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Cannon
fire fills the air as the sword-wielding warriors surge forward
on foot and on horesback, archers let fly with volleys of arrows
and the dead and wounded litter the ground...
More
frantic than Ikea on a Saturday afternoon, this was the scene on
the first day of Joust at Berkeley Castle, the country's biggest
medieval festival.
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out our exclusive photo galleries (20 pictures each):
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Epic
The
crowds enjoyed an epic re-enactment of the seige of Berkeley Castle,
period ballads from the Medieval Babes and, of course, jousting.
The
jousting tournament saw the chivalrous Knights of the Blue Pavillion
(hurrah) pitted against the dastardly Knights of the Black Pavillion
(boo, hiss) led by the evil Black Knight.
The
fully armoured contestants battled to land blows on each other's
breastplates, thus scoring maximum points.
The
first stage of the tournament saw the Black Pavillion victorious
over the gallant Blues, who vowed retribution later in the day.
Costume
Many
visitors opted to hire medieval costumes, with others decided to
get into the historical spirit of the occasion by consuming flagons
of mead, an ancient alocoholic drink brewed with honey.
Roger
from Somerset said that he attends every Joust event.
"It's
a great opportunity to get dressed up," he continued, "and
the kids love the lepers and having wounds painted on."
 ...the kids love the lepers and having
wounds painted on
 |
| Roger,
Somerset |
The
Medival Babes provided a calming respite from the bloodshed with
a set of historic ballads recounting tales of love, death and randy
monks.
Dressed
in matching lilac, their act combined period dancing with lyrics
delivered in a variety of languages.
Success
Elsewhere
on site, visitors were able to practise archery and learn sword
fighting techniques (useful for dealing with those tricky car parking
disputes).
"It's
been a great day," said Ed from Sussex, who had opted for a
peasant costume. "The seige re-enactment was very convincing.
The Samurai display was very interesting too."
Joust
continues over the weekend of Saturday July 31 - Sunday August 1.
What
did you think?
Philip
Williams, from Lincoln, emailed us to say: "What a wonderful
Sunday we had, the festival was brilliant, lots to see and do for
all ages.
"The younger ones in our party (13yrs and 7yrs) were spellbound.
"The
educational content was first class, and, it was done in such a
way that the knowledge gained will stick.
"We were very glad we travelled and we can't wait for "Joust
2005".
"Congratulations to the organisers and a BIG BIG thank you
to all those who participated. To sum it up in one easy phrase..."It
was great FUN"
Did
you got to Joust? Email
us with your comments.
STOP
PRESS - Joust festival dates have been confirmed for 2005. They
are the weekends of 23 - 24 July and 30 - 31 July.
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The
first day of Joust, the country's biggest medieval festival, saw the
crowds turn out in force to enjoy a banquet of swordplay and chivalry
at Berkeley Castle.
