Le Tournoi de Chauvency

The Tournament of Chauvency was held in 1285 to bring together the greatest knights of France and Germany for six days of jousting and other activities, a social event of primary importance at the end of the thirteenth century. Dedicated to Henry IV, Count of Salm, the tournament was organized by Louis V, Count of Chiny, and held in the small village of Chauvency-le-Château, near Montmédy.

The tournament was documented in the poem le Tournoi de Chauvency by the thirteenth century trouvère Jacques Bretel. The miniatures of the Oxford manuscript show knights struggling during the jousting and other activities of the tournament.

Nearly 500 knights and other royalty and their wives participated in the tournament. Most notably are:

Note that Ottokar II was killed on 26 August 1278 at the Battle on the Marchfeld (by the troops of Rudolf) as so was clearly not at the tournament as reported by Bretel.

A fanciful description of the tournament activities can be found in the book The Reign of Chivalry by Barber.

According to Laret-Kayser, Louis V used to tournament to promote his family's illustrious history, from being descended from Charlemagne to his ancestor Arnold I, Count of Chiny, sending his sons to fight in the First Crusade.

Bretel, Jacques, Le Tournoi de Chauvency, 1285 (manuscripts: Mons MS 330-215 and Oxford MS Douce 308)

Henriot-Walzer, Dominique, Dictionnaire du Tournoi de Chauvency, 1285

Oxford, Bodleian, manuscrit MS Douce 308 (15 miniatures, visibles sur Oxford University Librairies Collections Spéciales LUNA) cf supra.

Barber, Richard W., The Reign of Chivalry, Boydell Press, Suffolk, 2005, pages 27–30 (available on Google Books)

Laret-Kayser, Arlette, Entre Bar et Luxembourg : Le Comté de Chiny des Origines à 1300, Bruxelles (éditions du Crédit Communal, Collection Histoire, série in-8°, n° 72), 1986

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