Foundation HEI Creates Historically Accurate Journeyen for the Ground Crew of their Jousting Tournaments

Foundation HEI(or Stichting HEI in their native Dutch) was founded in 2000 by a group of people with a love for history. They work together to create historically accurate jousting tournaments and other historical displays in an attempt to share their love of history with the public.

"By means of shows and demonstrations, we want to make our spectators feel and see for themselves how life may have been in times past." – Stichting HEI Facebook

An important part of their tournaments and displays is the clothing worn by the participants, not just the jousters and heralds who are predominantly featured during tournaments, but also the so very important, but often overlooked, ground crew. For the 2014 jousting season, Foundation HEI fulfilled one of their long term goals of creating historically accurate custom journeyen for the members of their ground crew. The historic description of journeyen is "tunica sine manicis", meaning tunics without sleeves.
(Right: detail from Set of Fifty Two Playing Cards, c1470-1480, South Netherlandish, Metropolitan Museum of Art)

The journeyen made their debut at Stichting HEI's annual White Bear Tournament at Nyborg Slot. The tournament is named after the White Bear fraternity, which was the company of Bruges patricians that organised a joust in the great market square of Bruges every year around May during the late fourteenth to late fifteenth century. The jousting troupe at HEI is designed to emulate the knights from Bruges, using the members of the White Bear's heraldry for their own jousting troupe's heraldry and the crowned letter B(which is the medieval logo of Bruges) as the logo on their journeyen.

The jousters, heralds and ground crew(in their journeyen) at the Nyborg 2014 White Bear Tournament(photo by Hanno van Harten)

When asked about the journeyen, Bertus Brokamp, Voorzitter(which is Dutch for Chairman) of Stichting HEI, gave the following statement:

"At HEI, we want to portray history as accurately as possible. This means the clothing must look good and fit the station or work environment. So when we discovered, more then ten years ago already, that our groundcrew needed to wear sleeveless 'livery coats', as we called them back then, we aimed to give them these. When I became chairman, I took this task upon myself. So after the projects of implementing the White Bear theme, getting new banners and getting the heralds' coats of arms were completed, the journeyen (as we found out was their proper Middle Dutch name) had to be made.

Of course, not only the type of fabrics were important for the look (Bruges was THE most wealthy trading hub in Western Europe), but also the fit of the clothing was important. Each journeye[the singular form of journeyen] must fit each individual wearer and give him the typical mid fifteenth century silhouette of broad shoulders and a defined waist. This meant making a tailored pattern for each groundcrew member. A lot of work, but in the end we do believe it shows. It makes the team visually come together. A team that we highly value for their hard work. Providing them with high quality clothing therefore is one of our ways of saying thank you!" – Bertus Brokamp, Chairman Foundation HEI

Bertus Brokamp at the White Bear Tournament in Nyborg 2013(photo by Isis Sturtewagen)

The decision to have the journeyen made was based on historical statements describing the clothing worn for tournaments. The following three quotations(with English translations) are examples:

The first is from a description of the tournament that Maximilian (not yet Holy Roman emperor since his father was still alive, but already count of Flanders since he had married Mary of Burdundy) held in 1482 in Bruges. The source is Het boeck van al 't gene datter geschiedt is binnen Brugghe (The book of all that has happened in Bruges) which describes things that happened in Bruges between the years 1477-1491.

"ende alle die doe daer waren ... hadden alle an journeyen, naer der steickbane manieren, al van den zelven lakene"
translation: "and all who were there, ... all were wearing journeyen, after the tiltyard manner, all of the same cloth"

The second is a quote from the household accounts of Charles the Bold, taken from the pages where the expenses are listed for his wedding in 1468 in Bruges. This was celebrated with the most famous Tournament of the Golden Tree, or l'Arbre d'Or in French, organised by his half brother, Anthony the Great Bastard of Burgundy.

