Wedding Tourney

"My father had a tourney before his wedding. It's tradition."

- Arthur to Merlin

The Wedding Tourney was a two-day jousting competition held in honour of Arthur Pendragon's marriage to Guinevere. Participants include the Knights of Camelot and the Shade Lancelot, with Arthur emerging the victor.

History
On the first day of the tournament, the Knights of Camelot captured decorative rings with their lances and presented them to Guinevere, who sat in the royal box with Lord Agravaine.

Among the participants was Sir Lancelot, whose return shocked the court because he had been presumed dead. However, Merlin later found that he was not real Lancelot, but a Shade raised from the dead by Morgana to prevent Gwen from becoming Queen of Camelot.

On the second day, the Knights began jousting against each other and Arthur, Leon, Percival, and Lancelot advanced to the semi-finals. Lancelot defeated Percival and Arthur defeated Leon, leaving Arthur and Lancelot to face off in the final.

Lancelot dealt Arthur a heavy blow during the first round, but though badly injured he refused to withdraw. Observing how Arthur could barely hold his lance, Lancelot forfeited the second round and ceded victory to the king. His actions touched Arthur, who affirmed that he'd always thought Lancelot the most noble of his knights and thanked him for his courtesy (Lancelot du Lac).

Trivia

 * According to Arthur, wedding tourneys were a Pendragon family tradition. Uther also held one before his wedding to Ygraine (Lancelot du Lac).
 * This is the second jousting tournament where Arthur defeats Sir Leon in the semi-finals, the first being the annual tournament held in The Once and Future Queen.