Knighthood, Chivalry & Tournament
Glossary of Terms
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Lady in Waiting: Ladies attendent upon a woman of nobility. Not quite servants, they were considered 'noble companions' who by their status and nobility could better advise a woman of high station.
Lady of the Lake (Dame de Lac, Viviane, Niviene, Nimuë): The lady who, in numerous Arthurian romances, is often attached to Merlin in various ways, and who in gives Excalibur to King Arthur, and in some stories, receives it back from him before his death.
Lance (unit organization): The small unit that surrounded a knight when we went into battle during the 14th and 15th centuries. A lance might have consisted of one or two squires, the knight himself, one to three men-at-arms, and possibly an archer. Lances were often combined under the banner of a higher ranking nobleman to form companies of knights that would act as an ad-hoc unit.
Largesse: An essential virtue of both knights and nobles, best expressed by Chrètien de Troyes in his 12th century romance Cligès:
"'Dear son,' he said, 'believe me when I tell you that largesse is the queen and lady who brightens all virtues, and this is not difficult to prove. Where could one find a man who, no matter how powerful or rich, would not be reproached if he were miserly? What man has so many other good qualities--excepting only God's grace--that largesse would not increase his fame? Largesse alone makes one a worthy man, not high birth, courtesy, wisdom, gentility, riches, strength, chivalry, boldness, power, beauty, or any other gift. But just as the rose, when it buds fresh and new, is more beautiful than any other flower, so largesse, whenever it appears, surpasses all other virtues and causes the good qualities it finds in a worthy man who comports himself well to be increased five-hundred fold. There is so much to be said of largesse that I could not tell you the half."
Laurel, Order of the: The SCA peerage, equivalent to knighthood, that carries recognition in achievement and contribution to the SCA in arts of craft expertise, ranking beside the knight and the pelican.
Law of Arms: Unofficial, traditional rules of war arrived upon by mutual agreement. Never written down, the rules were the subject of much debate during the whole of the medieval period, governing the spoils of war in tourney and in war, ransoms, safe-conducts, the treatment of prisoners, and the nature of just war. Edward III gave his courts of chivalry exclusive right to rule over questions of such law, an interesting feat since the law was a matter of tradition rather than precedence as in common law. Honoret Bonet, in his 14th century treatise the Tree of Battles, was perhaps the first gentle to attempt to record these laws of war, or rather to clarify points of dispute that had risen up to that point. These ‘laws’ were the basis for most Western rules of warfare and even of international relations.
Le Libre del Orde de Caualyeria: See the Book of the Order of Chivalry by Ramon Lull.
Letters Patent: Document announcing an honor or power for an individual, granted by an official or nobleman. For example, arms might be granted by letters patent, or they might be granted lordship over a feudal estate.
Liege: A feudal lord, superior to the vassal and owner of the fief or knight’s fee.
Liegeman: A sworn vassal who has commited himself to the homage of his liege lord, generally a military and political alliance.
List: The place where a tournament was to be held. "To be in the lists" meant to be competing in the tournament, as well as referring to the physical place where the combats were held. Originally the lists were simply designated as participation, but by the 14th century, when more enclosed fields began to be used, the term meant the field. During the 15th century René d’Anjou described the lists in great detail, including the proper dimensions for the field.
In modern usage the word has been twisted somewhat to mean the list of combatants who are participating in a tournament. In the Company of Saint George we have used the term "list enclosure" to refer to our fencing that surrounds a list field, "venans" to refer to the challengers and "tenans" to refer to the defenders, sometimes the sponsors of a pas d’armes.
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