"pour douze journades faites ... pour luy en servir aux joustes de ses nopces, sur lesquelz il a miz et assiz 23 marcs et demi d'argent et fait sur chascune de broudure le fuzil et la devise de monseigneur avec les flammes profillees d'or,"
translation: "for twelve journeyen, made ... for those who were to serve at the jousts of his wedding, for which were given 23,5 marcs of silver and made with on each embroidery the sigil and motto of my lord with the flames in profile of gold"

The third quote is about the battle of Brustem in 1467, of Charles the Bold against Liege, where also 200 soldiers of Bruges were present. It's source was Cronijcke van den lande ende graefscepe van Vlaenderen (Chronicle of the Land and County of Flanders)

"mids der hulpe ... van joncheer Pieter Metteneye, ... die beleedere van de IIc Brugghelinghen, die welcke insghelijcx ooc alleghadere nieuwe journeyen an hadden ..., met eender ghecroonder B voren ende achtere"
translation: "with the help ... of squire Pieter Metteneye, ... the leader of the two hundred Brugians, who all were wearing new journeyen ..., with a crowned B on the front and back"

The actual creation of the Foundation's journeyen was the work of several different people:

Research and overall coordination of the project: Bertus Brokamp (Coronael)
Overall design: Bertus Brokamp (Coronael) & Isis Sturtewagen (Medieval Silkwork)
Fitting of patterns to each individual groundcrew member: Isis Sturtewagen (Medieval Silkwork) & Bertus Brokamp (Coronael)
Making of the Embroidered Badges: Badge of Honour from India
Sewing of the Journeyen: Gabriela Glinianowicz (Amictus)

Isis Sturtewagen, who helped design and pattern the journeyen, wrote an informative article about their creation on her blog, Medieval Silkwork:

Journeyen for Foundation HEI

About a year ago I fitted the patterns for twenty two journeyen, 'tunica sine manicis' or sleeveless tunics in one afternoon. I have never had so many men in my hands in such a short time slot ever before, I can tell you. These journeyen were for the ground crew of Foundation Historic Educational Initiative (short: HEI) for their jousting display.

The Ceasar Tapestries (detail), c. 1460, Historisches Museum Bern

Thanks to Bertus Brokamp's research (the chairman of the foundation and accidentally also my boyfriend) I didn't have to do much else but pick my favourite example and recreate that. Bertus included a wide array of sources in his report, from written accounts to paintings, playing cards, and tapestries. I really liked the button closure on the playing card journeyes and the pleated skirt of the journeye on the tapestry above.
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To read the rest of the article, which includes several more pictures, click here.

Related articles:
Stichting HEI Posts about the White Bear Tournament in Nyborg Slott

Wouter Nicolai Describes His Experiences Doing a 'Joust at Large'

Teaser Video Shows Off the Jousters of Foundation HEI

Vera Bos Talks about Her Upcoming Documentary "The White Bear"

Stichting HEI Posts about the White Bear Tournament in Nyborg Slott

For the past three years, the historical education group Stichting HEI has produced a high quality non-choreographed jousting demonstration at Nyborg Slot in Denmark. Here is what they had to say about this year's tournament:

White Bear Tournament at Nyborg: Sublime for the third time

In the weekend of 5 and 6 July the town square of Nyborg saw the hosting of the White Bear Tournament by Foundation HEI for the third time in a row. Like the previous year there were six knights participating, judged by the Herald Bear. Also like previous year lances and clubs made from one solid piece of wood with steel coronels and grips were used. It was sublime!

Please take a look in the photo galleries below to see what feats of arms occurred on the tournament square of Nyborg. Many a lance and club were broken and in the melee somebody even got wrestled off his horse. Instead of the hunting demonstration of last year we paraded through town this edition. In the fifteenth century many tournaments were preceded by a flashy column through the city, like the Vesperye as it was called in Bruges, the home city of our tournament company of the White Bear.

To see the photo albums, click here.

Bertus Brokamp in The Joust at the White Bear Tournament(photo from Stichting HEI)

Related articles:
Historical Jousting Tournament at Nyborg Slot in Denmark

Vera Bos Talks about Her Upcoming Documentary "The White Bear"

Wouter Nicolai Describes His Experiences Doing a 'Joust at Large'

On June 8, 2014, at the Archeon History Museum in the Netherlands, jousters Wouter Nicolai and Bertus Brokamp of Stichting HEI did a demonstration of a 'joust at large' -- a joust without a tilt. Jousting without a tilt is dangerous, even for experienced jousters(though much practice reduces the danger). Wouter Nicolai has been chosen as Most Chivalrous in several of the tournaments he has competed in, including the recent St Hallvard's Tournament 2014 and the Tournament of the Phoenix 2013. I asked Wouter to write something about his experiences doing the joust at large, and he kindly sent me the following text. Photographers Hans Splinter and Ronin Photography were kind enough to allow me to use their photographs to illustrate the text.

