Anton von Tripp
10-12-2008, 09:13 AM
Dear Badgers & fellow Blades.
It is Sunday morning here in London, I have tea at my elbow, my pipe is drawing well and I'm feeling philosophical.
I have been contemplatin' of late on one of the great mysteries of life - to whit, why do foreigners drive on the wrong side of the road? Is it because they have never grasped the concept of left & right, a bloody-minded desire to be different from everybody else or is it just Johnny Foreigner being - well - foreign.
Pray do not misconstrue - I am not narrow-minded - indeed I hold that the only real difference between True Brit and Johnny Foreigner is cultural (Thank God!).
After a great deal of research I have the answer:
In days of old when Knights were bold etc. the primary weapon of the Knight was the lance. In battle no enemy could withstand the knee-to-knee charge of a solid body of mailed and later armoured Knights (until of course Agincourt). It even worked for those beastly Normans against our gallant Anglo-Saxon forbears at The Battle of Hastings. Still, we are all British now so forgive and forget - what?
In order to hone his skills for this evolution the Squire (trainee Knight) would couch his lance at the quintain in the castle yard and sometimes - under rigorous supervision - at his fellow squires, but all the time he would be dreaming of the day when, as a Knight, he could take his place at the Tournay.
Thank you for bearing with me so far - this is where we get to the meat of the matter:
The lance is carried in the right hand and deployed to the left so as to strike the opponents shield attatched to his (the opponents) left arm; therefore the protagonists would charge each other right to right.
Subsequently, to demonstrate one's nobility (or aspiration to) it became etiqette always to ride on the right and not to do so was regarded as something of a faux pas.
Please note also that only nobles were allowed to bear arms.
Across the channel in much more egalitarian (or lawless) England, anyone, common or noble, could wear a sword, and frequently did while travelling.
True they could be challenged by the Watch and asked to give a satisfactory account of themselves, but they could not actually be prevented from being so accoutred.
So travelling the high road your sturdy English yeoman would ride on the left so as to keep his sword arm free and to prevent any felon from jumping out of cover and seizing the same before he could draw, whilst your Continental rode on the right to demonstrate his aquaintance with etiquette.
Thank you again for bearing with me - I hope the subject was not without interest to you.
Cordially, AvT.
It is Sunday morning here in London, I have tea at my elbow, my pipe is drawing well and I'm feeling philosophical.
I have been contemplatin' of late on one of the great mysteries of life - to whit, why do foreigners drive on the wrong side of the road? Is it because they have never grasped the concept of left & right, a bloody-minded desire to be different from everybody else or is it just Johnny Foreigner being - well - foreign.
Pray do not misconstrue - I am not narrow-minded - indeed I hold that the only real difference between True Brit and Johnny Foreigner is cultural (Thank God!).
After a great deal of research I have the answer:
In days of old when Knights were bold etc. the primary weapon of the Knight was the lance. In battle no enemy could withstand the knee-to-knee charge of a solid body of mailed and later armoured Knights (until of course Agincourt). It even worked for those beastly Normans against our gallant Anglo-Saxon forbears at The Battle of Hastings. Still, we are all British now so forgive and forget - what?
In order to hone his skills for this evolution the Squire (trainee Knight) would couch his lance at the quintain in the castle yard and sometimes - under rigorous supervision - at his fellow squires, but all the time he would be dreaming of the day when, as a Knight, he could take his place at the Tournay.
Thank you for bearing with me so far - this is where we get to the meat of the matter:
The lance is carried in the right hand and deployed to the left so as to strike the opponents shield attatched to his (the opponents) left arm; therefore the protagonists would charge each other right to right.
Subsequently, to demonstrate one's nobility (or aspiration to) it became etiqette always to ride on the right and not to do so was regarded as something of a faux pas.
Please note also that only nobles were allowed to bear arms.
Across the channel in much more egalitarian (or lawless) England, anyone, common or noble, could wear a sword, and frequently did while travelling.
True they could be challenged by the Watch and asked to give a satisfactory account of themselves, but they could not actually be prevented from being so accoutred.
So travelling the high road your sturdy English yeoman would ride on the left so as to keep his sword arm free and to prevent any felon from jumping out of cover and seizing the same before he could draw, whilst your Continental rode on the right to demonstrate his aquaintance with etiquette.
Thank you again for bearing with me - I hope the subject was not without interest to you.
Cordially, AvT.