[MR] Stilt Jousting - 600 years plus and counting

[Terri Morgan]

> My father is Belgian, when I was little he made several pairs of
> stilts of varying heights for us to play with. Never thought much
> about it until Dame Hrothny put out a little book called "What the
> Natives Say" and in it was a account of a town in Belgium under
> siege being saved by the powers of the stilt. Contact Hrothny for
>  the particulars to the story to go with the rest of your research.
> Siobhan Mcklinchey

It just so happens that I'm still awake and I've got the book right next to
me...

The legend is that When Jehan of Flanders, Count of Namur, laid siege to the
town, the town leaders begged him to accept their surrender (the people were
starving). But he replied, "No. There is no pardon; not even if you come on
foot, on horseback, by wagon, or by boat!" After considerable thought and
some practise, every adult of the town approached him in a procession of
surrender while on stilts. Amused, he pardoned the town. An annual festival
to celebrate the event was established in 1411. It is held in September.


Hrothny