The thrill of the Joust

Risks, rewards and remarkable outfits

Date: 29 June 2026

Author:

Harriet Baker

Jousting was one of the events held at a medieval tournament, where knights would prove their skill on the battlefield. As warfare, weapons, and armour developed it became more of a tradition than a necessity and by the reign of Elizabeth I, a joust would have looked unrecognisable to a thirteenth century knight.

Here, Harriet Baker, Palace Host and volunteer, explains how jousting developed into an elaborate spectacle showing off the latest fashions, technology and wealth.

Action shot of two men in armour charging at each other on horseback as part of a jousting renactment event — *Image: Competitors charging along the 'tilt' at a joust reenactment event at Hampton Court Palace. © Rob Jones/Outlaw Entertainment .*

What is jousting?

Typically, a joust requires two competitors, each on a horse, on either side of a long, protective barrier known as the ‘tilt’. The competitors would charge at each other with the aim of hitting their opponent or even knocking them off their horse with a long pole, called a ‘lance’.

Early jousts were more chaotic and commonly fought by groups of men on two sides charging at one another. Their aim was to harm their opponents and acquire ransom money for their capture, as well as stealing their arms (weapons) and armour.

Similar to a charge from a mounted army, it allowed groups to practise tactics together as warfare changed and developed. However, as it became increasingly popular in times of peace, regulation was needed. There is no point practising for war if you get too injured to take your place on the real battlefield.

Therefore, two opposing competitors became the norm. Eventually a point system was introduced to make hits more purposeful.

Did you know?

Jousting took place at the 'tiltyard' - an enclosed space or courtyard around a 'tilt'. Temporary stages were built, as well as raised podiums or stands for spectators to watch the action.

A younger brothers' game

It was common for men who were not first born in their families to take part in jousts. Firstborn sons were more protected as heirs to the family estate. After the death of his elder brother, Arthur, even the future Henry VIII was stopped from competing - though as King he would be back in action in the tiltyard.

Additionally, firstborn sons would eventually inherit a way of earning money – something their younger brothers often had to figure out themselves. So, as they were more expendable (and needed money) the younger sons would usually step up to prove their skill at the tilt. They could earn money either by capturing and ransoming their opponent, or by being scouted for a noble's army when times became unstable.

Tudor jousting

The Tudor joust looked quite different to a medieval one. What started as a brutal display of military skill became a regulated sport with costume and pomp – the perfect demonstration of royal or aristocratic magnificence and power.

This is seen in something as simple as a knight’s helmet. From the Roman period all the way to the twelfth century, a nasal helmet (covering the nose) was all the protection needed for the competitor’s face. However, the highest point score was achieved by hitting your opponent's head, so the helmet for a joust gradually developed to provide more protection. By the fourteenth century a jousting helmet would cover the face almost entirely - as you can see in the Westminster Tournament Roll below.

The lance used by the knights also developed from a spear with a single point to one with a coronel (multi-pronged) by the Tudor period. As the name suggests the crown-like shape would cause the lance to dig into the opponents shield instead of pierce through it.

Detail showing Henry VIII tilting in front of Katherine of Aragon in the Westminster Tournament Roll, 1515. — *Image: Detail of the Westminster Tournament Roll showing Henry VIII tilting in front of Katherine of Aragon. © College of Arms.*

Henry VIII's love of jousting

Henry revelled in the pomp of a tournament, as seen in the Westminster Tournament Roll above - a beautifully illustrated manuscript depicting the tournament held at Westminster Palace in 1511 for Henry VIII’s first son, Henry.

This was the same year Henry established a royal armoury at Greenwich where armourers from Brussels, Milan and the German states created the most up to date and stylish arms and armour for the Tudor knights. After all, by this point, a tournament was just as much a place to show off fashion and wealth as it was demonstrating military skill.

In the Tudor court the Joust Royal, or Joust of Peace, was the preferred form of combat. This was fought over a tilt with a hollow lance that would shatter dramatically when it met the opposition.

Henry VIII sustained a great injury in a Joust Royal against his close friend Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk, after failing to close the visor to his helmet. Onlookers cried out as they saw Brandon’s lance splintering into the King’s head. The resulting injuries may have even caused Henry cerebral damage¹.

Jousting at Hampton Court Palace

The Tiltyard at Hampton Court Palace was commissioned by Henry VIII. Much of the building work took place when Jane Seymour was pregnant with their son, Edward. It was modelled on the one at Greenwich Palace but unusually it was built around five pre-existing banqueting houses or 'herbers', one of which still stands today.

These ‘Tiltyard Towers’ were initially built as banqueting houses, one housing a kitchen. During tournaments they would almost certainly have functioned like VIP hospitality boxes, opulent spaces for the monarchs holding tournaments to entertain their highest-ranking guests and closest advisors.

