Living History
History of Jousting
Jousting began during the Middle Ages (around the 10th century) as knights became the main combatants during battles. Jousting tournaments were a way for knights to practice their skills on horseback as well as their skills with the lance.
Godfrey de Preuilly is credited with having created the sport of jousting and jousting tournaments. The first recorded jousting tournament was in 1066, though it did not gain popularity until the 12th century. The lands of England were divided up in a feudal system. Meaning that everyone who owned land paid allegiance to the King. This meant that noblemen had to fight and protect their king. So, jousting became a form of mock battle to improve upon their skills as well as provide entertainment to the people of the kingdom.
The Lost Expedition
Finding safe and quick passages for shipping routes during the 19th century was key to helping businesses thrive as well as making trade quicker and easier. One of the hardest trade routes for the British Empire was the Northwest Passage. A shipping route that was proving difficult to navigate due to the fact that it was in arctic waters and it was incredibly perilous to travel because of ice flows.
The Northwest Passage is in the arctic waters off of the Queen Elizabeth Islands and is located near Victoria and Baffin Island. The Franklin Expedition was sent in order to find a safe route through the Northwest Passage for ships to have a safe passage. Captain Sir John Franklin was given command of the expedition. He was given a crew of 24 officers and 110 men, along with two ships: Erebus and HMS Terror. The only members of the entire crew who had any Arctic experience were Franklin, Francis Crozier (Captain of HMS Terror), and two other officers. The ships and crews were given their provisions: three years worth of preserved meat in hastily soldered tin cans.