Monday, November 12, 2012

Combat at the Barriers, Paris, 1514


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......

At this tornay the Dolphyn was hurt in the hande, so that he coulde not performe hys chalenge at the barriers and put one of his ayde in his rome, the nexte daye after began the fight at the barriers and because the Dolphin was not present, the duke of Suffolke and the lorde Marques Dorsett that daye began the feld, and toke the barriers with speres in hand abydyng all commers. The Dolphin brought a man secretly, which in all the court of Fraunce was the tallest and the strongest man, & he as an Almayne and put him in the place of another person to haue had ye doke of Suffolke rebuked. The same great Almnyne came to the barres fyersly with face hyd, because he would not be knowen, and bare his spere to the duke of Suffolke with all his strength, and the duke him receiued, and for all his strength put hym by strong strokes from the barriers, and with the but ende of the spere strake the Almaine that he staggared, but for al that the Almayne strake strongly and hardly at the duke, and the iudges suffered many mo strokes to be foughten then were appoincted, but when they saw the Almayne rele & staggar, then they let fall the rayle betwene them. The lorde Marques Dorsett at the same time, euen at the same barre fought with a gentleman of Fraunce that he lost his spere, and in maner with drewe: When the rayle was let fall, these two noble men put vp their vysers & toke ayer, &; then they tooke swerdes with poynet & edges abated, and came to the barriers, and ye Almayne foughte sore with the duke, which imagened that he was a person set on for the nonce but ye duke by pure strength tooke hym about the necke, and pomeled so aboute the hed that the blood yssued out of his nose, & then they were departed, and the Almayne was conueyed by the Dolphyn lest he should be knowen. These twoo noble men of Englande that daye fought valiantly diuerse feates, and the Frenchmen likewise nobly them defended but it happened the lord Marques one time to put for his aide his youngest brother called the Lorde Edward Grey of the age of. xix. yere, and to hym was put a gentleman of Fraunce of greate stature and strength to thentente to plucke hym ouer the barres, but yet the younge Lorde was of suche strength, powre and pollecy, that he so stroke his aduersarie that he disarmed hym, al the face bare.

Hall, Edward. 1965. Hall's chronicle containing the history of England, during the reign of Henry the Fourth, and the succeeding monarchs, to the end of the reign of Henry the Eighth, in which are particularly described the manners and customs of those periods ; carefully collated with the ed. of 1548 and 1550. New York: AMS Press. 

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