Tournaments
Tournaments is a Military article. The tournament is a martial sport that demonstrates the strength and skill of a knight in battle. In its present form¸ it comprises the Melee¸ in which groups of mounted knights engage in battle on a field¸ and the Joust¸ which is a contest between two mounted knights¸ armed with lance and shield. Tournaments have been held for as long as feudalism has existed. Originally¸ they were simply mock battles between two groups of knights during peacetime. Such battles involved weapons of war and lacked any specific rules of conduct; hence¸ they were often difficult to distinguish from a real melee. With the growing influence of Laranianism and popularity of the concept of chivalry¸ tournaments became more refined. Rules were introduced and enforced by Marshals and Judges¸ and blunted lances and swords replaced weapons of war. Tournaments began to focus more on pageantry and individual skill and the Joust developed to overtake the Melee in popularity.