“The king hath promised never to joust again except it be with as good a man as himself.” So stated an angry Henry VIII on 20 May 1516, following a tournament held in honour of his sister Margaret, Queen of Scots. Jousting was the king's favourite sport, but the day had proved disastrous. As always, Henry was captain of the Challengers, the team comprising the jousting elite of the Tudor court: Sir Nicholas Carew; Henry Bourchier, Earl of Essex; and Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk.
The opposing team, the Answerers, consisted of a dozen other jousting enthusiasts from court. They waited in the lists (the barriers that defined the edge of the tournament ground) to answer the challenges given by Henry and his three dashing knights.
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