A joust involving two Scottish lords who don’t seem to have existed….

Excerpt from The Brut or The Chronicles of England, ed. Friedrich W.D. Brie (London, 1906), pp. 343-4, 348.

“….[1393]….And in the seventeenth year of his [Richard II‘s] reign, certain lords of Scotland came to England to win renown through deeds of arms.   And these are the persons:  The Earl of Mar, who challenged the Earl Marshal of England to joust with him certain points on horseback with sharp spears.  And so they rode against each other certain courses, like two worthy knights and lords, but not the full challenge that the Scottish earl made.  For he was cast down, both horse and man, and two of his ribs were broken in the fall; and so he was carried out of Smithfield and home to his inn.  And a little time afterwards he was carried homeward in a litter, and at York he died. And Sir William Darell, knight, (died 1388!), and banner-bearer of Scotland, made another challenge with Sir Peter Courtenay, knight and king’s banner-bearer of England, to certain courses on horseback on the same field. And when he had ridden certain courses, and saw that he could not win, he gave up, and did not wish to do rest of his challnege, and turned his horse around and rode home to his own inn. And one Kocborne, squire, of Scotland, challenged Sir Nicholas Hawberke, knight, to certain courses with sharp spears on horseback; and rode five courses all together.   And at every course the Scot was cast down, both horse and man, and thus our English lords — God be thanked! — had the field….”

This account is clearly spot on. Well, apart from the niggly fact that there doesn’t seem to have been an Earl of Mar in 1393 (one had died and his sister’s husband was trying to suceed—he didn’t die in 1393 either!) As for Sir William Darell he passed away in 1388 (his son, another William was born in 1384, so hardly old enough to joust). I can’t trace a relevant Sir Nicholas Hawberke either. Oh, but Thomas Mowbray was indeed Earl of Nottingham and Earl Marshal in that year. And Sir Peter Courtenay existed too, but I can’t connect him to this particular joust of 1393.

Yet these these encounters in Smithfield do seem to have taken place…but when? I can’t trace them. They don’t seem to have been contained within a larger tournament, but more something specific to these men in particular. Maybe I’m wrong. And maybe you, O Wise Ones, can supply all the details?