fought with rebated spears until they were broken, then with two handed swords. Then the next day casting spears and two handed swords

Greenwich 1524 Twelve strokes with single handed sword, point and edge rebated

Greenwich 1554 Pike, sword

Westminster 1570 Three pushes with short pike and ten blows with the sword “with open gauntlet, no barriers to be laid hand upon nor any weapon to be taken ahold of”

Clephan, R. Coltman. The Medieval Tournament (New York, 1995)
Cripps-Day, F.H. The History of the Tournament (London, 1918; reprint New York, 1982)
Viscount Dillon, ‘Barriers and Foot Combat’ Archaeolgical Journal, 61 (1904) 299-308
Young, Alan. Tudor and Jacobean Tournaments (London 1987)