Jouster killed in freak accident when shattered lance spears him through the eye during Time team re-enactment



A re-enactment of a medieval joust ended in the death of one of the actors taking part, an inquest heard today.

A splinter sheared off a 7ft wooden lance, spearing 54-year-old Peter Allen’s eye and brain.

The clash between two mounted knights was being filmed for an episode of the Channel 4 archaeological programme Time Team.

Scroll down for video of Paul Allen's funeral



Paul Allen (left), dressed in what appears to be Roman clothing, was killed during a joust at Rockingham Castle. His wife, Sharon McCann, wearing a medieval-style cloak, was at his inquest today (right)



Two men jousting in a re-enactment, not the incident where Mr Allen died. The inquest into his death heard he was killed when a splinter from a smashed lance flew through the eye slit of his helmet. (File picture)

THE UNCANNY PARALLELS WITH THE DEATH OF KING HENRY II The terrible accident which killed Paul Allen has uncanny parallels with the death of King Henry II. On June 30, 1559 the French ruler (below) was mortally wounded when the wooden lance of Gabriel Montgomery, the captain of the king's Scottish Guard, pierced his headgear and entered his eye.

The keen follower of tournaments had been at a gathering to mark a peace treaty with his enemies, the Habsburgs. He died 11 days later. Jousting formed an integral part of mediavel tournaments which were seen as training knights for combat. The aim was for a knight to knock his opponent off with his horse with a lance which would, in front of an audience, demonstrate his fighting skills and horsemanship. Despite there being rules governing what was and wasn't allowed, the spectacles were still extremely dangerous and often led to injury and even fatalities. The French knight Geoffroi de Purelli who is said to have been the first person to put together the guidelines governing tournaments died during a joust. The character of Henry VIII is said to have altered dramatically after a jousting accident when his horse fell on him injuring his leg.

A recent documentary by the History Channel suggested the incident in 1536 may also have damaged his brain thereby leading to a major personality change which saw him become more cruel.

Wikipedia, National Jousting Association , Journal of Neurosurgery



Mr Allen had been offered the opportunity to take part at the last minute.



Though the former teacher travelled the country performing historical re-enactments in schools and at shows, he and his opponent had no experience of jousting.

Their lances were fitted with balsa-wood tips, which are designed to shatter on impact with a shield, adding to the spectacle for re-enactment audiences.

But the inquest heard that the eye slits on the helmet worn by Mr Allen were too large and were designed in such a way to create a ‘dangerous catch zone’ which could divert oncoming objects into them – unlike authentic helmets from the period.

Mike Loades, a film and TV director specialising in historical scenes, also told the hearing that Mr Allen’s shield was strapped to his arm and shoulder so that it failed to adequately protect his face.



He said: ‘The key to jousting is the correct body equipment. If the armour is right, then any other mistakes will be relatively harmless.’

Mr Allen was airlifted to hospital after the accident at Rockingham Castle in Northamptonshire with a balsa-wood splinter still protruding from his left eye. It had come to rest five inches inside his head.

He died in hospital a week later, with cause listed as cardio-respiratory failure and a severe brain injury.

The inquest at Kettering, Northamptonshire, was told the joust was filmed in 2007 for a Time Team investigation of a now vanished building at Windsor Castle built by Edward III to house a round table for an elite order of knights based on the mythical King Arthur’s court.

Presenter Tony Robinson was not present at the accident.



At the request of Mr Allen’s family elements of the joust were included in the programme when it was eventually broadcast.



John Naylor, a consultant who helped organise the event, said he had let Mr Allen, of Heyden, Cambridgeshire, take his place as a favour because ‘it was one of his ambitions to ride as a knight’.

Mr Allen – an experienced horseman – was a member of several re-enactment groups.

Anne Pember, the coroner for Northamptonshire, recorded a narrative verdict, noting that there were failures to ‘engage a rider with a proven track record’ of jousting, failure to ensure correct helmets were used and that the shield had been properly strapped on.

She told his widow Sharon: ‘I’m sure Mr Allen was doing what he absolutely loved when he met his untimely death.’

Mrs Allen, 51, who also takes part in re-enactments, attended the inquest in a medieval cape and feathered hat.



She said outside the hearing that if her husband ‘could have written his script, this would have been his chosen end’.

Time team: The joust was being filmed for the Channel 4 programme hosted by Tony Robinson 8685

Channel 4 said it took health and safety issues ‘extremely seriously’.

