The Tilt

This takes its name from the French word for cloth (toile) referring to the lavishly decorated cloth covers separating the jousters and preventing collisions.

One of the earliest references to the use of a tilt barrier came from a French squire who suggested, at a joust in Paris in 1428, there should be a ‘tilt in the middle to keep our horses good and safe from harm’.

As jousting with a tilt barrier became standard practice the sport also became known as ‘tilting’. Don Quixote, the hero of the Spanish tale of that name by Miguel de Cervantes, famously tilts at windmills thinking they are giants. It was later considered shocking to joust without a tilt barrier. This was known as ‘running at large’ and was especially popular in the German states.