the diamond jousts
Preserved but no longer current.
Jousts instituted by King Arthur, "who by that name had named them, since a diamond was the prize." The story, as embroidered by Tennyson in his Lancelot and Elaine from Malory (Bk. xviii, ch. 9-20) is that Arthur found nine diamonds from the crown of a slain knight and offered them as the prize of nine jousts in successive years.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “the diamond jousts” mean?
Jousts instituted by King Arthur, "who by that name had named them, since a diamond was the prize." The story, as embroidered by Tennyson in his Lancelot and Elaine from Malory (Bk. xviii, ch. 9-20) is that Arthur found nine diamonds from the crown of a slain knight and offered them as the prize of nine jousts in successive years.
Is “the diamond jousts” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.