It is once again time for a monthly update.
Tournaments
The biggest new feature this time is the tournament. Somewhere between hunting and battle in terms of danger, fighting in these mock battles is a great way to develop martial skills.
Medieval tournaments loom large in the popular imagination. However a lot of what it is imagined is, well, imagined. Arbitology: Dei Gratia Rex is set in the 12th century. In this era, jousts were merely the appetizer to the melee, blunted tournament weapons (‘armes courtoises’) were still over a century away from coming into use, and the primary motivation for most knights was to defeat opponents so that they could take their horses, equipment, and/or ransom them! Oh, and three different popes banned the tournament, though, especially in France, these prohibitions were largely ignored. Research for ‘hard historical fiction’ occasionally turns up interesting details.
At the start of the 12th century, the active tourney circuit was primarily confined to France. Thus if our king wants to participate, some travel is necessary. A king traveling with a small retinue to fight in a tournament is of course a risky proposition, so subterfuge is possible. History provides a number of royal princes who did this after all. But there is always a risk of discovery.
At the conclusion of the festivities, there is usually a feast. Depending on what happened during the melee, this can go a number of directions.
While tournaments in England were not widespread until later centuries, there is also the option to host your own. If you'd rather not risk life and limb, this is a good way to build relationships within your realm. And perhaps beyond!
What's next
I'm pretty happy with the tournaments. There are over 60 distinct scenes, some of which are "fat" and should probably have been split into five. The hosted tournaments need a few finishing touches though. After that a few more smaller event chains on the theme of personal activities.
All that and hopefully more next time!