Spectacular knights tournaments
Sir Henrik Svane is a noble knight and lord of Sundkøbing, and every day in the high season he invites other knights to compete and show their skills on Sundkøbing's tournament field.
Get a unique experience of participating in a medieval knight tournament at the Medieval Center. See the horses and the brave knights, the beautiful ladies, the squires, and experience the exciting jousting - who will win in the end?
The tournament takes about 40 minutes.
When Sir Henrik Svane competes against other knights, it should be seen as war training, and they only win the honor of being the best knight, but it is also a form of entertainment for the city's best citizens and all other good people. So come forward, choose your favorite knight and cheer him when he is doing well, and boo his opponent when he is doing badly.
Knight's tournament
Did you know that:
The largest tournament we know of in Denmark was held by Erik Menved in Rostock in 1311. 19 princes, 3 archbishops, and 948 knights participated. About 6,000 people watched!
The other knights, whom Sir Henrik Svane meets are:
Sir Ulrik Lilje - an audacious knight from the Swedish area. He received his knighthood in 1384 and sits in the Queen's Counsel.
Wolfram von Lauterbach - a brave Bohemian knight who sometimes visits Sundkøbing. He has been undefeated in his last 26 tournaments.
On rare occasions, foreign knights come to Sundkøbing to try their hand at Sir Henrik Svane.
Facts about knights tournaments
Tournaments originated in France and Flanders as early as the 12th century and were dramatic and colorful performances that also trained young knights for war.
It was a dangerous sport, today we would call it extreme sports, and deaths were not uncommon, but at the same time the rewards could be similarly high, and several knights made their fortunes by participating in tournaments around Europe.
In order to distinguish the knights from each other, shields, coats of arms, horses’ harnesses, and tournament helmets were adorned with the knights' coat of arms.
Welcome to Sundkøbing's tournament field. It's dangerously entertaining!
