Page "Tournament (medieval)" Paragraph 67

* What Was At Stake in Formal Deeds of Arms of the 14th Century?

" Thus the formal deed of arms had an individual aspect and a collective one, and in both aspects something very real was at stake.

The individual was there to be tested.

Every man entered the contest intending not just to look good, but to survive, and to come away from the field worthy of greater respect.

Some inevitably gained more than others.

For the group, the formal deed was not so much a test but an act of definition.

It was, at least in the eyes of its participants, proof that they were all armed gentlemen and that armed gentlemen deserved the lofty place in society that they in fact enjoyed.

The group itself was reaffirmed in a way that was essential to its self-image.