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Wiktionary
tiltyard

n. (alternative form of tilt-yard English)

WordNet
tiltyard

n. (formerly) an enclosed field for tilting contests

Wikipedia
Tiltyard

A tiltyard (or tilt yard or tilt-yard) was an enclosed courtyard for jousting. Tiltyards were a common feature of Tudor era castles and palaces. The Horse Guards Parade in London was formerly the tiltyard constructed by Henry VIII as an entertainment venue adjacent to Whitehall Palace; it was the site of the Accession Day tilts in the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I.

Henry VIII also constructed a tiltyard at Hampton Court Palace, where one of the towers, known as the Tiltyard Tower, was used for viewing the tournaments below.

The Tiltyard at Whitehall was "a permanent structure and apparently had room for 10-12,000 spectators, accommodated in conditions which ranged from the spartan to the opulent." Ambitious young aristocrats participated in the Accession Day events for the Elizabeth I in 1595 where "the whole chivalric nature of the tournament with its mock combat and heroic connotations was peculiarly appealing." The aristocrats who attended wore elaborate costumes "designed and made for themselves and their servants."

Another tiltyard used during the reign of Queen Elizabeth existed at Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire. It was constructed on top of one of the dams that formed part of the water defences between the outer bailey and the bridgehead. Today it forms the main walkway to the castle.

A modern tiltyard was constructed outside the Royal Armouries in Leeds for demonstrations of medieval martial pursuits, including jousting reenactment and falconry.

Usage examples of "tiltyard".

You are to prepare the castle and the tiltyard for their entertainment.

Rain began to fall in the night, and by morning was coming down in torrents, streaming from every gutter in the castle, turning the moat into a lake and the tiltyard into a lagoon.

Miriel scolded from the tiltyard gate, startling Deirdre from her thoughts.

As he neared the tiltyard, a cloud of dust from the field heralded the presence of a lone fighter.

She wrenched open the gate of the tiltyard and slammed it shut, rattling the wattle fence.

Deirdre in the tiltyard, work her till her limbs collapsed from fatigue.

And that desire, here on the hard ground of the tiltyard, raged nigh as violent as their battle.

A grand tiltyard and practice field stood at the far end of the property, and the imposing square keep at the heart of the holding was comprised of the great hall, numerous bedchambers, garderobes, a buttery, a pantry, and several cellars.

Street, the north side of the Palace housing the cockpit and tennis courts and the tiltyard where tournaments and bear baiting were held.

WHITEHALL PALACE was a formidable structure with its thousand or so rooms, but the massive gardens, orchards, tennis courts, and tiltyard built during the reign of the late king were equally resplendent amid the color of the budding spring blossoms.

Harry was beautifully proportioned, was already an excellent horseman and a useful performer in the tiltyard as well as in the tennis court.

And before a month was out Henry was to be unhorsed in the tiltyard at Greenwich, lie unconscious and get up with a wound in the leg which was never to heal: Anne, told by her stupid uncle, Norfolk, that the King was dead, was to miscarry.

In another December, north of Bedford, in Buckden, Suffolk, hero of the battlefield and the tiltyard, victor of many a bedchamber, had been defeated, outmanoeuvred by a headstrong woman and a group of peasants.

Pagan, she might have spent the past week in much more pleasurable activities than sulking by the tiltyard and snapping at servants.

Durham House on The Strand, her own apartments over the tiltyard at Greenwich Palace for the Christmas season.