The () or passage of arms was a type of

chivalric Chivalry, or the chivalric language, is an informal and varying code of conduct that developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It is associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood, with knights being members of various chival ...

hastilude Hastilude is a generic term used in the Middle Ages to refer to many kinds of martial games. The word comes from the Latin ''hastiludium'', literally "lance game". By the 14th century, the term usually excluded tournaments and was used to des ...

(martial game) that evolved in the late 14th century and remained popular through the 15th century. It involved a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

or group of knights (' or "holders") who would stake out a traveled spot, such as a bridge or city gate, and let it be known that any other knight who wished to pass (' or "comers") must first fight, or be disgraced. If a traveling venan did not have weapons or horse to meet the challenge, one might be provided, and if the venan chose not to fight, he would leave his

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...

s behind as a sign of humiliation. If a lady passed unescorted, she would leave behind a glove or scarf, to be rescued and returned to her by a future knight who passed that way. Orbigo Bridge

The origins of can be found in a number of factors. During the 14th and 15th centuries the chivalric idea of a noble knight clashed with new more deadly forms of warfare, as seen during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

, when

commoner A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...

yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of Serfdom, servants in an Peerage of England, English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in Kingdom of England, mid-1 ...

ry armed with

longbow A longbow is a type of tall bow that makes a fairly long draw possible. Longbows for hunting and warfare have been made from many different woods in many cultures; in Europe they date from the Paleolithic era and, since the Bronze Age, were mad ...

s could attack

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

knights anonymously from a distance, breaking traditional rules of chivalry, and

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

charges by knights could be broken by the pikemen formations introduced by the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

. At the same time, the noble classes began to differentiate themselves, in many ways, including through reading courtly literature such as the very popular

chivalric romance As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of high medieval and early modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalri ...

s of the 12th century. For the noble classes the line between reality and fiction blurred, the deeds they read about were real, while their deeds in reality were often deadly, if not comical, re-enactments of those they read about. This romanticised "Chivalric Revival" manifested itself in a number of ways, including the ,

round table The Round Table (; ; ; ) is King Arthur's famed table (furniture), table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status, unlike co ...

and (or , enterprise, chivalrous adventure), and in increasingly elaborate rules of

courtesy Courtesy (from the word , from the 12th century) is gentle politeness and courtly manners. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the behaviour expected of the nobility was compiled in courtesy books. History The apex of European courtly culture was ...

and

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

. There are many thousands of accounts of during this period. One notable and special account is that of

Suero de Quiñones Suero de Quiñones (c. 1409 – 11 July 1456), called ("he of the pass"), was a Leonese knight, nobleman, and author in the Kingdom of León (then part of the Crown of Castile). He gained fame for his ''Paso Honroso'', a '' pas d'armes'' (pa ...

, who in 1434 established the ("Pass geof Honour") at the

Órbigo The Órbigo River is a river in the provinces of León and Zamora, Spain. It begins at the convergence of the Luna River and the Omaña River in the village of Secarejo, in the Cimanes del Tejar municipality. Decades ago, that confluence was ...

bridge in the

Kingdom of León The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 when the Christian princes of Kingdom of Asturias, Asturias along the Bay of Biscay, northern coast of the peninsula ...

(today's

Castile and León Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

). This road was used by pilgrims from all over Europe on the way to shrine at

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

. Suero and ten knights promised to "break 300 lances" before relinquishing the , jousting for over a month, as chronicled in great detail by town notary Don Luis Alonso Luengo, later published as . After 166 battles, de Quiñones and his men were so injured they could not continue and declared the mission complete. Suero de Quiñones became legendary, and was mentioned in ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'', the 1605

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

on the notion of romantic chivalry out of touch with reality.

List of ''pas d'armes''

* (1428) *

' (Órbigo, 1434) * (

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

, 1443) * (1445) * (around 1445) * ( Nancy, 1445)Gabriel Bianciotto, ''Le roman de Troyle'', université de Rouen, 1994, p. 147. * (1446) * (

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; ; Picard: ''Saint-Onmé'') is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Sa ...

, 1449) * (1449) * (

Chalon-sur-Saône Chalon-sur-Saône (, literally ''Chalon on Saône'') is a city in the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefectu ...

, 1449–1450) * (

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

, 1454) * (1455) * (1463) * (

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

, (1463) *, (

, 1468) * (

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, 1470)

Footnotes

Sources

*Odile Blanc,
Les stratégies de la parure dans le divertissement chevaleresque
'. In: Communications, 46, 1987. Parure pudeur étiquette, sous la direction de Olivier Burgelin, Philippe Perrot et Marie-Thérèse Basse. pp. 49–65. . * Sébastien Nadot, ''Joutes, emprises et pas d'armes en Bourgogne, Castille et France, 1428–1470'', thèse de doctorat soutenue à l'EHESS Paris en avril 2009. * Sébastien Nadot, ''Rompez les lances ! Chevaliers et tournois au Moyen Age'', Editions autrement, Paris, 2010. * Riquer, Martín de (1967)
''Caballeros andantes españoles''
Madrid: Editorial Espasa-Calpe.

External links

Brian R. Price Brian R. Price is an American university professor, historical fencing instructor, and member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. He taught at Hawai'i Pacific University, (where he offered courses in the history of warfare, in counterinsurgenc ...

(1996)
What is ''Pas d'Armes''?Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts
(AEMMA), Toronto, Canada.
Database of all known ''Pas d'armes''
Chivalry 15th century in Europe

List of ''pas d'armes''

See also

Footnotes

Sources

Further reading

External links