Fighting in the lists.....

[JeffreyHendricks]

I've heard of "fighting in the lists" in a few books...(not martial arts books)..what's that all about? is it real? how would it work?

Thanks

[philippewillaume]

if it is in a medieval context it means a close field or the tilt rail.
this can be for anything to a pas d'arme to judicial duel or even a joust.
basically this is the english bastardisation of the french word lice.

which is a fence made of planks or a strenghtened fence. (like the castle walls)

It usually designe the fence around the fighting area and by extention the surface it encloses, so you will be fighting "en champs clos" ie in an enclosed field
or
it is the fence between the two riders when they joust ie the tilt rail.
(a just would happen in a close field and the tiltrail was probably named lice by extention)
you find it in moderne expresion like "entrer en lice" which has teh same meaning as the englis enter the lists.

[Martin_Wilkinson]

My understanding of Lists is that they generally mean the area a medieval judicial duel took place in.

Normally square or rectangular in shape and surrounding by a fence, to protect the audience (i think) and stands for the important witnesses (e.g. the King in the Jarnac duel). the floor was normally covered in sand.

As i said, this is my understanding, i may be wrong.

[david welch]

I think a lot of times where you read about people "fighting in the lists", especially in something modern, they really mean "fighting at the barrier", where they fought on foot over a waist high fence... making it relatively safe by eliminating leg and foot shots, and making it almost impossible to grapple.

[JeffreyHendricks]

Hmmm...I've never heard of it that David....

[JeffreyHendricks]

Hmmm...I've never heard of it that way, David

[david welch]

The Fior Di Battaglia Translation and Interpretation Project has Dei Liberi talking about how he would rather fight at the barrier 3 times in armour than one time without, but I don't think he really explains it. I believe I have read a description of it in the medieval source book, and if I get time later I'll see if I can't find it.

Like every thing else I pull from memory though, I could be wrong... or I could have read it from a "fantasy" source and accidentally remembered it as real. I would research it before I used it.