"I ask all knights and squires who accept this challenge not to believe that the tournament I have organized arises from arrogance, hatred, vanity, or any base desire. All I wish for is to gain your friendship and praise."
This edict, personally signed by Amalric I, was copied by monks and carefully transcribed onto a three-foot-square wooden board. Its first letter was enlarged, surrounded by images of saints and decorative patterns, and the board was erected at the entrance to the tournament grounds, where everyone entering or leaving could see it.
The same words appeared throughout the states of the Holy Land and in places even farther away. The farthest place, as we all know, was England, homeland of William Marshal, the knight of a hundred victories who had never lost in either mêlée or one-on-one mounted combat. He saw the King of Jerusalem's challenge and invitation on a notice board in London and hurried over without delay.
Some small towns might not have had notice boards, and their lords might not even have been literate, so "messengers" also rode through forests, rivers, and marshes to bring the news to castles and fortresses.
The tournament Amalric I held for this wedding was said to last several months from beginning to end. It was astonishing, but not all that rare, because it took one or two months simply for knights to arrive from all directions. During the following three or four months, more would continue to trickle in—if the tournament ended after the usual six to eight weeks, some knights would still be on the road when it was over.
The notices and letters of challenge also stated the location of the tournament and the rules the knights had to observe. For instance, they were not to plunder residents along the