Eglinton Tournament of 1839 - Background

Background

The Gothic Revival and the rise of Romanticism of the late 18th and early 19th centuries were an international phenomenon. Medieval-style jousts, for example, were regularly held in Sweden between 1777 and 1800. Gothic novels, such as The Castle of Otranto, by Horace Walpole (1717–1797) and the many works of Sir Walter Scott popularised the idea of passionate romanticism and praise of chivalric ideals. Walpole himself was one of the first in England to renovate his mansion into a mock-Gothic castle, Strawberry Hill (1749–1777).

Medieval culture was widely admired as an antidote to the modern enlightenment and industrial age. Plays and theatrical works (such as Ivanhoe, which in 1820 was playing in six different productions in London alone) perpetuated the romanticism of knights, castles, feasts and tournaments. Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) of Germany painted magnificent Gothic ruins and spiritual allegories. Jane Austen (1775–1815) wrote her novel Northanger Abbey (written 1798, published 1817) as a satire on romantic affectation.

The Montgomerie family had a romantic tale of chivalry which bound them to the idea of a revival of such ideals, this being the acquisition of the pennon and spear of Harry Hotspur, aka Sir Henry Percy, at the Battle of Otterburn by a Montgomerie. The price for Hotspur's release was the building of the castle of Polnoon in Eaglesham, Renfrewshire for the Montgomeries. It is said that the Duke of Northumberland, head of the Percy family, made overtures for the return of the pennon in 1839 and was given the answer, "There's as good lea land at Eglinton as ever there was at Chevy Chase (Otterburn); let Percy come and take them."

In 1838 Whig Prime Minister Lord Melbourne announced that the coronation of Queen Victoria would not include the traditional medieval-style banquet in Westminster Hall. Seeking to disempower the monarchy in particular and romantic ideology and politics in general was a normal activity for the Whig party, so, in the face of recession, the more obviously anachronistic parts of the coronation celebrations would be considered an extravagance. Furthermore, memories of embarrassing mishap at George IV's Westminster Hall banquet were still fresh; uproar having resulted when, at the end of the proceedings, people tried to obtain valuable tableware as souvenirs. King William IV had cancelled his banquet to prevent a repeat. Although there was some popular support for government refusal to hold the traditional event, there were "many complaints and various public struggles, as well as on the part of the antiquaries, as on that of the tradesmen of the metropolis". Critics referred to Victoria's slimmed-down coronation scornfully as "The Penny Crowning". Despite attempts to achieve economies, contemporary accounts point out that Victoria's coronation in fact cost £20,000 more than that of George IV. Nevertheless, her coronation did feature an innovation: the procession from the palace to Westminster Abbey, which was very popular. However, it was not just the ancient Great Feast itself which had been cancelled but also other rituals which traditionally were not paid for by the state anyway such as the throwing down of the gauntlet by the Queen's Champion, and his symbolic presentation to her of two falcons. "Obeisance to the past was in 1839 was not just a fad; for some, it was an urgent need". Lord Eglinton’s own stepfather, Sir Charles Montolieu Lamb, 2nd Baronet, as Knight Marshal of the Royal Household, would have led his horse into the Great Hall of Westminster as part of one of these colourful and widely loved rituals. On August 4, 1838, the "Court Journal" printed a rumour that Archibald William Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton, was going to host a great jousting tournament at his castle in Scotland. It has been speculated that it was Sir Charles or his son who suggested to Lord Eglinton that he should provide the nation with its missing rites of passage by holding a great mediaeval festival himself, but whatever the details, within a few weeks Eglinton had confirmed the rumour true.

At first the suggestion was that mediaeval games would be held at the next private race meeting at Eglinton, including the ceremony of the challenge carried out by a knight clad in armour.