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Fortune_Silver t1_iugq6vb wrote

Reply to comment by Shadowcat514 in ELI5 How did knights participate in tournaments like jousting without killing themselves? by QuantumHamster

This, people did die, but they also wore full plate, and used blunted wooden lances designed to (hopefully) shatter instead of pierce, and there were rules about where you had to aim, usually the breastplate etc so that your hitting the strongest part of the armor. You were trying to knock the guy off his horse, not kill him.

That said, you still have two men on horses charging at each other with large wooden sticks that you were aiming the best you could amidst all the horses movement jostling you around. Accidents happened. Sometimes people died. But at the time, the fame and prestige you stood to earn was seen as worth that risk, especially if you were only minor nobility or a commonor, if you could make a name for yourself it could transform your life.

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Bigbadsheeple t1_iuh7uau wrote

Also jousting had its own armor piece, a big wide shoulder sheild that the other knight was supposed to hit. If they missed and hit the body or worse, the horse, they'd be basically shamed and laughed out if the tourney entirely.

If you hit the sheild not only were you precise, but you were far less likely to seriously injure or kill your opponent.

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Mike2220 t1_iugqcfy wrote

>Accidents happened

"Accidents" as well

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TonyR600 t1_iuh2xsl wrote

That were my thoughts. What stops me from putting my wooden stick to his head, killing him and claiming it was an accident

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ShalmaneserIII t1_iuhounz wrote

> What stops me from putting my wooden stick to his head, killing him and claiming it was an accident

His equally well-armed and armored friends, probably.

These were a bit of a rowdy bunch. Think biker gangs getting riled up and you can imagine how your "oops" is going to get you killed anyhow.

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Elcondivido t1_iuhdhuf wrote

I'm sure that something like that could have happened, but is pretty hard to hide the fact that you are pointing your very lon sticks way too high in front of an hundred of people.

Jousting stick are long, you can't really change the direction at the last moment to be sneaky.

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mecha_face t1_iuh9up9 wrote

Depending on if you were a commoner or a noble? For a commoner, the fact that killing a noble for any reason was a death sentence. For a noble? Oh no, you damaged someone else's property, pay a fine.

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vorpal8 t1_iuhhldq wrote

Commoners didn't get to participate in the first place.

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Djackdau t1_iuhdwzq wrote

You didn't even need to unhorse the other guy (which would also be quite dangerous). Most of the time it was enough simply to properly break your lance upon their armor.

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UncontrolableUrge t1_iuhueuw wrote

Modern jousting has a point system.

  • 1 point if you touch the shoulder piece of your opponent.
  • 3 points if you hit their shoulder piece with enough force to break your lance.
  • 5 points if you strike them with enough force to unhorse them.

This year at the Ohio Renaissance festival I did not see a single participant unhorsed, but these are friends. But there are no points if you hit them anywhere other than the shoulder piece designed to take a blow, even if you break a lance or unhorse them.

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Quizzy_MacQface t1_iugvuqo wrote

Also, consider your chances of dying due to some plague or real military encounter or just "old age" starting at 40 instead of 70... It's not like jousting is gonna increase your chances to die that much (🤣)...

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rpsls t1_iuhaj10 wrote

Common misconception. The life expectancy was so low because lack of vaccines and antibiotics meant most people didn’t survive childhood. Once you were 30 you had a pretty good shot of hitting 60 even before modern medicine.

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Quizzy_MacQface t1_iuhd2e0 wrote

Good point, but what I meant by "old age starting at 40" was more about an increased risk of cerebrovascular accidents, heart attacks, arthritis, gout, loosing your teeth... All those aches that nowadays start at 70.

Also I meant for it to be a funny silly comment, I don't really believe anyone is more willing to risk their life just because their average life expectancy is lower. My bad for not saying "/s" at the end of my comment I guess...

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Ender_Keys t1_iuhj5hl wrote

I mean alot of that stuff cardiovascular wise and losing your teeth didn't really become an issue until the 1500s. Gout was an issue for Nobles though

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