Pas d'armes
The pas d'armes (French pronunciation: [pa daʁm]) or passage of arms was a type of chivalric hastilude that evolved in the late 14th century and remained popular through the 15th century. It involved a knight or group of knights (tenans or "holders") who would stake out a traveled spot, such as a bridge or city gate, and let it be known that any other knight who wished to pass (venans or "comers") must first fight, or be disgraced. If a traveling venan did not have weapons or horse to meet the challenge, one might be provided, and if the venan chose not to fight, he would leave his spurs behind as a sign of humiliation. If a lady passed unescorted, she would leave behind a glove or scarf, to be rescued and returned to her by a future knight who passed that way.
The origins of pas d'armes can be found in a number of factors. During the 14th and 15th centuries the chivalric idea of a noble knight clashed with new more deadly forms of warfare, as seen during the Hundred Years' War, when peasants armed with longbows could damage and wound knights anonymously from a distance, breaking traditional rules of chivalry; and cavalry charges could be broken by pikemen formations introduced by the Swiss.
