Did jousting take place when Shakespeare was around?
Yes, there was jousting, but it was more formal and in its twilight. By the late 16th century there were very few tournaments outside the annual Queen’s Accession Day Jousts but by the end of James I’s reign this died out. In Shakespeare’s time jousting had become a spectator sport, more of an entertainment than a military exercise. There was a tiltyard in London where Horseguards Parade is now, and Henry VIII had one built at Hampton Court. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiltyard “When Anne Boleyn [Elizabeth I’s mother] showed too much interest in applauding Sir Henry Norris in his victory at a tournament one day she soon found herself in the tower facing the wrath of her fractious husband, Henry VIII. By this time jousting though had included a wooden fence between the competitors to make it safer and more competition friendly. Jousting was very much the Elizabethan past-time of joy and Elizabeth I had her favourite men
