ANST - Tournament of the Worthies

[Lenny Zimmermann]

Adela wrote:
>I've gotten a chance to look over the Southern Region mailing list archives
>to see the background discussion about the ideas for reviving Worthies.
>
>I do not like the ideas that have been proposed for using the 'worthies'
>titles.

[snip]


>What has been proposed [3 'worthies' for each tournament portion of the
>overall event (ie. 3 chiv. worthies, 3 rapier worthies, 3 A&S worthies,
>etc.) & a breakdown of the selection of the worthies being done as follows:
>1 champion (ie. winner of the tournament), 1 by panel selection, 1 by
>populace selection], doesn't follow the period pattern.


If I remember correctly, Baron Kazimir presented that he would be interested
in seeing a tournament format in the style of the 9 worthies tournament, but
not necessarily an actual "9 Worthies" event. I believe the intent would be
to allow SR champions to be chosen not strictly from the standard tournament
winner format, but to allow the added character of selecting individuals for
their grace and virtue, if you will, upon the field of contest, in whatever
form that might be.

>Worthies was an event focused upon Chivalric combat (this style of
>tournament is not period for rapier combat).  It was a high-persona event
>with incredible pageantry.


[please note this is not meant in any way as some kind of rant against
Adela, it was just a point brought up in her post that made a great jumping
off point for me to jump onto a soapbox. :-)]

A case could be made that NO tournament style is period for Rapier, or
effectively Unarmored, Combat, that I have been able to find. (Except for
the Renaissance sport of fencing, which I am still researching with only the
most minimal of clues.) It should, however, be noted that the period books
most often referred to for the style used for "rapier" tend to only refer to
a sword, not necessarily a sword that is a rapier, and as such those swords
could easily be used in any tournament. The real difference, from what I can
tell, is that what we call Rapier Combat is presumed to be fought without
armor, while Heavy Combat is fought with armor. A case could also be made
that even our Armored Combat style has no good period referant for later
period tournaments because the individual calls the blow, not a judge. (I
tend to prefer "armored" over "heavy" and more than "Chivalric", only
becasue that might be construed to say that Rapier combatants might,
somehow, not be capable of Chivalry) By extension Armored Combat may not be
so great for earlier period tournaments either because, again, the combatant
calls a blow instead of yielding the fight due to exhaustion or,
effectively, being beaten into submission.

I'd say that wether we fight Rapier or Armored Combat we are still fitting
our modern rules into a period mold and either form should lend itself just
as easily into a period style of tournament. You just don't see it being
done as often for Rapier Combat since there is something of a vein amongst
Rapier combatants to recreate some kind of Duel for Honor or Duel for Glory.
But there is no reason why a Rapier list could not be run just like an
Armored Combat version of a period tournament.

>If you want to bring back Worthies as it was ---- a tournament based upon
>how tournaments really were ran in period --- then I'm all for it.


I'd be all for it, too. I love it when we do more recreation of period
forms, no matter what the venue.


>If your wanting to simply use the titles.... I can't support it.


I don't think the intent was to use the titles, as much as to incorporate
some of the ideas and ideals expressed by the Tournament of the Nine
Worthies. I was under the impression that the name would be something more
relevant to a Southern Regional Championship event, but all of that is still
under discussion. Let me say, however, that I also would vote for something
more Southern Regionally oriented for a name as a method of ensuring a
relief of confusion with what seems to have been such a wonderful tournament
in the Tournament of the Nine Worthies.

Honos Servio,
Lionardo Acquistapace, Bjornsborg
(Lenny Zimmermann, San Antonio)
zarlor at acm.org



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