Ascoli boasts an extraordinary continuity from
the Middle Ages to the present day in equestrian historical
games organized in occasion of the patron saint Emidio's feast
day, which have assumed therefore the meaning of calendarial
games or games of custom, (even if they could have been organized
extemporaneously, in other periods of the year, extraordinary
games, or "of apparatus" for particular events).
From the 1400s the equestrian games foresaw two distinct phases:
1) the show, procession of the noble cavalier and his court
("brigata") before the public, wearing embroidered
clothing, (from the 1500s they bore the insignia and family
coat of arms), with well-defined colors; 2) the joust, effectuated
by the cavalier, (after having changed from the clothing of
the procession, wearing armor or the more practical doublet
or tunic), that consisted in the breaking of the lance against
the target.
JOUST (from Latin juxta = near, juxtare = to near). From
the second half of the 12th Century the tournament distinguished
itself from the joust. The tournament was collective combat,
or "melée" of men on horseback organized in
teams, running with their lances and ready to strike their adversaries
in precise points, in an open field or in a fenced area. The
joust preceded the formation of the teams. From the first half
of the 14th Century it became a component of the tournament
until, (circa the second half of the 15th Century), it became
autonomous (René d'Anjou, Traictié de la forme
et devis d'un tournoi).
The most common jousts, still today proposed in various Italian
localities, are the joust of the Ring and that of the Quintana. |
