HISTORY – One of the earliest descriptions of the quintain
A passage from the twelfth century Chanson de Renaut de Montauban
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| Running on the quintain in a 13th Century manuscript of Arthurian Romances (Paris, BNF, Ms. Français 95, f. 273r) |
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| Two depictions of the course de tête. The left from Antoine de Pluvinel, L'instruction du Roy (1625). The right one from François-Robichon de la Guerinière, Ecole de la Cavalerie (1723) |
Notwithstanding its retention in the dressage
tradition the quintain surely goes back further than the early modern period
and it is without any doubt mostly associated with the jousting practices of
the medieval knight. It is featured in various forms in the marginal illuminations
of the ‘Romance d’Alexandre’ preserved in the Bodleian Library (14th century)[2],
where the quintain is depicted in its rotating version and in its static version
on a pole. In both versions, young squires appear to use the quintain to train the
joust, whether standing on the ground or whether sitting on a sort of rolling
horse mannequin. An interesting point is that the training on the ground is
also mentioned in the Bem cavalgar of king Duarte in the early fifteenth century
as an important step in learning to use the lance properly in the joust.[3]
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| Both forms of the quintain depicted next to each other in the fourteenth century Romance d'Alexandre (Oxford, Bodleian Library, Ms. Bodl. 264, f.82v). |
But these representations of the quintain are hardly the oldest ones. In the ‘Chanson de Renaud de Montauban’ also known as the story of the four sons of Aymon, the quintain is also mentioned.[4] This chanson, originating in its written form at the end of the twelfth century, but doubtlessly going back on an oral tradition rooted in Carolingian times, recounts the conflict between emperor Charlemagne and the four sons of Aymon assisted by their magical horse Bayard. A story that is strongly ingrained in Belgium folklore, both in the Ardennes, where a large part of the story takes place, as well as in certain parts of Flanders, for instance the city of Dendermonde, where the story is reenacted every seven year (and where the SAEquestris had the pleasure of participating).[5]
With respect to the quintain, the story narrates
the dubbing of the four brothers as new knights, who are then called by the
emperor to demonstrate their skill and prowess at a ‘jousting event’ at
Pentecost, where the quintain was erected.
Charles, li empereres, a François apelés
« baron, oe dist li rois, à moi en entendes.
Ales delivrement, la quintaine leves ;
Si i ferons joster nos novious adobés.
Verrons com i ferront des espiès noelés. »
(vv. 1844-1848)
An interesting detail is the email inlaid lances
that are being used here (‘espiès noelés’) as well as the fact that the riding
on the quintain is clearly also understood under the term ‘joust’ (‘joster’). Seperate
events, particularly individual jousts, were not uncommon to be held the
afternoon before actual tournaments were held. These events, often described as
the vespers or commençailles of the tournament, were the moments where squires, bachelors and
young knights could gain experience by jousting and other feats of arms and prepare for the actual tournament.[6] However, the mentioning of the quintain in particular in the twelfth century is
quite exceptional, though not unexistant. David Crouch lists two other accounts in his Tournaments, both of which originate from Flanders, nearby the Ardennes region where the Chanson de Renaut de Montauban also originated.[7] In the Chanson de Renaut de Montauban, a separate tournament or even jousts
other than riding on the quintain did not seem to be planned for this event.
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| Marginal illuminations in the Roman de la Rose depicting both squires on foot and a fully armed knight on horseback exercising the quintain (Paris, Bnf, Ms Français 25526, ff. 23, 79) |
The quintain was erected on a field next to the
river Seine outside of the city of Paris, where the king’s following, comprising
of the four sons, gathered to hold the event. Here, riding on the quintain is
yet again considered as a joust in the words of the emperor himself.
Charles prist par la main Renaut le fil Aimon.
« Vasaus, et car jostes ; nos vos en semonon ;
Feres en la quintaine si que nos le veom. »
Et cil a respondu : « A Deu beneïçon. »
(vv. 1861-1864)
Another interesting element is that Renaut’s
participation to this jousting event is clearly considered a vassal’s duty. A
vivid reminder how tournaments were not merely ‘training exercises’, but
central within the socio-political dynamics of what I like to call the ‘noble
network’ during the High Middle Ages.
In the next passage, the games begin and no one appears
to be able to launch a strike onto the quintain:
Asses i ont feru et Norment et Breton ;
Mais ne l’ont empirie la monte d’un boton
(vv. 1865-1866)
But, as one can expect from such stories, when
Renaut seated on his horse Bayard, our protagonist, arrives on the scene, he does
not only succeed in striking the quintain, but to pierce the shield and strike
the pole on which the quintain hangs backwards out of the ground.
Atant s’est eslaisiés Renaus li fiuz Aimon,
Et a brocié Baiart qui li cort de randon,
Et a brandi l’espié qui fu agus enson,
Et fiert en la quintaine par tel devision
Que l’escu a percié et l’estache deront ;
De la terre esracha, tot voiant maint baron,
Tot abat en i mont Renaus, cil de Dordon.
(vv. 1867-1873)
The quintain therefore was
most likely of the type of a shield mounted on a pole, rather than the rotating
version often used by modern day jousters or the mannequin version as seen in
Pluvinel’s depiction.
The purpose of such an
exercise is equally clear. It is to train young knights to learn to maximize
their impact, hitting or even piercing the shield, while being able to withstand
an buffer the impact from the blow himself. For that reason, the text rather
clearly stipulates that he rides in full galop as it says ‘li cort de randon’,
a term often used in later sources describing tournaments and jousts as well.
In light of modern jousting
and hema practices, it is therefore important to stress that historically the
element of impact, that is sustained force and transfer of momentum, where
essential elements that are often ignored today as balsa lances or nylon swords
do not offer these same force plays. Moreover, this is not only relevant as to
the force that is transferred onto the opponent, but also as to the impact the
rider and his horse needs to buffer for as a consequence of the recoil of the
impact, that is as a consequence of the third law of Newton.
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| Practice on the quintain at SAEquestris |
That such feats of arms left
a considerable impact upon the beholders, including the emperor, is clear from the
epilogue of the event. Charlemagne, deeply impressed by his prowess, would elevate
Renaut to the position of seneschal over all his lands.
Quant le vit Charlemaignes,
molt par lui sembla
«
Renaus, dist l’empereres, molt esteres preudon.
Onques mieudres de vos ne
chauça d’esperon.
Senechal vos ferai de ma
grant region. »
(vv. 1874-1877)
Although
a narrative exaggeration, it does yet again reflect the importance that such
events held politically. This was not mere fiction either as such an
advancement through tourneying is well attested for several knights, not in the
least William the Marshall, who lived contemporaneously with this event and who
was known to have jousted in Northern France and Flanders as well.
This
little fragment of text does not only inform us of the role that courses such
as running on the quintain had for preparing and training young knights. It
also demonstrates the vast significant such ‘games’ had within the larger social
and political space of the nobility. Martial arts were therefore not merely a
skill for war but a skill for the noble’s life in general.
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| Our School's quintain made by our personal master craftsman Yves |
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