Tourney

1 PM & 4 PM Saturday and Sunday

During the medieval fair at Varberg’s Fortress royalty from Norway, Sweden and Denmark meet. The power struggle between the three kingdoms culminate in the tourney where the participants attempt to outshine one another in mounted combat. To the sounds of the cheering crowd the knights display their skills on horseback and meet with lance and shield. The tourney is included in the entry fee during the medieval fair.

We call it a “tourney”

During the medieval period a warrior class emerged. Known as knights, they excelled in mounted combat. When the knights were not fighting actual battles they practiced during so called tourneys where they fought eachother with sword and lance. The knight with the best horse usually won the tourney, due to the ability to outmaneuver their opponents. In the tourneys in the early days of the medieval period the knights usually fought in two teams. At times, as many as 100 competing knights could be participating in each team. By the end of the medieval period the so called joust became popular, where only two knights competed one-on-one. The goal of the joust was to break the most lances against the opponent’s shield or to cause the opposing knight to fall off his horse. Tourneys weren’t only a form of training, but also a sort of festivity which could draw large audiences. In the medieval text the “Eric chronicle” it is written that Erik Magnusson, who was Duke of Halland and lord of Varberg’s Castle, arranged a tourney with jousting to celebrate his wedding with Ingeborg Håkonsdotter in 1312.