Written by Wouter Nicolai:

The joust at large is one of the tournament forms we have been talking about for a long time, but one that we had never actually tried. The joust at large (or “at random”) is a jousting form done without a tilt, usually followed directly by a melee with the sword. It was done in field armour, using sharp lances and, in most cases, shields.

A joust without a tilt between Sir John Holland and Regnault de Roye, from Jean de Wavrin, Les Choniques d' Angleterre (image provided by Wouter Nicolai)

To me the joust at large is fascinating, because of its simple and straightforward approach. Despite the dangers of the joust itself, this could be done on almost every field with little preparation (of the list). It also seems a very feasible way of organising a small joust by a local squire or knight in the 15th century. We have chosen to present this joust as a pas d'armes because the concept of a challenger and a defendant resonates with the audience, and it is a good format to convey a very real historical context for jousting, needing no more than a small crew and two riders.

Bertus and I have been doing historic jousting demonstrations for years, mainly in the open air museum Archeon in the Netherlands, in these demonstrations we show skill at arms with sword and lance, jousting and melee. Our experience in working together has given us a good starting point for developing this new demonstration of a joust without tilt.

Wouter Nicolai(left) jousts Bertus Brokamp(right) at Archeon 2014(photo by Hans Splinter)

Our demonstration has three parts: First, we start with the challenge to introduce the concept of a pas d' armes to the audience and explain how and why such tournaments were done. The challenge starts with the defendant declaring the pas, and the challenger declaring the challenge. Second, we do the skill at arms with runs on the quintain, as the lance is a knight's primary weapon. In our try-out show, this was a simple shield on a stick, so we could easily remove it before the joust.

Wouter Nicolai strikes the quintain(photo by Hans Splinter)

The next part is with the sword, where the rider encircles cabbages or watermelons and shows different sword techniques. Third, we do the joust itself in two rounds. Both rounds starting with the lance and moving on with a melee weapon (sword or club). We keep fighting until one rider surrenders.

Bertus Brokamp slices a watermelon with his sword(photo by Ronin Photography)

How we do the joust:
Although most if not all readers will understand how dangerous jousting without a tilt can be, I do want to emphasise:  Don't go and casually try a joust at large, it is very dangerous! We have spent a lot of time and effort on proper training before we considered ourselves ready for this challenge.

In a way the runs of joust at large are no different from a charge in the melee, but there are some other factors that play a role in doing a successful pass. The angle in which you approach the opponent is more critical with the lance, especially when using an arret. In general there is less room to manoeuvre due to the length and off-balance of the lance.

In the runs, I try to keep the horse in a slow canter and only speed up when I am certain I am in range and not in risk of getting too close. Adjustment of the distance to the opponent happens by sideways incline, not by changing the direction of the run.

For the first joust, we positioned two cabbage-cutting posts in the track of the run to use as a guide. This did not work because a run without tilt is done differently than on a tilt. Without a tilt, we are constantly adjusting our position sideways, which clearly does not align to a straight track. Once we moved the posts we got much closer, but only close enough to score a few attaints.

Wouter Nicolai(left) and Bertus Brokamp(right) joust without a tilt at Archeon 2014 
(photo by Hans Splinter)

The equipment:
The lances we use for the joust at large are a bit lighter than the lances we normally use. We use poplar inserts, which behave a bit more like real lances than balsa inserts. They are harder to break, and more important (for the audience) is that they make more noise when they hit. The downside of the poplar insert is that if you cannot get close enough you cannot break. We decided that the more realistic sound of an impact was more important than easy breaking.

The first round of melee is done with blunt swords. The sword melee is fought in a more technical way than the club melee, because fighting with swords on horseback is more dangerous and very destructive to armours. The swords are similar to what re-enactors use, although I use a sword which was specifically designed to use in the mounted melee. It has a thicker and more rounded cutting edge (5mm) and is shaped like the swords drawn in Rene d' Anjou's tournament book.

