The introduction of the knights, pictured in 2008.Medieval Times in Schaumburg, Illinois, displaying the coat of arms of Peralada, Catalonia, and the Viscounts Rocabertí, lords of Peralada Castle. Medieval Times founder Jose Montaner was uncle to the Count of Perelada, with the Count holding stock in the company until 2016.Medieval Times at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The first jousting tournament recorded in the 19th century, listed as the "oldest continuously-held sporting event in North America", was first held at the Natural Chimneys in Mount Solon, Virginia, in 1821. The tournament proved to be popular, becoming an annual event, and the joust is still held each year the third Saturday in August on the same grounds.[8]
William Gilmor, a wealthy descendant of Scottish-born immigrant Robert Gilmor (1748-1822) of Baltimore, Maryland, organized the second official jousting tournament event on American soil at White Sulphur Springs, now part of West Virginia, on 28 August 1841. Gilmor had come up with the idea after witnessing the popular, but ill-fated Eglinton Tournament in Scotland on 29 August 1839.[8]
After 1840, jousting tournaments became popular entertainment in every Southern state south of the Mason-Dixon Line. During the American Civil War (12 April 1861 – 26 May 1865), tournaments were held less often, but still occasionally occurred, including one account of an Alabama Confederate cavalry regiment holding one such event at their winter quarters along the Potomac River. Per one description of the event, "They rode in rags and barefoot, but with great enthusiasm." There was another famous jousting tournament held during the Civil War on the lawn at Monticello near Charlottesville, Virginia in the fall of 1863, where "Confederate soldiers and their ladies hosted a splendid tournament when the Yankees were bragging that even a crow couldn't fly across the valley without their consent".[8]
After the end of the Civil War in 1865, and into the early 20th century, jousting tournaments remained a popular pastime among Southerners and ex-Confederates, with some even referring to the joust as the "National Sport of the South".[8] In 1962, jousting was designated as the official state sport of Maryland, a Southern-adjacent state, by the Maryland General Assembly.[9]
The first two Medieval Times-styled shows were developed in the late 1960s by Jose Montaner in Spain at Majorca and Benidorm. Montaner converted the barbecue restaurant on the family farm to entertainment and food venue. Actors portrayed 11th-century jousting of knights of the northern Spanish and southern French kingdoms of Aragon, Navarre, and the village of Perelada, using stories derived from Montaner's family history. Montaner claims to be a descendant of Charlemagne.[10][11] Accounts indicated that Tino Brana, who was involved in the jousting scenes from the 1961 film El Cid, was involved in staging the jousts.[11]
In April 1997, the franchises in Florida and California sought bankruptcy protection after losing a court battle with the IRS that required the Buena Park location to pay US$7.5 million and the Orlando location to pay $2.5 million in back taxes (equivalent to about $13.7 and $4.6M in 2022). According to the IRS, Medieval Times improperly deducted royalties, loan interest, and management fees in the 1987 and 1989 tax years. When asked why the company was filing for bankruptcy the company's bankruptcy lawyer, Alan Friedman, said, "One of the primary reasons for filing was to prevent the IRS from beginning to seize any assets."[13]
The shows change about every six years.[14] A new show premiered in late 2017; and, for the first time in the 34-year history of the franchise, the lead role was filled by a Queen, rather than a King. This change was due to feedback from guests who wanted to see women in more significant acting roles. The company also stated that it took two months to teach a Queen how to ride an Andalusian horse.[15]
On 31 May 2022, employees at Medieval Times in New Jersey filed for a union election with the NLRB, working with the American Guild of Variety Artists.[16] In October 2022, the company sued the union over name and logo trademark violations; the suit was subsequently dismissed; MT was, however, able to pressure TikTok to shut the union's social media account on intellectual property grounds.[17] In November 2022, employees at the Buena Park location also won a union election 27-18 to join the American Guild of Variety Artists,[18] and initiated a strike soon after, in February 2023, over pay and safety concerns.[19] After nine months on strike, in November, the union said it would end the strike and return to work while the negotiating team continues to fight for a "safe and equitable" work environment for cast, crew and animals.[20]
Jose's son, Perico Montaner, is now the President and CEO of the private company, which is headquartered in Irving, Texas.[21][5]
As of 19 October 2017, Medieval Times had served over 65 million guests across its entire history as a franchise.[15]
Jousting is a medieval and renaissance martial game or hastilude between two combatants either on horse or on foot. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, the NLRB has the authority to supervise elections for labor union representation and to investigate and remedy unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of protected concerted activity.
Eltham Palace is a large house at Eltham in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The house consists of the medieval great hall of a former royal residence, to which an Art Deco extension was added in the 1930s. The hammerbeam roof of the great hall is the third-largest of its type in England, and the Art Deco interior of the house has been described as a "masterpiece of modern design". The house is owned by the Crown Estate and managed by English Heritage, which took over responsibility for the great hall in 1984 and the rest of the site in 1995.
A tournament, or tourney, was a chivalrous competition or mock fight in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and is a type of hastilude. Tournaments included mêlée, hand-to-hand combat, contests of strength, accuracy, and sometimes jousts. Although some thought that the tournaments were a threat to public order, the shows were still often held to celebrate coronations, marriages of notable figures, births, recent conquests, peace treatises; to welcome those considered of great importance, such as ambassadors and lords; or for no particular reason at all, and simply for entertainment. Certain tournaments are depicted throughout the Codex Manesse.
