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etiquette of fencing as opposed to fighting to the death with broadswords and axes and other vicious medieval weapons. The joust was a one on one competition and the truest form of the joust ends as soon as one of the riders is knocked from his horse. It is a contest of skill with man and horse working together.
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King Edward I and King Edward III were responsible for encouraging
jousts, tournaments and Arthurian themed feasts during their reigns. (1239 - 1307 and 1312-1377). Although these kings were well aware that Arthur had never been king of England, (and may not have existed at all) they encouraged belief in the legends and held Arthur up as an example of a godly king. Edward III went so far as to build a replica of the Round Table. When Thomas Malory published La Morte D'Arthur in 1485 he was drawing on the legends made popular by the two Edwards. Small wonder that stories of King Arthur are as popular today as they were in medieval times. Perhaps we are still looking for the same virtues in our leaders and the same romance in our lives. In Book One of the Excalibur Rising novels, I have explored the possibility that Arthur is not dead, and he will return.
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