Topic summary
Melee
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Tournament (medieval).
Melee
Melee ( or /ˈmeleɪ/, French: mêlée; in English frequently spelled as mêlée,melée, or simply melee) is a term for a type of mock combat in medieval tournaments. The "mêlée" was the "mass tournament" where two teams, either on foot or horse, clashed in formation. The aim was to smash into the enemy in massed formation, with the aim of throwing them back or breaking their ranks. Following a successful maneuver of this kind, the rank would attempt to turn around without breaking formation (widerkere or tornei); this action was so central that it would become eponymous of the entire tradition of the tourney or tournament by the mid-12th century. Weapons were often blunted before fights in order to prevent serious injury.