The Jousting Life: Andrey Kamin Wins the Tournament of St. George in Moscow, Russia

written by Dmitry Savchenko (edited by Zhi Zhu)
photos by Andrew Boykov/Ratobor Show

"Laissez aller!"

For a long time this phrase will sound in the heads of those who visited The Tournament of St.George which took place on the 2nd and 3rd of May 2015 as the central event of the Ratobor Knight Tournaments series. The Tournament lasted two days and gathered 4,000 people in the tournament stands and about 40,000 visitors in the Interactive Zone. The event was truly international: there were knights from Germany, Norway and Russia, as well as flag-wavers from Italy.

Ivar Mauritz-Hansen of Norway(left) jousts Arne Koets from Germany(right) during the Tournament of St George 2015 in Moscow, Russia(photo by Andrew Boykov/Ratobor Show)

The Military Program:
The Military Program consisted of equestrian jousting with lances, group fights of riders with wooden cudgels (Mounted Melees) and foot combats with poleaxes. The jousters also tilted at very decorative flower rings during the event.

Russian jousters Sergey Zhuravlev(left) and Yuri Bogunov(right) joust during the Tournament of St George 2015 in Moscow, Russia(photo by Andrew Boykov/Ratobor Show)

The jousters fight in one of the mounted melees held during the Tournament of St George 2015 in Moscow, Russia(photo by Andrew Boykov/Ratobor Show)

Viktor Ruchkin(left) chops part of the crest off of Sergey Zhuravlev's helm during the poleaxe competition at the Tournament of St George 2015 in Moscow, Russia
(photo by Andrew Boykov/Ratobor Show)

Jouster Arne Koets successfully spears a ring of flowers with his lance during the Tournament of St George 2015 in Moscow, Russia(photo by Andrew Boykov/Ratobor Show)

The knights scored points by competing in the three contests. After the contests were over, their points were added together to determine the winner of the Tournament. At the end of the second day of competition, the tournament champion was a jouster from St. Petersburg, Russia, Andrey Kamin.

Andrey Kamin, a jouster from St. Petersburg, Russia was the champion of the Tournament of St George 2015 in Moscow, Russia(photo by Andrew Boykov/Ratobor Show)

The results after two days of competition:

Victor Ruchkin (Moscow, Russia) - 13 points
Sergey Zhuravlev (Moscow, Russia) - 14 points
Ivar Mauritz-Hansen (Skotterud, Norway) - 14 points
Arne Koets (Bückeburg, Germany) - 15 points
Alexsey Malinin (St.Petersburg, Russia) - 15 points
Yuri Bogunov (Moscow, Russia) - 19 points
Andrey Kamin (St.Petersburg, Russia) - 27 points

As a prize, the winner received a replica of a XV century tournament cup from Basel, Switzerland – a gold-plated cup made of silver and brass.

Marina Savchenko, leader of the Court of Honour, carries the championship prize, a replica of a XV century tournament cup, for the Tournament of St George 2015 in Moscow, Russia
(photo by Andrew Boykov/Ratobor Show)

Manners:
The Knight Tournament of the XV century is not only a military contest, but also a courtly representation, which is why the manners of the knight in the arena(and out of it) are no less important than his skill. During the two days of the jousting tournament the Ladies of the Court of Honour were watching the chivalry of the jousters with specific attention. The story of the Tournament was taken from one of the historical sources (Podarm) of the XV century, and each Lady represented of one of the knightly virtues: Honesty, Youth, Humility, Hope, Magnanimity, Nobility, Modesty and Courtesy. The Lady of Justice led the Court of Honour.

