Copiously illustrated edition with translation of seminal texts on the joust in medieval Iberia. Winner of the University of Georgia's Creative Research Medal 2012 Winner of the 2012 La corónica International Book Award Jousting was for some 500 years the major spectator sport in western Europe. And yet, despite itsenormous popularity in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, very little is known about its practicalities. How was the score determined and kept? How and why did jousting armour evolve, how effective was it, and how did it differfrom the field armour worn by knights in battle? What constituted technical virtuosity in the lists? And why did jousting die out? This book uses previously untapped Iberian source material to provide answers to such questions. It focuses on three jousting manuals, written by practising champions at the time: Ponç de Menaguerra's Lo Cavaller (`The Knight', 1493); Juan Quijada de Reayo's Doctrina del arte de la cavalleria (`Doctrine of the Art of Chivalry', 1548); and Luis Zapata's Del Justador (`On the Jouster', c.1589-93). As well as editions, with the first English translation, of these important texts, it includes introductions and an analytical study;there are also chapters on the arms and armour of the joust. Nearly 200 colour and black-and-white illustrations, many never previously published, illuminate the sometimes complex technical terminology of these authors, and provide further evidence of how weapons and armour were actually used. Noel Fallows is Professor of Spanish and Associate Dean, University of Georgia.

New English translation of Llull's classic and significant text, restoring the nuances of the original. Ramon Llull (1232-1316) composed The Book of the Order of Chivalry between 1274 and 1276 as both an instrument of reform and an agent for change. His aim was to create and codify the rules for a unilateral Order of Chivalry. Loyalty to the Order, coupled with common sense, religious faith, education, and martial prowess, were in his view the keys to victory in the Holy Land and the Reconquista. The book was an immediate success and widely disseminated across Europe, eventually reaching a medieval English audience, though through a fanciful translation of a translation by William Caxton, in which most of the stylistic nuances of the Catalan original were lost. This new translation is directly from the original Catalan, so capturing for the first time in English the concise, austere style that characterises Llull's prose; it is presented with introduction and notes. It will be essential reading for all scholars and enthusiasts of medieval chivalric culture. Noel Fallows is Associate Dean and Professor of Spanish at the University of Georgia, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

A Cultural History of Sport in the Medieval Age covers the period 600 to 1450. Lacking any viable ancient models, sport evolved into two distinct forms, divided by class. Male and female aristocrats hunted and knights engaged in jousting and tournaments, transforming increasingly outdated modes of warfare into brilliant spectacle. Meanwhile, simpler sports provided recreational distraction from the dangerously unsettled conditions of everyday life. Running, jumping, wrestling, and many ball games - soccer, cricket, baseball, golf, and tennis - had their often violent beginnings in this period. The 6 volume set of the Cultural History of Sport presents the first comprehensive history from classical antiquity to today, covering all forms and aspects of sport and its ever-changing social, cultural, political, and economic context and impact. The themes covered in each volume are the purpose of sport; sporting time and sporting space; products, training and technology; rules and order; conflict and accommodation; inclusion, exclusion and segregation; minds, bodies and identities; representation. Noel Fallows is Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Georgia, USA. Volume 2 in the Cultural History of Sport set General Editors: Wray Vamplew, Mark Dyreson, and John McClelland

An exploration of the cultural-political complexity of the medieval Peninsula. Medieval Iberia was rich in sociolinguistic and cultural diversity. This volume explores the culture, history, literature and language of the Peninsula in an attempt to understand its cultural-political complexity and its legacy.Principal themes include the representation of minority groups in the community; the challenge of social contact that could bring mutual absorption of influence or conflict; the effects of linguistic interaction and development; and the dissemination of cultural and scientific knowledge within and beyond the borders of the Peninsula. Modern interpretations of Medieval Iberia are neither static nor definitive in this kaleidoscopic field of investigation. EDITORS: Ivy A. Corfis and Ray Harris-Northall are Professors of Spanish at the University of Wisconsin-Madison OTHER CONTRIBUTORS: Pablo Ancos, William J. Courtney, Thomas D. Cravens, Frank Dominguez, Noel Fallows, Charles F. Fraker, E. Michael Gerli, Kristin Neumayer, Stanley G. Payne, Joel Rini, Joseph T. Snow, Michael Solomon

In the waning years of the fourteenth century, the household of John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster was scandalized when twelve petulant English knights publicly mocked the twelve ladies-in-waiting to the Duke's wife, calling them ugly to their faces. Outraged, the ladies sought immediate redress, but so fearsome were the knights' reputations that none would step forward. Desperate for help, the Duke appealed to his son-in-law King Joao I of Portugal to find champions ready to fight for the ladies' honor. Enter the 'Twelve of England,' a band of battle-hardened Portuguese knights. Led by the redoubtable Alvaro Goncalves Coutinho, known as 'Magrico,' or 'The Lean One,' these twelve fearless men set out for England to fight the English knights in judicial combat, prepared to shed their blood to save the honour of ladies they had never met. Such tales of valour and derring-do, which often hinge on the notion of a team of warriors venturing into hostile territory on a quest for vengeance or redress set against a sweeping historical backdrop, have captured the imagination of audiences through the ages, from Jason and the Argonauts to Lieutenant Aldo Raine and the 'Inglorious Basterds.' Although undoubtedly a fictional tale inserted into historical reality, the action does not end at the household of the Duke of Lancaster, and other adventures ensue in France, Germany and Burgundy, as the twelve heroes spread the fame of Portuguese chivalry throughout the great courts of Europe. The third volume of the Deeds of Arms series presents a complete translation of the earliest known version of the Twelve of England, which has survived in only one manuscript. Professor Fallows presents the text in both the medieval Portuguese and an accompanying English translation. A facsimile of the original manuscript and an extensive introduction covering the historical context of both the text and the deeds it discusses are also included. An overview of the arms and armour used by the combatants, colour illustrations, genealogical tables, maps and a comprehensive bibliography further complement the text.