Private FeasIs.—Family feasts, such as betrothals, weddings, baptisms, etc., were celebrated more frequently in the cities, where the larger cir Iles of relationship made them more elaborate, than in the country. Birthday feasts, which in Protestant countries took the place of the cele bration of the patron saint, were of later introduction. All these occa sions were marked by great extravagance and luxury, to which in the imperial cities legislation attempted to set bounds—a thing not so prac ticable in the country, and unknown, of course, at the courts. At the wedding of Duke Ulrich of Wurtemberg with the princess Sabina of Bavaria in 1511, no less than seven thousand guests were entertained at Stuttgart. One hundred and thirty-six oxen and eighteen hundred calves were slaughtered for food; six thousand bushels of wheat were required by the baker; and red and white wines flowed unceasingly day and night from two reservoirs.
"Esthetic Pleasures.. the close of the sixteenth century resthetic pleasures began to find a place beside the coarser enjoyments of feasting and drinking. Among the former, dancing-parties played an important part, and were even then called balls. The name, as well as the amusement itself, is derived from the games of ball and shuttlecock, which were enlivened by the singing and evolutions of the players. These movements, after a greater development, filially became all-im portant at such amusements ; originally they consisted merely in the alternate forward and backward marching of couples arranged in rows, this measured movement being interrupted by occasional skipping. In time the irregular springs were themselves subjected to strict rules, the ball-playing was omitted, and the real dance came into existence. In the evening, in order to beautify and illuminate the scene, torch-bearers were introduced who led the dance. In place of the ball-playing, masks and allegories were sometimes introduced.
Figure i (61. 45) is a scene from a ball given by the archduke (after ward emperor) Maximilan II. in 156o in honor of the count palatine Albrecht during his visit to Vienna. The ball and other festivities con nected with his visit were, in accordance with the custom of that time, recorded and illustrated in a special book. We reproduce from that source Figure 2, which represents a tournament. No contemporary picture of the medimval tournaments is extant, and hence this illustration, though its subject Must have been only an imitation of the earlier tournaments, is valuable.
perhaps, only exercises in riding, the tournaments became in France contests of strength and of skill, and in that form were introduced into Germany in the twelfth century. During
the " golden age " of chivalry only persons of ascertained nobility and of blameless character could participate in them, and hence they were always preceded by a scrutiny of the contestants' coats of arms. They were governed by fixed laws, the violation of which involved punishment and disgrace. Heralds 3), each wearing his master's coat of arms on his peculiar costume, constables, and functionaries of various grades, all in appropriate colors, had charge of the proceedings. Fools and clowns, who brought the ridiculous into relief upon all festive occasions, plied their trade also at the expense of the participants in the tourney.
The knights fought either singly or in troops. The weapons consisted of lances, swords, or maces, the latter intended simply to deprive the helmets of their ornamentation; the former were sharp-pointed if the combat were real, otherwise the points were blunted. The armor, more complete than that used in war, extended even to the steed. Sometimes the horses were cased in mail, but in the lance-tilts, which were the usual form of tournament, they were merely covered with cloths (pl. 44 , adapted to the outlines of the body, even covering the eves, so as to pre vent their shying. The shields and helmets of the knights, and even the coverings of the steeds, were decorated with coats of arms, allegorical devices, and even comical pictures.
At tournaments of lance-breaking (p1. 45, fig. 2) the participants were separated by a boarding, while in other cases there was no barrier except that which excluded the spectators from the lists. The guests of rank occupied tribunes, the principal one being reserved for the lady who was to bestow the guerdon on the winner. In the beginning the prizes con sisted of gold chaplets, chains, etc., and later probably of more substantial rewa rd s.
After the decline of chivalry the emperor Maximilian I. made many petty regulations concerning tournaments which refilled away their genuine spirit. As serious and occasionally fatal accidents resulted from these sports (for even battle-axes were sometimes used), they were much modified in the sixteenth century, and became mere exhibitions of skill. In this form the competitors had for an opponent a wooden figure of a Turk, or else they strove to catch on their spear-points a ring hung up for the purpose; and, though the victory was not won with danger, it was applauded as vigorously as were the combats of old. This sport was called "ring-tilting" or carrousel. Its last form is that of the flying wooden horses which are usually found at fairs, and which arc the last relic of the once gallant sports of chivalry.