quintain

Definitions

An object (generally a post or plank on a support) set up as a target to be tilted at in jousting, or otherwise used as target practice.

historical

Equivalents

Examples

“My better parts Are all thrown down; and that which here stands up Is but a quintain, a mere lifeless block⟳.”

“At Offham, in Kent, tilting at the quintain provides a climax to the day's revels.”

“In the tiltyard, his companions felt the juddering impact of his sword-blows and saw⟳ the muscled precision of his archery and his tilting at the quintain.”

CEFR level