Wouter Nicolai(red)and Bertus Brokamp(blue) fight with swords on horseback
(photo by Hans Splinter)

The clubs are made from a hard rubber, although we will probably use wooden clubs for future demonstrations. They allow us to fight in a more violent way, with less risk of injuring our opponent.

The joust and melee are done in field armours and helmet. We do not have time to change helmets or visors between the joust and melee. The visors of the sallets are locked down with a bolt, to make sure they will not open on the impact of a weapon.

Bertus Brokamp(left) and Wouter Nicolai(right) fight with clubs during a mounted melee
(photo by Hans Splinter)

The shield for this kind of tournament, should be a single curved one, rather than the saddle curve shields we use for the shaped solid lances (i.e. joust of peace). The shield is intended to catch the lance rather than to deflect it. In the photos I am using the saddle curve shield, this was because my war shield was not yet ready to use. It is not an appropriate shield for this style of jousting.

Bertus Brokamp(left) and Wouter Nicolai(right) continue to wear their shields during the melee. Bertus' shield (blue and white) has a single concave curve around a horizontal axis, the correct style of shield for the joust at large. Wouter's shield (gold, black & white) is a saddle curve shield, it curves concavely around a horizontal axis and also curves convexly away from a vertical axis which goes down the center of the shield(like the prow of a ship). This type of shield is not ideal for the joust at large (photo by Hans Splinter)

A last bit of equipment we use to add more safety and historical accuracy is the arret d'cuiras(lance rest). A properly used arret has some advantages. First of all it forces a rider to use a proper historic technique in handling his lance, which is a vertical drop and a precise method of couching it. This keeps the lance tip in the air and out of the way. It also stabilizes the lance during the run, which helps the rider to focus more of his attention to riding his horse.

You can see the arret(lance rest) on the right side(his right) of Bertus Brokamp's armour
(photo by Ronin Photography)

Our joust at large demonstration will once again be done at the Gebroeders van Limburg Festival in Nijmegen (the Netherlands), August 30-31, 2014, and next year in the open air museum Archeon (the Netherlands), May 24-25, 2015.

Wouter Nicolai on his Andalusian stallion Flamenco(photo by Hans Splinter)

Related articles:
Joust for Fun: A Knight and his Axe

The Jousters of St Hallvard's Tournament

Jarek Struczynski Wins the "Tournament of the Phoenix 2013"

The Jousters of St Hallvard's Tournament

St Hallvard's Tournament will be taking place this weekend, May 23 - 25, on the grounds of the historic Akershus Fortress in Oslo, Norway. It was organized by Petter Ellingsen of the jousting troupe Ridderhest and will be a featured part of the Oslo Middelalder Festival. The participants will compete in both the mounted melee and the joust. The jousting will be done with tapered solid lances with steel coronels, like those used in the Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel. This means that the skill and armour requirements for the jousters are higher than at many other tournaments.

There will be ten jousters from three different countries competing for the championship of the tournament.

Alix van Zijl of the Netherlands

Alix van Zijl on Torero(photo by Katla Menada)

Alix van Zijl is a veterinarian who runs a practice employing four other vets. She's been riding horses since childhood and has competed in dressage. In 2003, she began training in historical riding with Joram van Essen and Arne Koets. In 2009, she ordered a custom made museum quality Milanese Armour, and in 2010, she competed in her first public joust. She is currently a board member of the historical riding group Stichting HEI. She fought in the mounted melee at the Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel in 2012, and became the first woman in Europe to compete in a joust using tapered solid lances with steel coronels during the White Bear Tournament in Nyborg, Denmark in 2013. Alix rides her own Andalusian stallion, Torero. She bought him in Spain when he was four years old and has trained him herself according to the baroque principles taught at the Hofreitschule in Buckeburg, Germany.

Andrew McKinnon of Australia

Andrew McKinnon(photo from Arundel International Tournament)

Andrew McKinnon had never ridden a horse before turning 40. Yet when he discovered that real jousting still exists, he began training with Rod Walker and less than three years later competed in his first joust. Since then Andrew has competed successfully in jousts in Australia, New Zealand and France. He first competed with tapered solid lances at the Blacktown Medieval Faire in Sydney, Australia. Andrew is currently organizing the Tournament of St Ives which will take place in northern Sydney in 2014, and will feature jousting with tapered solid lances. Andrew's armour is an Italian spring steel harness circa 1460-1470 made by fellow Australian jouster Luke Binks. When not jousting, Andrew works on developing his dressage skills and playing the blues. He also owns a communications company with his wife Andrea, and has three strapping sons.

