Promotional flyer for the Great Tournament of Chivalry at the Château de Sainte Croix Grand Tonne.
In July 2023, I have been invited to return to the Château de Sainte Croix Grand Tonne, a 14th-century chateau in the basse-Normandie region of France, and represent the United States in the Grand Tournament. The French tenons will be Xavier de Gonneville (Xavier Fauvel), Perceval de Galles (Jean-Pierre Duprat), Phillipe de Sainte-Sauveur (Phillipe Van Den Broeck), Hervé du Portuais (Hervé Badouard), and Jérôme de Marylou (Jérôme Goldyn).
The following text has been taken from the promotional poster:
Grand Tournoi de Chevalerie
au Château du XIVe siècle
de Sainte Croix Grand Tonne
entre Caen et Bayeux
22 - 23 Jullet France / Amérique "LA REVANCHE"
Pour la deuxième fois de l'Histoire, 1 Amérique va affronter la chevalerie Française.
Le Champion US Lonnie Colson
Vainqueur du Grand Tournoi 2022 du Chateau des Chevaliers "remet " son trophée en jeu !.
Le champion Français Xavier Fauvel de Gonneville attend sa "Revanche".
[ Translation: Great Tournament of Chivalry at the Castle from the 14th-century in Sainte Croix Grand Tonne between Caen and Bayeux, 22-23 July, France vs. America "THE REVENGE".
For the second time in history, one American will face French chivalry. The US Champion, Lonnie Colson, Winner of the Grand Tournament 2022 of the Knights Castle, "puts his trophy back on the line!. The French champion, Xavier Fauvel de Gonneville, awaits his "Revenge".]
Jeux à Cheval
The Jeux à Cheval, or "games on horse", is a competition between pairs of riders, each racing around the tiltyard in an effort to be the first to complete a series of feats such as cutting cabbages with a sword, spearing rings and catching thrown rings with a lance, and picking up a lady's scarf from the group with a javelin. The first to complete the course will be awarded additional points for speed.
Archerie à Cheval / Course de Bourse
Between the Jeux à Cheval and Joute, there will be two additional challenges: Archerie à Cheval, or mounted archer, and the Course de Bourse, or the Purse Race. In the first, each competitor will attempt to kill a (simulated) boar using a bow and arrow from atop a cantering horse. The second challenge will take place between pairs of riders. A money bag will be placed atop the center pole on the tilt rail. Each rider will race down his lane in an attempt to be the first to reach the money bag and snatch it from the post before his competitor can do the same.
Joute
The Joute, or "joust", is the form of jousting most recognized by a modern audience. At the château, competitors will be separated on the field only by rope barriers and the lances were made of balsa and tipped with rubber coronels. Last year, each match consisted of a single pass between each set of riders with a maximum of 4 points attainable. One (1) point was awarded for simply striking the opponent in the target area (between neck and waist); or, two (2) points if the tip of the lance was broken; or, three (3) points for a strike to the shield that broke the tip. An additional point was awarded by the King of Arms for breaking off more than half of the lance tip.
The Event
The Tournoi de Sainte Croix Grand Tonne is broken into four (4) matches over three days: Friday evening, Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening, and Sunday afternoon. Each knight will take part in three (3) of the four sets of jousts for a total of fifteen (15) passes. Each knight will also take part in three of the four sets of games, but only their highest two scores were kept by the judges for ranking.