Left to right: Elizabeth Rylova: Humility, Elena Markova: Generosity, Xenia Galilova: Courtesy, Daria Ryzhova: Modesty, Marina Savchenko: Justice, Margarita Zolotareva: Youth, Victoria Borisova: Nobility, Anastasia Radomskaya: Honesty, Elizaveta Ilina: Hope
(photo by Andrew Boykov)

The favorite of many women in both this tournament as well as the jousting tournament held during the 2013 Times & Epochs: Middle Ages history festival, was the jouster from Germany, Arne Koets. In spite of becoming ill just before the competitions, Arne, as a true knight, was true to his word and did indeed participate in the jousting tournament. Although during the first day of the competition, he was forced to miss one evening round of jousting for health reasons. Numerous shouts from the stands of "Where is Arne?" showed that the audience knew this knight and remembered him from the jousting tournament in 2013.

Jouster Arne Koets bows to the Court of Honour while the Ladies of the Court applaud,
Tournament of St George 2015 in Moscow, Russia(photo by Andrew Boykov/Ratobor Show)

The Cultural Program:
In addition to military competitions, the program included musical groups Schellen, Trebuchet, Teufelstanz and Five Shillings, which played medieval music throughout the festival. There was also the show of flag-wavers from the Italian town of Pistoia.

Italian flag-wavers perform during the Tournament of St George 2015 in Moscow, Russia
(photo by Andrew Boykov/Ratobor Show)

The Program for Participants:
Knights, squires, beautiful ladies and other participants/reenactors lived in a closed authentic camp during the festival, where they had a separate cultural program. In the evening of the first day, there was a gala dinner held in the style of the XV century. Dishes were prepared according to medieval recipes, and a theatrical play about St. George’s exploits was shown.

Food for the feast is prepared during the Tournament of St George 2015 in Moscow, Russia (photo by Andrew Boykov/Ratobor Show)

Food for the feast is prepared using traditional methods during the Tournament of St George 2015 in Moscow, Russia(photo by Andrew Boykov/Ratobor Show)

Participants enjoy a grand feast during the Tournament of St George 2015 in Moscow, Russia
(photo by Andrew Boykov/Ratobor Show)

A play about St. George is performed during the feast at the Tournament of St George 2015 in Moscow, Russia(photo by Andrew Boykov/Ratobor Show)

At the end of the dinner, there was ludicrous tournament. Clowns mounted on broomsticks, fought with mops for the honorary prize, a mountain of leavings. However, the next morning the participants were again ready for a serious fight and real work.

Summary:
The Tournament of St. George, much like the jousting tournament during the 2013 Times & Epochs: Middle Ages history festival, has shown again the great interest of the Russian public in the traditions and spectacles of the European Middle Ages. We plan to make the Ratobor Knight Tournaments series an annual historical adventure that will involve not only Moscow but also other cities in Russia. So this autumn, we hope to please you with The Tournament of St. Peter. Follow the development of these events on the theme of chivalry on the Knight Tournaments page of the Ratobor website.

For the Future:
We have already begun to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the most recent jousting tournament and have made the following decisions:
- It is necessary to reduce the intensity of the tournament to no more than 2 sessions of jousting each day.
- We need to make sure that the lances break a little more and that the riders are unhorsed a little less!
- We need to re-work the rules for foot combats, and pay more attention to safety issues.

Arne Koets' ecranche is ripped off during a jousting pass against Yuri Bogunov at the Tournament of St George 2015 in Moscow, Russia(photo by Andrew Boykov/Ratobor Show)

Tournament Champion Andrey Kamin's dented breastplate at the end of the Tournament of St George 2015 in Moscow, Russia(photo from Ratobor Show)

Alexsey Malinin's visor is knocked loose during a poleaxe fight against Sergey Zhuravlev at the Tournament of St. George 2015, Moscow, Russia(photo by Andrew Boykov/Ratobor Show)

In general, we are very pleased with the work so far and are always open to discussions, constructive criticism and friendly advice.

This tournament was held with the support of the Moscow Government. The coordinator and organizer of the competitive aspects of this event was Dmitry Savchenko, who is also the producer of the annual Christmas Tournament in Khrabrovo and was the organizer of the Times & Epochs 2013 jousting tournament.

Tournament organizer Dmitry Savchenko on the Arab/Trakehner stallion Grey, at the Tournament of St George 2015 in Moscow, Russia(photo by Andrew Boykov/Ratobor Show)