Photograph by J.J. Kelley / NGT
About the Show
Will full-contact professional jousting be the next extreme sport? For some, it is a real-life passion and thrives outside of the movies and Renaissance fairs. Charlie Andrews leads the “Knights of Mayhem,” a group of modern-day Lancelots and Galahads dedicated to transforming this medieval sport from a staged act to a professional sports phenomenon that will sweep the globe. For these “knights,” jousting is no dinner show. Donning 130 pounds of steel armor, they mount 2,000-pound horses and charge at each other with solid hemlock lances at speeds up to 30-mph, while peering through a quarter-inch eye slot in their helmets. When lance and knight collide, riders struggle to control their horses and absorb devastating impacts with potential for concussions, broken bones and far worse.
Meet the Knights of Mayhem
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Who Are These Knights in Shining Armor?
Learn more about Charlie, Jason, Brian, and the Black Knight.
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Featured Episode
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First Blood
Charlie Andrews and his Knights of Mayhem are determined to make professional full-contact jousting the next extreme sport.
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On Exhibit
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Anglo-Saxon Hoard: Gold from England’s Dark Ages
Don’t miss the only U.S. appearance! At the NG Museum in D.C. thru March 4
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Shop National Geographic
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Medieval World
Sumptuously illustrating a thousand years of history, this comprehensive historical atlas shows what happened across the globe between A.D. 400 and 1500—from the fall of Rome to the age of discovery.
