The Dredsden carousel of 1700

Then the Elector's cousin, King Fredrik IV of Denmark, visited Dresden between 26th May and 29th June 1709, this provided the occasion for a succession of festivities in his honour. The highlights were the ladies' carousel of 6th June, the carousel tournament of 19th June and the tilting of the ring on the night of 22nd June, which was staged as a banquet of the gods.

The carousel in Altmarkt on 10th June was preceded by a foot combat in armour and close helmet. According to the printed cartel, the carousel took the form of a contest between the four continents, represented by four quadrilles of 16 knights each. The Europeans led by the royal guest, the Asians by the Duke of Weissenfels, the Africans by the host, King Augustus II of Poland with blackened face, and the Americans, finally, by Duke Friedrich of Sachsen-Weissenfels.

The following weapons were supplied from the Pageantry Chamber of the court stables (Stallhof):

• Lances for tilting at quintains in the form of bears, with rings to strike.

• Small spears, javelins, to be thrown at the drawin of a tiger.

• Larger spears to throw at lions, the rule being for the spear to fasten in the target rings.

Sabres for cutting off a hydra head and a satyr head in full career after prescribed courses.

A draft programme for the feast of the gods had already been prepared by the King in 1695. At the nocturnal carousel in 1709 he appeared by torchlight as Apollo together with 72 other deities, while his guest took the part of Mars, the god of war. Tilting at the ring was then followed by tilting at the quintain, a banquet of the gods and a market (Mercerie).

A description of the carousel is included in the inventory of the "Schrankkammer" where the pageantry properties were stored. Many of these items were already discarded in the 18th century.