There are three jousting tournaments each day. Four knights participate in varous games of combat at each of the first two tournaments, and the winners then advance to the final contest of the day. You've got to get there early to get a good seat for the jousts. Knowing this from last year, we bought some lunch from the nearby pub and took our turkey leg and other goodies to the bleachers to gnaw on while waiting for the festivities to begin.
| Can't have a sporting event without cheerleaders. This young lady perched on the rail in front of us to urge the crowd to "hurrah!" for her favorites and to "boo" for the others. |
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She also provided an explanation of what we were going to see and how we, as a 16th century crowd, were expected to act. |
| Once Queen Elizabeth had arrived to open the tournament... |
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...the knights and their squires saluted the Queen and went to the four coners of the arena... |
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...to prepare for combat. |