Se valora el componente realista o ficticio de los torneos en las novelas de Chretien de Troyes a partir de los usos contemporanos de estos combates deportivos. Se llega a afirmar que los combates literarios ofrecen un mayor numero de datos relacionados con estas practicas, mas aun que los materiales historicos. El autor del Cliges y del Perceval incluye en sus textos referencias a algunas ciudades de Inglaterra, y reviste estas celebraciones de valores accesorios y ricas connotaciones. Las referencias ultimas se encuentran en la Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal, compuesta entre 1226 y 1231."Chretien’s portrayal often mirrors the changing and complex society of the time, replicating situations that could - and did - happen in aristocratic life. Some of them could actually be the cause of tournaments, where others were dealt with by them. A liegelord would train his entourage by organising a tournament, would entertain his entourage by holding another and could even use the same entourage as a statement of his power if he challenged a fellow nobleman. On the other hand, sequential and spatial information have their importance in characterising the physical environment of the tournament. Allusions to time are unfortunately more vague, and even though on the whole they do not add greatly to what we know from other sources, the indications on how the day of the tournament is arranged put forward a few answers. As to the place, we can discern from the writer’s account that it is very much in conformity with contemporary accounts, sometimes allowing for further enquiry." (pp. 25-26). Si desea consultar la version electronica de este articulo, pulse aqui