ARN - Tournament Styles

[Zimmermann, Lenny]

Etienne wrote:

> Well, with Lyonesse around the corner, I find myself once 
> again wishing we
> could do something similar for the rapier community.  Of 
> course, the whole
> notion of a period rapier tournament is on, at best, thin 
> ice, but still,
> I'd love to find a way to convey the spirit of the age of 
> rapier, the way
> Lyonesse embodies the medieval tournament for so many Ansteorrans.
> 
> In the past, I've seen some attempts to do this sort of thing 
> (I've even
> designed and run a few of them), but each one left me 
> wanting, for various
> and sundry reasons.
> 
> Opinions?  Thoughts?

I've been heavily considering this same thing, particularly in lieu of what
to set up for the upcoming Southern Regional Festival. To some extent what
we did in Bjornsborg for our last October event had some merit and many
seemed to enjoy it. (Of course to me a rapier is just another sword, so
medieval tournament IS what we should do with them.) However for the SRF I
was thinking we may need some kind of melee component (certainly a common
component of the tournament.) I was thinking of maybe putting together a few
of the scenarios from October and then moving from that into some form of
melee.

Any thoughts out there on which scenarios you enjoyed the most from
Bjornsborg's Fall Court? What about some thoughts on historical forms of
melees? 

For those of you who where not at the Fall Court it was set-up as a
challenge tourney with 4 fields, or scenarios, available to fight on. There
was a ring which was probably a bit too small wherein individuals fought by
standard rules. There was a barrier fought to three good blows ANYWHERE on
the body above the waist. There was a lane to fight on the pass to the most
number of blows landed anywhere on the body in three passes. And finally
there was an open field available for fighting by the rules of Italian
Fencing where you fought to 5 points, each part of the body being worth
different amounts (hand=0, arm or leg=1, body=2, head=3). All of it pretty
much documentable as different styles of tournament combat or sport fencing
in period (except for the ring, which I don't have any documentation on.
Anyone?)

Anyone have a favorite style they'd like to see that is, preferably,
documentable as an historical form of tournament or sport combat? And if
some other style leaves you wanting, what is it that leaves you wanting?
Maybe someone else can think of a way to fix it. Won't hurt to try.

Honos Servio,
Lionardo Acquistapace, Bjornsborg
(Lenny Zimmermann, San Antonio)
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