Excalibur Hotel and Casino is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, in the United States. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. The resort features a medieval castle theme and is named after King Arthur's mythical Excalibur sword. Property features include a 92,389 sq ft (8,583.2 m2) casino, a 28-story hotel with 3,981 rooms, and various restaurants.
Dinner theater is a form of entertainment that combines a restaurant meal with a staged play or musical. "Dinner and a show" can also refer to a restaurant meal in combination with live concert music, where patrons listen to a performance during a break in the meal. In the case of a theatrical performance, sometimes the play is incidental entertainment, secondary to the meal. In the style of a night club, the play may be the main feature of the evening, with dinner less important or optional. Dinner theater requires the management of three distinct entities: a live theater, a restaurant and, usually, a bar.
Howl at the Moon is an American chain of live music venues, generally referred to as piano bars, established in 1990. As of 2024, the franchise had 14 locations in U.S. cities, plus locations on Norwegian Cruise Line ships. The company has also produced a traveling version of their dueling piano concept, which has been used for entertainment at charitable fundraising events.
A theme restaurant is a type of restaurant that uses theming to attract diners by creating a memorable experience. Theme restaurants have a unifying or dominant subject or concept, and utilize architecture, decor, special effects, and other techniques, often to create exotic environments that are not normally associated with dining because they are inaccessible, no longer exist, are fictional or supernatural, or taboo. The theme may be further extended through the naming and choices of food, though food is usually secondary to entertaining guests.
A tiltyard 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.
The Remington Rand strike of 1936–1937 was a strike by a federal union affiliated with the American Federation of Labor (AFL) against the Remington Rand company. The strike began in May 1936 and ended in April 1937, although the strike settlement would not be fully implemented until mid-1940.
The Eglinton Tournament of 1839 was a reenactment of a medieval joust and revel held in North Ayrshire, Scotland between 28 and 30 August. It was funded and organized by Archibald, Earl of Eglinton, and took place at Eglinton Castle in Ayrshire. The Queen of Beauty was Georgiana, Duchess of Somerset. Many distinguished visitors took part, including Prince Louis Napoleon, the future Emperor of the French.
SPB Hospitality is a multi-brand restaurant operator headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company owned several casual dining restaurant chain brands, including Logan's Roadhouse, Old Chicago, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants, and Rock Bottom Restaurants Breweries. As of November 2019, CraftWorks owned and operated over 390 restaurants in the United States, but all of its owned-and-operated locations closed by March 2020, after a Chapter 11 bankruptcy followed immediately by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and CraftWorks and terminated its 18,000 employees, leaving fewer than 25 employed. On June 12, 2020, SPB Hospitality purchased Craftworks businesses out of bankruptcy for $93 million.
Shane Adams is a Canadian Equestrian Team athlete in modern competitive jousting. He is currently the Captain and owner of North America's Premier Full Contact Jousting Team, The Knights of Valour.
Full Metal Jousting is an American reality game show that debuted on the History Channel on February 12, 2012. The show featured 16 contestants, split into two teams of eight, competing in full-contact competitive jousting, a combat sport developed by host Shane Adams since the late 1990s. One by one, the contestants were eliminated tournament-style until only one remained. That contestant received a $100,000 grand prize.
The Government Building, also known as the Arts, Crafts and Hobbies Building, is a heritage exhibition building at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Built in 1911 for the annual Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), the building has been used since 1993 as the Toronto location of the Medieval Times chain of dinner theatres.
Apple Inc. workers around the globe have been involved in organizing since the 1990s. Apple worker organizations have been made up of retail, corporate, and outsourced workers. Employees have joined trade unions and formed works councils in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States.
Running at the ring, riding at the ring or tilting at the ring is an equestrian tournament activity originally practiced at European royal courts and likely derived from other lance games like quintain. It gained new popularity at Natural Chimneys near Mount Solon, Virginia, possibly as early as the 1820s, and since 1962, has been the state sport of Maryland. A similar contest, the corrida de sortija, is held in Argentina where it is considered a gaucho sport derived from the Spanish tradition of medieval tournaments.
As of June 2023, over 8,000 workers at over 360 Starbucks stores in at least 40 states in the United States have voted to unionize, primarily with Workers United. As of March 2023 none have yet enacted a collective bargaining agreement. This unionization effort started at a store in Buffalo, New York. About a third of Starbucks' Chilean workforce is already unionized, as well as 450 workers in New Zealand and eight stores in Canada. The longest Starbucks strike lasted 64 days, took place in Brookline, Massachusetts in September 2022 and resulted in the unionization of the employees at that location.
Tournament of Kings is a medieval-themed dinner show performed on the Las Vegas Strip at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino. Opened in June 1990, Tournament of Kings was the third-longest running show on the Las Vegas Strip in 2018.
Martin, David G. (1993). The Philadelphia Campaign: June 1777 – July 1778. Conshohocken, PA: Combined Books. ISBN0-938289-19-5. 2003 Da Capo reprint, ISBN0-306-81258-4.
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