On every Sunday in Lent in the twelfth century, crowds of young Londoners rode out into the fields after dinner on trained war horses. They fought mock battles in opposing bands with shields and headless lances, joined by young squires from the court and the barons’ houses. Strutt took the account from Fitzstephen and saw in it a training in horsemanship; the first Sunday of Lent is used here.
Sham battles on the Sundays in Lent
Printed under 42 days before Easter · London
No longer kept
every Sunday in Lent, immediately after dinner, it was customary for great crowds of young Londoners mounted on war horses, well trained, to perform the necessary turnings and evolutions, to ride into the fields in distinct bands, armed with shields and headless lances
From Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, 2nd ed., p. 115. Read the original
Get a copy: Amazon · Bookshop.org · AbeBooks
We may earn a small commission if you buy through these links.
Questions and comments