How were jousting lances made safer?
Jousting was a sport and a way for a knight to improve his skills with the lance. It wasn’t desired to injure or maim an opponenet in a joust. The goal was to knock the opposing knight off his horse and the lance was modified to suit this purpose safely. Lances often were hollowed out so they would easily break or shatter on impact. They also often had a flared end or a ball shaped end. That way the impact could be made without actually piercing the opposing knight. The Knight shown to the left is a figure from the Knights collection you can learn more about it: Tournament Knight Figure, Taurus What is that metal cone shaped object on the lance near where the knight holds it? That is called a Vamplate. It was designed to protect the knights hand and to stop his hand from sliding up the lance upon impact. These vamplates on jousting lances were often extremely large. This would also help in causing the opposing knights lance to slide away. Halberd HALBERDIER (Blue) by Schleich What is a
