Joust.

Medieval Joust At Eltham Palace.

By Uncle Monty.

Photos By Alex Albion

& Gary Day. Part 1 of 2.

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A stone's throw from the private road of Chaundrye

Close with its buckling and crumbling red brick walls,

stands elegent Eltham Palace from the English 1390's.

Kings and queens have lived and stayed at the palace

 that was centuries later saved when Stephen &
 Ginie Courtauld leased the old palace and restored it
to something of its former glory in the 1930's. An ex-
cellent overview of the palace's long history and
The Courtland's role in saving it, is found at
Dáithaí C blog.

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Dáithaí C - Eltham Palace.
Scroll Down on Blog to read Full Story
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/04/eltham-palace.html
***

Over the centuries, the palace had declined by the mid-

16th century as an important venue for British Royalty

and their Regal Court. Prior to that, such figures that

had either resided or visited at the palace, to name just 
a few, were Henry VIII, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey,

Geoffrey Chaucer, King Leo V of Armenia, Byzantine

Emperor Manuel Palaeologus, King John, Henry V,

Erasmas, Elizabeth I, Edwad III, The Black Prince.

No wonder Eltham Palace was so important then

and even more so historically, culturally and

magically today.

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So it was back in the summer of 2011 that made Eltham

Palce so attractive to visit for me aside not from just the
 joust that took place on that Sunday of the First of Anglican
 Trinity. It was, in fact, Trinity Sunday, 2011, that saw the
 curtain rise on a bright new day at the palace that had been
 set aside for the Grand Medieval Joust of Knights on their

magnificent and stout horses, for costumed men and wo-
men to be dressed in 16th century period attire, for old
seasoned archers to hit the bulleye at the Rose Garden,
and for the sheer delight of wondering around the palace
both inside and outside, pretty freely.
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And for all little cheerful kidz there to be totally excited and

thrilled at seeing and talking with big men in complete medie-

val armour and mail underdress. Also included were flourish-

ing falconers and their extraordinary falconry that saw birds

of prey fly across the open sky and only to return to 

the falconer's thick leather-gloved hand like lost children

 having found mom and dad again. Next came School of
Fools or the jesters ,who did their court tricks to once use
 as"japering jesters ... to keep their regal masters and
royal mistresses happy and truly content."

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Along with cream high tea of Devonshire clotted cream

and fresh Eltham Palace baked buttery scones that fitted
 in nicely after seeing inside The Great Hall and the 
Courtlauds' home that displayed proudly its art deco
taste and its oil paintings of old masters. And in the
distant some medieval music of entertainment for all,
who could also witness displays of classy horsemanship
and swift javelin thrusts. Heuristics on the South Lawn

was embraced, too. While traditional English Fools
showed their utter silliness with "Nought 'twixt the
 Ears" of such court fools, who were told they "hath
not so much brains as earwax." Such only made
them even more foolish fools! The only things
missing were cats and dogs and donkeys and carts!
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Otherwise, the best things at Eltham Palace on Trinity
 Sunday was surely not just the joust and the falconry,
but all the other kind of things that helped to uplift the
mind and the imagination of the huge crowd of perhaps
thousands of folkz from both far and wide. For me it was
 one of those "Days Out Worth Talking About," to use
 here the English Heritage's own promotional slogan.
***
 Let me now let the photographs do most of the talking
of the Medieval Joust that words alone may not convey
as good as the imagery that is so display for you to see
as shown above. Please enjoy on this late November
day with only around  30 days to go before Christmas
 Day of 2011 does itself come and go ...
***
Trusting, Uncle Monty,  
Now London-Bound From
Paris Via The Eurostar.
+First in Advent, 2011.
+First Day of the English
Church Calender, 2012.
+Islamic New Year, 1433 AH.
...
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Part Two: Falconers &
Their Falconry at Eltham Palace.
By Uncle Monty.
Part 2 of 2, Coming Next.
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Greasy Gypsies.
By Uncle Monty.
http://allaboutthebigissue.blogspot.com/2011/11/gypsies.html
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