http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7192262.stm
Think of a tournament and you're likely to think of gleaming knights,
splintered lances and well-dressed countesses - the triumph of good
over evil, the polite ritual displays of arms at a joust.
Melee reconstruction
But while jousting was popular in medieval Europe, it originated as
the curtain-opener to a far more brutal affair.
This was the melee tournament - a brutal free-for-all with few rules -
designed very much as a preparation for war.
It was a fearsome spectacle - in which many hundreds, sometimes
thousands of knights clashed in a mass charge between opposing teams
with lances lowered.
Knights fell to the ground, lances splintered, horses reared. And the
mass mock-battle could be fought over a vast area including woods,
hills and rivers
These tournaments which were in many ways the first European team
sport originated in the year 1100 in Northern France.
English accounts mention "supporters" and even "armchair warriors" who
lounged around at matches.
