IMC 2026: Sessions

This session considers the practice and equipment of mounted combat in Western Europe and India, both in tournament as well as warfare. Jacob H. Deacon examines the arrangements for an early Tudor tournament known as The Challenge of the Lady May's Servants as a microcosm for studying how English tournaments were influenced by continental pas d'armes of the fifteenth century. Navaneeth Krishnan S. will explore the elephant’s integration into Mughal military science, governance, and law, from its codification in texts such as the Arthashastra and Matangalila to its ceremonial and symbolic functions. In doing so, it highlights how elephants shaped martial practice, projected kingship, and reflected broader cultural imaginations of power and prosperity. Sofia Lisam will discuss the arambai, a backward-thrown dart integral to the equestrian martial traditions of the Meiteis, an indigenous community of Manipur in India’s northeast. This paper traces the temporalities of the Arambai, its emergence, military significance, decline, and survival in memory, highlighting its role within broader histories of arms, armour, and the arts of combat. Samuel Bradley will assess tournaments as age-suitable activities in late medieval Italy to show how they were considered to be appropriate pastimes for young men, and as part of coming-of-age traditions, but were generally not acceptable for older men or those in positions of power.