During the late 14th and up through the third quarter of the 15th century, a specialized kind of 'tournament' became popular, one that strove to bring out the breadth of chivalric virtues within the knights, to showcase individual prowess, and to evoke something of the 'ideal' chivalry buried in the legends of history.

Essentially the pas d'armes is a challenge a plaisance, meaning of peace. One or more defenders, known popularly as the 'tenans', would make it known that they would hold a particular place on a particular day 'tel place tel jour...'. Such challenges were designed to showcase the prowess, courtesy and in general to celebrate the office of knighthood with a demonstration of arms. This was no game-it was more serious than a round table (more theater than fighting) but less deadly and more friendly than an emprise (where knights of different nations generally challenged one another to rough and often bloody jousts and contests of arms-kind of a pas a la guerre). All three styles were popular during the late 14th and 15th centuries.

Knights had begun their military command during the 8th century as heavy cavalry dominated the battlefield, at least in popular culture. In order to make a heavy charge work, massed knights needed to coordinate their charge, and this required practice. The tournament was tool for such practice. These early encounters were barely less than war-often villages and crops were destroyed, men taken prisoner and even killed. Essentially it was war for fun and profit. The church early on put bans on such tournaments, but they continued apace, popular in France, Spain, the low countries, Eastern Europe, and from time to time in England.

By the 14th century, this dominance had been successfully challenged by footmen and archers. The role of the tournament also changed gradually, becoming less training for war and more of an engine for renown by individual and small groups of knights (known in Germany as tournament societies). More and more regulation was found, and there was more emphasis on individual jousts and contests. The round table, pas d'armes, hastilude and emprise all became popular, different kinds of martial contests.

The pas d'armes probably grew out of the popular knightly tradition of single challenge. Early accounts of knights meeting one another head-on in a clash of splintering lance and cleft shields held a powerful place in the iconography of the knightly culture as it rose and changed from the 9th century to the 16th. It was an image that was clung to by the chivalry even as the military reality changed.

Tourneying gradually became more expensive, and more specialized. The pages of Engerrand de Monstrelet, popular chronicler of the early 15th century and chronicles that speak of Rene d'Anjou are peppered with accounts of such feats.

Men would first declare their intention, either at an even such as a feast or a knighting ceremony, and then set about spreading word such that other knights and squires could attend. They might set up a simple pavilion, or they might sponsor a large festival of arms which might last as long as a month. They would then arrange for shields, spears, weapons and sometimes armour to be available for their erstwhile challengers. Refreshments and gifts of extreme generosity were often given-it was an opportunity to display hospitality and the virtue of largesse. The more generous a knight was-even to the point of impoverishing himself-the greater the virtue. Consider this quote from the 13th century romance Cliges by Chretein de Troyes:

"'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, surprasses all other virtues and causes the good qualities it finds in a worthy man who comports himelf well to be increased five-hundred fold. There is so much to be said of largesse that I could not tell you the half."1

Holding themselves ready for the hour, day or even the month of the challenge, the 'tenans' would await their opponents. These were, in the pas d'armes, met with friendship. In an emprise, they would be met with more caution, respected enemies who must be defeated. Not so with the pas d'armes. The challengers, the 'venans', would array themselves as they might, frequently coming incognito, costumed, and often bedecked in their best finery. They might bear minstrels or ladies with them-or even dwarves (a favorite medieval custom). Sometimes the tenans held the field role-playing; Edward III once attended a pas d'armes costumed as the pope, bearing his twelve cardinals in attendance. Such things were part of the spirit of the pas, not so much acting as bringing interest and amusement to the gallery while simultaneously testing their prowess against the venans.

Both prowess-skill in arms-and courtesy were important. There are many accounts surveying the ferocity of the combatants, but side by side with these accounts is equal space devoted to the largesse and courtesy of even the most deadly combatant. The pas d'armes was a chance to celebrate all the knightly virtues-not just the prowess and not just the courtesy. And although there was often a 'gallery' of spectators present, as often as not there were no spectators-it was held for the joi de combat and for the glory and renown to be earned in such honorable combat.

Within the SCA, The Company of Saint George has striven to explore and present the pas d'armes as a tournament format. We believe that this format is a useful tool for exploring all parts of the knightly character that we in the expect of all combatants, whether belted or not. In the pas d'armes, combatants challenge one another for the pleasure of the combat-not for victory. They speak of their motives, their consorts, of the virtues of their opponent. All of this serves to set in their mind why it is they compete upon the field, an experience we hope will have some positive impact on the 'prize' lists such as Crown and Coronet where conduct appears to count for less and prowess for more. In reality, renown is the coin of victory for the combatant, and renown is earned within the SCA lists not so much by 'winning' the list as by demonstrating skill (prowess) and the other knightly virtues-loyalty, courage, generosity, humility, fidelity, faith (in our ideals), a sense of justice and the duty of defense. These things are what people remember and they are the yardstick by which tourneyers are measured when they fight on the field, the stage, where the soul more or less naked under the stress of the fight. The 'gallery' and your opponent can see who you are; it is hard to be deceptive of your motives and your sincerity in such contests.

What the pas d'armes does is to remove the victory from the equation so that combatants can more readily see what goes in every tourney, even a prize list. We hope that they realize this when they enter a Crown or Coronet list, that the honor and reputations of they and their consort is defended. The Company hopes that our efforts in this area, although slight, will have some impact on what we see in a prize list, and that our efforts provide some entertainment and education for tourneyers, and for that reason we freely offer our knowledge in how to run such a list. As of July, 1996, we have hosted more than ten pas, building up a base of information that we are happy to share.

1 Clige's father to Cliges as he prepares to depart seeking knighthood and service at Arthur's hand. Cliges, Chretien de Troyes, Trans. Carlton W. Carrol (Penguin Books) p. 125.