Arne Koets of the Netherlands

Arne Koets on Maximillian(photo by IsisSturtewagen/Stichting HEI)

Though of Norwegian descent, Arne Koets currently lives in Germany. He has been interested in military history for as long as he can remember and is one of the founding members of Stichting HEI. He began riding in 2001 and participated in his first joust in 2002. He has since participated in over 750 jousts in fifteen countries on three separate continents. In 2010, he won the Ironfest Joust, the first international jousting tournament to use solid tapered lances with steel coronels in modern times. In 2012, he organized and competed in the Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel. When not jousting, he studies and teaches the historical dressage necessary for mounted combat.

Bertus Brokamp of the Netherlands

Bertus Brokamp(photo by Isis Sturtewagen/Stichting HEI)

Bertus first became involved in medieval martial arts in 2001. He later joined forces with Stichting HEI and began learning how to ride in 2004. He started out working as ground crew for the mounted members of the group, then in 2007, he participated in his first joust and also became a member of the board. That same year he received his Master of Science degree by writing a thesis on landweren, the late medieval defense lines in the Netherlands and Holy Roman Empire. In 2011, Bertus became the proud owner of the Andalusian stallion, Talento. After some intensive training, Talento was ridden by Wouter Nicolai in the Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel in 2012. Since then, Talento has continued to carry jousters into the tilt and has been trained in classical dressage. Bertus broke his first tapered solid lance in 2013, during the White Bear Tournament in Nyborg, Denmark.

Ivar Mauritz-Hansen of Norway

Ivar Mauritz-Hansen(photo by Renate Skeie)

Ivar has participated in many demonstrations and competitions in Norway and northern Europe, both on foot and on horseback. He started out training in Olympic style fencing when he was nine years old. Through the years since, he has learned to fight with the epee, longsword and pole axe on the ground, and now competes with a lance on horseback. He began riding in 2006 and broke his first lance in 2008.

Joram van Essen of the Netherlands

Joram van Essen at the Times & Epochs joust in Russia(photo by Andrew Boykov)

Joram van Essen was born in New Zealand, but moved to the Netherlands in 1999 to pursue his passion for historical european martial and equestrian arts. He was a founding member of Stichting HEI which was started in 2000 to promote historical education and authentic historical re-creation in the Netherlands. He has competed in numerous jousts around the world, including the prestigious international jousts at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, England, at the Times & Epochs international joust in Moscow, Russia and at Nyborg Slott in Denmark. In 2012, he was tournament champion of the Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel, considered one of the most historically accurate jousts of modern times. Joram’s philosophy is that jousting is an Art, which requires training, dedication and team work between horse and rider.

Luke Binks of Australia

Luke Binks at Blacktown Medieval Faire(photo by Garry Davenport)

Luke Binks has had a lifelong passion for knights and the chivalric culture of the middle ages. Not satisfied with what he could learn from books, in 2002, Luke began making armour, learning to fight and to ride horses. The following year, Luke competed in his first international joust. Since that time, Luke has competed in jousts in aproximately a dozen countries around the world, including tournaments in Australia, Europe and North America. He has also spent time living and working on all three of the above mentioned continents, in search of like minded people, the ultimate pass with a lance and the skilled clash of a sword.

Per Estein Prøis-Røhjell of Norway

Per Estein Prøis-Røhjell at Tonsberg Medieval Festival 2013(photo by Espen WinPics)

Per Estein Prøis-Røhjell, aka Pelle, owns and runs Trollspeilet with his wife Hanne. Trollspeilet is a company which offers riding instruction all over Norway and further abroad. Hanne also writes a blog about their work. Pelle and Hanne have two children. Pelle has participated in jousting tournaments in Denmark, Sweden, Germany and France as well as in his home country of Norway. In 2012, he was tournament champion at the Tournament of St Olav in Trondheim, Norway. Pelle recently retired his best tournament horse, Hugo, and many people are curiously waiting to see how well he will do with a new and inexperienced horse in 2014.

