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 describe the other games collectively; this seems to have coincided with the increasing preference for ritualistic and individualistic games over the traditional mêlée style.

Today, the most well-known of the hastiludes are the tournament, or tourney, and the joust, but over the medieval period a number of other games and sports developed, which differed in popularity and rules from area to area, and from period to period. Distinction was made between the different types by contemporaries in their description, laws, prohibitions, and customs.

Hastilude has left behind a legacy that has been carried on in this modern age, with different re-enactment groups practicing and participating in their own tournaments, while its roots in entertainment are still prevalent with its popularization from renaissance fairs and other medieval celebrations. The tournaments and jousts also gave way to regulated sporting events that are common in today’s society.