Fair maidens and noble ladies
The role of women in tournaments is directly connected with the romances of chivalry and the songs which troubadours and minnesingers took with them from one court to another during the 12th and 13th centuries. The lovers in the stories of Arthur and Tristan, Guinevere and Lancelot and Tristan and Isolde (Iseult) are the focal point of the new literary fashion. Their love stories unfold to a background of chivalrous adventure and in the court life of isolated romantic castles. The songs of the troubadours reflect the adulation of women in that period. It is the man who loves, pines and humbles himself. The most important thing of all is to strive for the woman's favour.
Courtly love and chivalry are interlinked in the songs and romances. This is also the period when tournaments become more and more popular. In reality as in romance, the knight should cherish his lady and fight for her honour. At tournaments, the knight displayed the colours of his lady love. Before and during the contest it was customary for women to present their hero with a gift, a faveur, in the form of a veil, a belt or part of an item of clothing to be attached to the knight's armour or lance.
Women also played an active part in tournaments as officials in the viewing of helmets, Helm-und Wappenschau, before the tournament and the presentation of prizes afterwards. A chosen few were called upon to help verify, before the contest, the eligibility of the knights to participate. The shields and helmets of the contestants, showing the armorial bearings of their families, were then presented. The chosen women, who must themselves be of ancient noble families with tourneying rights, had the last word in this scrutiny.
The various tournament prizes were presented by the loveliest and most exalted women. These prizes or "thanks", Danken, were divided into various "classes": the Stechdank for the winner of the actual contest, the Zierdank for the one appearing in the loveliest (most elaborate) armour. Another prize went to the contestant who had travelled furthest, and there was often a special prize for the oldest of the knights. These prizes were always of great value, frequently taking the form of gold chains, wreaths and rings. Or again, they could be splendid suits of armour, beautiful shields and fine chargers presented by a princely personage. There were even cases of a noble maid or fair woman being the victor's reward, as for example at Gustav Vasa's coronation tournament in 1528, when the castellan Gudmun Pedersson Slatte won Anna Bengtsdotter Lillie, the widow of Erik Ryning, for his bride.
The prizes were most often presented in conjunction with the banquet following the tournament. These banquets were brilliant festivals at which an enormous meal would end with a ball and masquerade, Mummerien, which usually including dancing by torchligt. The tradition of a woman presenting the victor with his wreath lives on today in many prominent sporting events, for example at the finishing post of Sweden's Vasa ski race in Mora.