Petter Ellingsen of Norway

Petter Ellingsen at the Times & Epochs joust in Russia(photo by Andrew Boykov)

Petter Ellingsen began riding in 1998 with the sole purpose of learning to joust. He has striven to accurately recreate the way medieval knights rode. Eleven years ago, Petter began jousting internationally and has since jousted in thirteen different countries around the world. He has participated in more than 400 shows, tournaments and events. In 2012, he competed in the acclaimed Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel in Germany. in 2013, he jousted in front of over 200,000 people at the Times & Epochs jousting tournament in Moscow, Russia. Petter runs his own company, Ridderhest, which trains and supplies horses for video productions and live events. Recently, his horses were featured in a reality tv series called "The Last Viking". He also happens to be the organizer of this tournament.

Wouter Nicolai of the Netherlands

Wouter Nicolai at Arundel 2013(photo by Richard Pearn)

As a member of Stichting HEI, the premier Dutch display team for medieval mounted soldiery, Wouter is one of the Netherlands’ top historical jousters and is a highly active international competitor. In 2013, he competed in the White Bear tournament at Nyborg Slott in Denmark, in the Arundel International Tournament in England, and the Tournament of the Phoenix in the USA(at which he was named Most Chivalrous). His occupation as a professional jouster at the well-known Archeon Museum Park enables him to constantly hone his skills with horse, lance and sword. Wouter is also active in researching and reconstructing historical horse equipment, such as medieval and roman saddles.

Related articles:
Promotional Video for St. Hallvard's Jousting Tournament

There are numerous articles about The Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel, several of which feature interviews with jousters who will be competing in St Hallvard's Tournament

Mounted Skill at Arms & the First Round of Jousting at "Times & Epochs 2013"

The Mounted Melees at the "Times & Epochs 2013" Jousting Tournament

Historical Jousting Tournament in Nyborg Slot in Denmark

Vera Bos Talks about Her Upcoming Documentary "The White Bear"

Recently, this promo video for Vera Bos's upcoming documentary about the members of Stichting HEI was posted online:

Promo video for "The White Bear" (video by Vera Bos)
The complete documentary should be out around Christmas 2014.

When asked about how she became involved with Stichting HEI(here is theEnglish version of their website) and why she decided to create a documentary about them, Vera kindly responded with this lovely article.

Written by Vera Bos:

My name is Vera Bos. I am 21 years old, and I study photography at the Willem de Kooning academy in Rotterdam. Ever since I was 16, I have also been working at the Archeon, a historic theme park, where I give tours and teach both children and adults about one of the periods that is represented there. Ever since I was young, I've always had an interest with history. I think that was at first due to the storytelling aspect, but later, during my work at the park it became so much more.

Now, it's not just the storytelling part, or even just the the aesthetic aspect (physical findings and images that display a rich culture) of history that appeal to me, but rather the conceptual way of thinking it inspires. Using history as a mirror. And not a "Wow, look at how much better things are now" mirror. But more about putting life in perspective, and by extension, modern life. One of the things I learned is that "things change" and always will. This is one of the things that I want to teach the visitors of the park. But especially to make people enthusiastic about this wonderful thing called history, so that they one day may be open to the philosophical questions it raises.

While working at the park I got to know a few of the men of Stichting HEI. They were performing jousting shows there. We got along very well, and one day in 2012, I was asked to go with them as a photographer to a joust in Nyborg. It was wonderful -- the location, the show, the people -- and I made photos to my heart's content.

Jouster Alix van Zijl at Nyborg 2012(photo by Vera Bos)

When I got home, I realized I had a lot of pictures, and many different kinds of pictures as well. But no matter how I looked at them, they didn't convey what interested me about HEI. They were either beautiful on the surface, almost acting like a looking glass trough which you could momentarily catch a glimpse of the 15th century, or unnecessarily harsh, like I was trying to criticize these people. I went with them again in 2013 when I was older, my imagery sharper and my photography better. But still, I was missing the images I was trying to make.

