The Tournament of Tottenham is a short humorous

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

of 231 lines written in

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...

and is dated between 1400 and 1440. There are two known manuscripts for the poem, one Harleian 5306 (H), 1456 in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

and the other Ff. II 38 (c), 1431 in the

Cambridge University Library Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of the over 100 libraries within the university. The Library is a major scholarly resource for the members of the University of Cambri ...

. The dialect has been identified as Northern English. The line is

alliterative Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers". Alliteration is used poetically in various ...

, either emulating or parodying older Germanic metrical styles. The author is unknown.

Plot

The story is set in

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...

, at that time a rural community north of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. During a drinking fest, Perkyn (a potter) boasts to Rondal, the local reeve, that he is the most worthy among the men to marry Tyb, Rondal's attractive daughter. The boast brings about responses from the others, who equally boast of their worthiness, whereupon Perkyn challenges anyone to a

joust Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying to strike the opponen ...

to settle the issue. Rondal elects to settle the matter by agreeing with Perkyn's idea of a joust, and schedules a jousting tournament to be held seven days later, open to any and all potential suitors. The winner of the tournament will be granted Tyb's hand in marriage (subject to her assent) as well as a "

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...

" (the first of several humorous elements of the joust; it consists of one old gray mare and one spotted sow). At the tournament, the suitors arrive riding old mares as horses, brandishing farm implements for jousting lances, and wearing bowls and pottery as armour. Tyb arrives at the tournament and watches the proceedings on a mare, with a feather-filled bag for a saddle and a hen on her lap. After each worker makes his overblown boast of bravery (Perkyn going last), the "tournament" commences. Notwithstanding the lack of professional jousting attire, the participants engage in a lively battle which results in several serious injuries and one attempt (by "Tyrry") to prematurely end the battle by abducting Tyb (his attempt is stopped by Perkyn). At the end of the tournament, the women of Tottenham and the nearby communities arrive to drag them home. Perkyn ends up being the last combatant standing and is thus declared the winner and given Tyb. After they spend the night together, she agrees the next day to marry him. Upon the announcement of the marriage, the warriors gather for a feast. (The feast is described in more detail in another shorter poem, "The Feast of Tottenham", the author of which is unknown, but it is believed that both poems were written by the same person.)

Criticism

The poem is evidently meant to be humorous, as the weapons are totally unsuited to war; the combatants fight with farm tools on old horses more given to passing wind than battle. The martial seriousness of the men's vows is immediately undermined by comic touches such as the banners made from old hides and a trumpet made of wood, fighting for a dowry of an old horse and a spotted pig. The poem does not explain why some of the warriors are fighting for Tyb's hand in marriage when they currently have wives (who arrive to drag home their injured men in wheelbarrows). Critics do not agree on the subject of or audience for the parody. The poem may be satirizing knightly conventions such as the jousting tournament, or it may be mocking the country bumpkins who try to imitate these courtly rituals. Or, as with

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

Reeve's Tale "The Reeve's Tale" is the third story told in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbury Tales''. The reeve, named Oswald in the text, is the manager of a large estate who reaped incredible profits for his master and himself. He is described in the ' ...

, the poet may be making fun of speakers of northern English, who were often stereotyped by southerners as backward.

References

External links

The Tournament of Tottenham , Robbins Library Digital Projects
Text of The Tournament of Tottenham

Text of The Feast of Tottenham {{DEFAULTSORT:Tournament Of Tottenham 15th-century poems Middle English poems Humorous poems Mock-heroic English poems