There are no known records of the use of Hampton Court’s Tiltyard for a joust in the reign of Henry VIII. Despite it being ready to use not long after the birth of Edward in October 1537, there are limited accounts of celebrations. This is perhaps due to the death of Edward’s mother, Jane Seymour, less than two weeks after his birth. It is likely that a joust was held to honour the birth of the prince, or at least planned, and it is possible that entertainments were hosted in the Tiltyard when the Imperial Ambassador, Eustace Chapuys was invited to Hampton Court in February 1538 to meet the new heir to the throne.

The first time the Tiltyard at Hampton Court is known to have been used for a tournament was for Christmas celebrations in December 1557 during the reign of Mary I. Then in 1581, when Elizabeth I hosted the Dauphin of France along with the French ambassadors at a grand joust where pageantry took precedence over the sport itself.

Archaeology of Hampton Court’s Tiltyard

A lot of our understanding of the Tudor Tiltyard has been enriched by archaeological investigations in the gardens of Hampton Court Palace. Remains of two of the Tiltyard Towers were uncovered a decade ago, one of which revealed a portion of a beautiful sixteenth century Flemish glazed tiled floor and 16 decorative lead leaves, with traces of gold paint or gilding.

The lead leaves were almost certainly part of an elaborate motif or repeat ceiling decoration, similar to the highly decorative ceiling in the Wolsey Rooms, for example. Along with archival evidence, the archaeology tells us just how flamboyant the Tudor joust was both out on the tilt and within the banqueting towers.

Only one tower remains standing today, set into the boundary wall of the Tiltyard bordering the Wilderness garden. Though its overall plan is generally unchanged, it has undergone a lot of alterations over the centuries. In the 1920’s the tower was transformed into the Tiltyard cafe, which you can still visit today.

A two-storey tower with crenellations and red Tudor brickwork.The remaining 'Tiltyard Tower' at Hampton Court Palace. — *Image: The remaining 'Tiltyard Tower' at Hampton Court Palace. © Historic Royal Palaces.*

Gilded lead leaves which may represent oak leaves — Gilded lead leaves found in demolition deposits related to the north-west Titlyard Tower. The leaves have cut edges and central veins on the upper surface and may represent oak leaves. © Historic Royal Palaces.

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Full length suit of armour, elaborately decorated with Tudor roses and the French fleur-de-lis.

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Elizabethan joust

By the sixteenth century the joust had undergone many regulations to make it a safer sport but that did not mean it came without risks. In 1559, a year after Elizabeth I’s accession, Henri II of France was killed in a jousting accident which prompted a ban on the event in France.

Back in England, Sir Henry Lee of Ditchley, the Queen’s Champion, formally introduced the joust into the annual Accession Day celebrations - the most notable joust in the reign of Elizabeth I.

Skill at the tilt was less important at an Elizabethan joust. Pageantry was the main spectacle to entertain crowds. Held at Whitehall Palace, Elizabeth, her ladies in waiting, and anyone else who could afford to enter for 12 pence, would be delighted by nobles and their servants dressed in elaborate costumes. Outfits were intricate, stylised and often highly impractical!

George Clifford, third Earl of Cumberland succeeded Sir Henry Lee as the Queen's Champion. Amazingly, his full suit of armour still survives today. It is decorated with gold engravings of fleur-de-lis and Tudor roses from head to toe.

Image: Full armour of George Clifford, third Earl of Cumberland made in the royal workshops at Greenwich. The Met Museum (Public domain).

The legacy of the joust

Show jousting, or even real jousting, is still enjoyed today by many. Hampton Court Palace holds a jousting event every summer, which introduces people of all ages to this medieval sport. Most of us have watched a film or series that includes jousting. Perhaps ‘A Knight’s Tale’ (2001) where Heath Ledger reinvents himself as a knight at the tilt, or the recent and refreshingly accurate ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ (2026) - which shows its timelessness as a form of entertainment.

Harriet Baker
Palace Host and Volunteer

¹ Watts, Karen, ‘The Field of Cloth of Gold’ in The Medieval Tournament as Spectacle, pg. 214.

Volunteering at Historic Royal Palaces

Harriet has been a volunteer with the Curators of Archaeology and Historic Buildings at Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) since 2024. Here’s what she has to say about the experience:

'Volunteering at HRP has brought me so many different insights into the heritage world. From digging in the moat of the Tower of London to getting involved with schools and home educators sessions. HRP has been a great place for me to develop my research skills with the focus of making history and archaeology accessible to the public. This is why I find jousting such a great topic as it highlights the era people know as the ‘Dark Ages’ as one full of thrill and vibrancy. Through my work as a volunteer at HRP, as well as working in the Palace Host team at Hampton Court Palace, I am learning increasingly how interest in history comes from a variety of first impressions. It is wonderful to be part of charity that strives to give everyone the opportunity to explore the past'.

Find out more about volunteering

It is wonderful to be part of charity that strives to give everyone the opportunity to explore the past.

Watch The Rules of Jousting | Henry VIII's Favourite Sport Explained

In this video Curator Charles Farris talks to Mark Griffiths about the rules, armour, tactics, and dangers of this expensive and prestigious sport.

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