“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” the latest entry in the “Game of Thrones” franchise, is a fantasy show, but it is shockingly realistic in one key area: its depiction of jousting. Much of medieval history is arcane to the general public. But jousting, a medieval martial sport in which two horse riders charge at each other in an attempt to strike, or unhorse, their opponent with a lance, has managed to transcend a historical niche and hit home with contemporary audiences. That’s thanks in part to fictional representations of the period in Renaissance fairs, movies like “A Knight’s Tale,” and now “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” which puts jousting front and center.
The show trades the dragons, ice zombies and political backstabbing of “Game of Thrones” for a week in the life of Ser Duncan the Tall, a traveling knight looking to make a name for himself in a jousting tournament. “In many ways, ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘House of the Dragon’ and ‘Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ are often more accurate than many dramatizations of medieval history in its dynamics, in its texture,” said Hugh Doherty, a medievalist who consulted on “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”
