<P> The application of the term tournament to competition in games of skill or sports in general dates to the mid-18th century . </P> <P> Medieval equestrian warfare, and equestrian practice, did hark back to Roman antiquity, just as the notion of chivalry harked back to the rank of equites in Roman times . There may be an element of continuity connecting the medieval tournament to the hippika gymnasia of the Roman cavalry, but due to the sparsity of written records during the 5th to 8th centuries this is difficult to establish . It is known that such cavalry games were central to military training in the Carolingian Empire, with records of Louis and Charles' military games at Worms in 843 . At this event, recorded by Nithard, the initial chasing and fleeing was followed by a general mêlée of all combatants . </P> <P> Documentation of equestrian practice during the 9th to 10th centuries is still sparse, but it is clear that the tournament, properly so called, is a development of the High Middle Ages . This is recognized by medieval sources; a chronicler of Tours in the late 12th century attributes the "invention" of the knightly tournament to an Angevin baron, Geoffroi de Preulli, who supposedly died in 1066 . In 16th - century German historiography, the setting down of the first tournament laws is attributed to Henry the Fowler (r . 919--936); this tradition is cited by Georg Rüxner in his Thurnierbuch of c. 1530 as well as by Paulus Hector Mair in his De Arte Athletica (c. 1544 / 5). </P> <P> The earliest known use of the word "tournament" comes from the peace legislation by Count Baldwin III of Hainaut for the town of Valenciennes, dated to 1114 . It refers to the keepers of the peace in the town leaving it' for the purpose of frequenting javelin sports, tournaments and such like .' </P>

What kind of tournaments did knights compete in