Tent with Shadows at Nyborg 2013(photo by Vera Bos)

Then I decided that I had to try a different way. Photography is an extremely visual medium which gave me the urge to solely capture "the image" and "the illusion" and the beauty in it. But that is not what drew me to Stichting HEI in the first place. I wanted to tell something about these people. In fact, I wanted to let them tell their side of the story. The passion, the drive but also the consequences. By now, I've only uploaded the teaser trailer but I've got a good idea of how to give an honest insight in what drives them.

I had known the people from HEI for a while before I started this documentary. But, of course, because of this documentary and such extended contact, I got to know them better than I had before. They didn't so much surprise me with the hobby on it's own, but every time I talk to them they inspire me with their expertise, their enthusiasm and their drive for the thing they do. They are amazing people who have an incredible love for this craft and would love to reach more people. I'm also pleasantly surprised about how easily they work along with everything. Sometimes I'm calling one of them so often that I'm thinking "Aren't I annoying you guys by now"? Apparently not, they like what I do and they love to help me out.

Members of Stichting HEI(left to right): Sander Nicolai, Laurens, Bertus Brokamp
(photos by Vera Bos)

If there is anything I learned from making this documentary, it's the technical aspect, which frightened me initially. This is not a problem (even though the documentary is not yet perfect, I learn by doing), but telling a story using a different medium was indeed a new experience for me. I was used to making pictures, but telling a story works very differently in that area. I still have a lot to learn, but I have read a lot about this and have friends who can help me.

I hope is that this documentary doesn't just reach people who already have the same interests, but that it finds a larger audience. I want to show that Stichting HEI, and maybe reenactment as a whole, deserves a place in in this society and isn't just escapism. Even though people often call it that. I'd prefer that people who don't know a lot about historical reenactment or history think, in general, "Yeah, this a legitimate thing to spend your time on". Firstly, to teach people something, especially to wake their enthusiasm for history, and secondly, because it's a beautiful way to think about the past.

Vera Bos(photo by Maruschka Kartosonto)

The complete documentary, "The White Bear", will be finished around Christmas 2014. Look for an announcement.

Historical Jousting Tournament at Nyborg Slot in Denmark

On July 6 & 7, 2013, at the historical castle of Nyborg Slot in Denmark, a group of accomplished international jousters who belong to or are associated with the Foundation Historical Education Initiative(HEI) recreated an historical jousting tournament as part of the annual Danehof Market. This was the second year that a jousting tournament was included as part of the event, and hopefully jousting will continue to play a part in this annual festival.

Click on pictures to embiggen.

Panoramic shot of the Nyborg Slot Lyst Field created by combining 8 separate shots
(photo by Nicolai Godvin/courtesy of Nyborg Slot)

The jousters who participated included the famous organizer of "The Grand Tournament of Sankt Wendel", Arne Koets, as well as several of the jousters who participated in Sankt Wendel -- Joram van Essen, Alix van Zijl, Wouter Nicolai, Andreas Wenzel -- and one other jouster, Bertus Brokamp. The Nyborg Slot tournament consisted of two sessions of jousting and two sessions of mounted melee, one session of each for each day. Although scores were kept and the winner of each session was announced, no overall score was kept and there was no overall champion.

According to Arne Koets,"the winning was unimportant to all of us," and the jousting at Nyborg Slot was "more of an actual tournament then a modern competition." When asked to expand upon that statement, Arne responded:

"We did the most historically accurate jousting and tournament we could muster. This also means that the rules represented the sentiments of the period and were not geared towards a modern competition. The participants rode their best to score points (based on Tiptoft* rules and others) but the prowess was judged by a lady in the end." -- Arne Koets

Arne Koets(left) jousts Wouter Nicolai(right)(photo by Nicolai Godvin/courtesy of Nyborg Slot)

In keeping with this historical authenticity, all of the jousting was done with tapered solid lances with steel coronels and vamplates. The lances are made from young pine trees which naturally taper from base to tip. When the trees are the right height and diameter, they are cut down, the branches are removed, they are cut to the exact length needed and some minimal shaping is done, thus creating the most historically accurate solid lances according to what is currently known about 15th and 16th century jousting.

