Like the sports of the 21st Century, the tournament of the middle ages had mass appeal with the people of the day.
Warriors have engaged in mock combat since antiquity. The idea of what we call tournament today has its origins with the mounted knight of the 9th century. Those knights who participated in these events would do so to develop skill and tactic in the warfare of the time.
The tournaments of Men of Iron adopt the color and the pageantry of the tournaments of history and while retaining the spirit of the ancient event. We strive for safety with all of our combat events by reducing or eliminating the most dangerous aspects that the historical event posed to its knightly participants.

Men of Iron has developed a set of tournament events for everyone regardless of physical ability. The events for a tournament are divided into two separate categories: Martial events and Noble events.

The Martial events will cover most of the traditional events that would normally be associated with a tournament of the middle ages. Archery, crossbow, javelin, battle axe throw, throwing knife and the combat sword. These events require that the participant receive instruction in each of these events for maximum safety during the event that will ultimately result in the member earning a Men of Iron Tournament Card. Each of the six endorsements to earn the tournament card have four components that must be satisfied: Memorization, Knowledge, Demonstration and Proficiency. Learn more about the Tournament Card and what it takes to earn it here: Tournament Card

Once a tournament card has been earned, that member may participate in any of the martial events he chooses.

The Noble events are events such as chess, bocce, backgammon, quoits and other games of skill that knights would have known as part of castle life.

For those who want to compete in the classic martial events, the Men of Iron Tournament Manual provides all of the information that a member will need to learn all there is to know about this portion of the tournament. Within the manual is detailed information on how to earn the Tournament Card, Safety guidelines for each of the martial events and specific guidelines and safety information for the Combat Sword event.

Each year, households will hold a Household Tournament for its members. This may be a single household or it may be a group of local households that have come together to compete. Details on this can be found in the Marshals Guide.

There is also the Barons Tournament that is held each year. This is a gathering of each household within the Barony to compete and declare champions in each category and a tournament champion. This will be a much larger event than the local household event and will include a tournament feast as a part of the event.

Whether you are athletic or a thinker, the tournament has an event that will bring out the competitor in you!