joust, western European mock battle between two horsemen charging each other with levelled lances, each attempting to unhorse the other. Early medieval tournaments consisted of mêlées, mock battles between two bodies of armed horsemen; later both the mêlée and the joust took place at tournaments, and in the 15th century the joust tended to supersede the mêlée. Jousting fell from favour by the beginning of the 16th century. Tilting, or riding, at the rings is a form of jousting in which the horseman rides at full gallop and inserts his lance through small metal rings. The term joust was also used for contests between two men who fought on foot.