An Irish Tilting Match

This cartoon, by Henry Heath, was published by Fores on 29 April 1824. Three officers of the 10th Hussars are being tossed by Irish women. The officers cry out that they don’t like bullying, or tossing. The cartoon Symptoms of Humility also mentioned bullying so this was clearly an issue in the regiment. A joke is made about the 10th being unable to fly. The subtitle is ‘The Poissards against the Poignards’, but the meaning of this is not clear. Poissards seem to translate as fishwives or something that brings bad luck. A poignard is a pointed dagger. The Irish ‘tilting’ match is a reference to jousting as carried out by opposing armoured knights in the middle ages. The image is courtesy of the National Trust.

Regimental Details | 10th Hussars Cartoons 1824