Preparing the lances for the joust(photo by Nicolai Godvin/courtesy of Nyborg Slot)

All of the jousters had practiced using these tapered solid lances, though for Alix van Zijl, Wouter Nicolai and Bertus Brokamp, it was the first time they had used them in competition. And as far as anyone knows, Alix is the first female jouster to use solid tapered lances in competition. Before this tournament, Alix had jousted using both balsa and poplar tipped frangible lances. When asked about the differences between frangible lances and tapered solid lances, she replied:

"Jousting with solid lances is a lot different, for one thing, they are a lot heavier than the usual balsa tipped ones. I had to train specifically to gain the strength to handle them safely. The lances are also very differently balanced because of the sharp steel coronel at the end and the grappers and vamplates around the grip. That makes it imperative to use an arret, and that changes a lot in, for example, couching the lance and aiming. We all trained a lot in getting it right.

The solid lances have so much possibility of doing damage that safety goes first, and that again makes jousting difficult. You really don't want to hit low, ever. And combined in all of this is that the hits are harder than I ever had, including a balsa tipped ferrule hit on a non-protected area on my arm. Even with a good armour, I am still bruised." -- Alix van Zijl

Alix van Zijl(left) breaks lances with Joram van Essen(right)(photos by Hanno van Harten)

When asked if she planned on continuing to joust with tapered solid lances, she replied:

"Am I planning on continuing jousting with solids? Hell yeah!!!" -- Alix van Zijl

When asked how the melees at Nyborg Slot compared to the melees at Sankt Wendel, Alix replied:

"The melees are more than fun! This group (and the 2012 group of Nyborg as well) is so intent on doing it right, keeping the horses in a canter, trying to hit each other, seeing the fun in ambushes and good maneuvers. We use a more robust system compared with Sankt Wendel, where the Marshall decides if the jouster has been hit often enough." -- Alix van Zijl

Joram van Essen, Andreas Wenzel, Wouter Nicolai and Alix van Zijl during a Nyborg 2013 melee
(photo by Majbritt Merstrand)

It certainly seems as if these jousters are intent on "doing it right". When asked about his beliefs and feelings in regard to the competitive aspect of competitive jousting, Arne Koets replied:

"My personal interest in jousting and tournaments is that of martial art and experimental research. I want to understand it, like an eastern martial artist tries to learn to reach the next dan. One can do martial arts competitively, but it should not detract from its core artistic character. Sometimes losing well is better then winning badly." -- Arne Koets

Arne Koets on his horse Maximillian (photo by Isis Sturtewagen/Stichting HEI)

Martyn Smith had this to say about the tournament at Nyborg Slot:

“Up until this weekend at Nyborg I was convinced that it was impossible to get anywhere near re-creating an authentic 15th century joust & melee. I was wrong.... As marshal of the joust, it was for a fleeting moment like being back in the 1470's. What these guys have put together should inspire all of us into jousting/historical representation/living history or whatever you chose to name it!” -- Martyn Smith

Joram van Essen breaks his lance against Bertus Brokamp
(photo by Nicolai Godvin/courtesy of Nyborg Slot)

When asked how they felt about the Nyborg Slot tournament overall, Arne replied:

"It was an inspiring event. The newer jousters amongst us gave very good account of themselves, showing tremendous improvement over last year and dealing with some new and hard to use equipment. The hits were hard and spectacular, the jousters were professional. The melees were hard and interesting, ridden with great skill. The atmosphere was hard working but friendly and relaxed.

The event was again well organized as always, and the ground crew was plentiful and made up of long standing friends who knew their jobs well. The lances worked out great, and we were very happy to have the vamplates which showed repeated impacts. The clubs were great too, and we broke many."

And Alix stated:

"Slot Nyborg has provided us with a magnificent opportunity to show authentic 15th century jousting. We thank them!"

Alix van Zijl waiting to joust (photo by Nicolai Godvin/courtesy of Nyborg Slot)

You can find out more about Nyborg Slot on their Facebook page as well as on the following websites:
Nyborg: Danmarks Riges Hjerte
&
Nyborg Slot

You can find out more about Stichting HEI, the jousting group that produced the tournament, on their website.

You can see more pictures from the Nyborg Slot 2013 jousting tournament in the TJL Facebook page album, "Nyborg Slot 2013".


*Tiptoft rules are based on an historical set of jousting rules from a primary source. Though some gaps in the rules were filled in based on remarks from the manuscripts translated in Jousting in Medieval and Renaissance Iberia by Noel Fallows.