By now, most everyone "in the know" has seen the video posted by Fox Sports or seen other tweets or Facebook news about how English Heritage is petitioning to get jousting to be an Olympic sport by 2020. 
First, let me say that this is not the first time we have heard this claim. It has been circulating for quite a while, especially around the Olympic times. This time, though, it may have more of a chance.
Secondly, I say good! As long as it's done properly... 
No one can deny the sheer talent it actually takes to joust, or so I thought... It seems that there is someone out there that thinks that jousting is all a performance art. His name is Tobias Capwell, and his article can be found here 
http://www.apollo-magazine.com/jousting-is-closer-to-performance-art-than-an-olympic-sport/ 
As you can read, it is surprising that he has these feelings, as it seems he actually did some jousting as well. But then, I did a little bit as well.
I disagree with him on almost every point that he makes, at least when talking of actual jousting and not theater jousting anyways. Yes, there are groups of strictly theatrical jousters such as Medieval Times that are doing it for a show, where everything is staged and the armor is not real. They are extremely fun to watch (I worked a part time job at the Dallas castle for a short time) but you do have to keep in mind that they are just performing a stunt show, as the "falls" off the horse are a bit comical. The armor is not real, nor are the lances there. But for an Olympic sport, it would be like comparing WWE to actual Olympic wrestling.
The next point he makes is that it is not a sport because it relies on the horse and the armor and the lance. What?! There are numerous sports that require equipment to be used to make it feasible to attempt. Take my favorite Winter Game for example; ice hockey. Without the skates, there would be no game. Same with the hockey sticks, goal, goalie padding (armor), player pads (more armor), ect. So no, your point there is invalid sir.
Also, one quote I always said during my brief time training is "Without the cooperation of the horse, you are an idiot with a stick". To which I could count on at least someone pulling in the Knights Tale quote "It's called a lance... hello?". Funny yes, but the fact is the fact. One of the most important parts of jousting is horsemanship. If you cannot ride, and ride well, you cannot joust. If your horse does not trust you 100%, it will not perform what you wish it to. I have seen numerous videos and in person where the horse, no dumb animal, knows that an impact is coming about halfway down the lane and will stop dead in its tracts to avoid it. This leaves the knight as a sitting duck to get plowed into by his or her opponent.
Jousting is a fierce sport if it is done in the full contact, full armored, original style. As one fan said on a fellow jousting knight's Facebook page: Chris Bridges The real challenge is sitting on the horse with those huge f*$@ing nuts you have to have to do this.
While he is absolutely right about that, it does bring up another point; there are many female jousters as well, a couple I trained with. Those that I trained with were two of the toughest females. But jousting is not, by a long shot, limited to these two. Sarah Hay is currently one of the top jousters on the International Jousting League. Yes, Mr. Capwell, it is already a major sport and has several major competitions; one being in Estes Park Colorado every year. 
So, if we can have sports like curling, ping pong, bad-mitten, and, so help me, RACEWALKING, I think we have room for an actual athletic and deep traditionalist sport such as jousting...

http://i.images.cdn.fotopedia.com/chmehl-KYmZhLaxWLo-hd/Countries_of_the_World/Europe/United_Kingdom/Scotland/Statue_of_William_Wallace.jpg
We all, undoubtedly, have seen Mel Gibson’s portrayal of William Wallace in the blockbuster movie Braveheart. This, however, is a movie, and we all know how historically inaccurate Hollywood can make something and still say that it is “based on true events.” So, who was William Wallace of Scotland?
Blind Harry reportedly wrote about the life and times of Wallace, though this book has never been seen in its original form in modern times, though there are re-edited forms in circulation. The original was written over 200 years after Wallace died, and is suspect to have been an oral story only for many years before someone actually wrote it down from hearing Blind Harry. It is also suspect to many historical exaggerations and flat out lies to make the story all the better for a story teller to draw in his crowd. There are instances in the movie “Braveheart” that came straight out of Blind Harry’s accounts.

William’s family and upbringing

Not much is known about the year that William was born, or much of his early life. There are even disputes of his father’s name and what noble line William Wallace came from. From the research I have conducted over numerous years (over 9 years), the most probable conclusion is that William was the son of Alan Wallace. His brothers were Malcolm and John. Alan Wallace appears in the Ragman Rolls as a crown tenant in Ayrshire, which is where the iconic red lion on the yellow background that was Wallace’s coat of arms, and Robert the Bruce’s later battle standards, comes from.
King Alexander III ruled Scotland when William was a child, but died suddenly after falling off of a horse. King Alexander III did not have a clear heir, so the throne went to Margaret, Maid of Norway; a 4 year old. Being a child as she was, there was no way that she could handle the throne, so the nobles needed a temporary solution for a ruler until Margaret was old enough to be a Queen. The Scottish nobles fought each other over who had more claim to the throne, including John Balliol and Robert Bruce. Balliol asked King Edward of England to step in and declare him the new King. Edward did, and declared Balliol king, but not without forcing Balliol to pay homage to him. In essence, Balliol was a ruler of a land that Edward and England owned. Balliol rescinded his relationship with Edward after Edward continued to suppress Scotland. Scotland had gone from peace and stability to near civil war.
In steps the snake, King Edward “The Longshanks”. It is debatable, but it is rumored that Longshanks had his son, a mere teen at the time, married to Margaret. Then, because they were both so young, Longshanks declared himself an interim. To add insult to injury, Margaret’s chariot mysteriously fell off the side of a cliff on her voyage back to Scotland. This left Longshanks to declare himself the one and only king of Scotland, as his son was not old enough yet to rule.
The Scottish nobles, some anyways, rebelled with what little force they had. William’s father and brothers died while William was still young during one of these failed attempts to rebel. It is reported that William lived with his mother, but may have left to go with his uncle. There is no evidence of this, and some stories have his uncle as a priest while others say a traveling merchant. Wallace did know Latin, French, and Gaelic, whether that be from his fabled uncle or from being a descendant of Richard Wallace who had been a Norman Breton Knight.

William Wallace steps into history

There is no evidence anywhere that William Wallace ever had a wife, but Blind Harry strikes again with his explanation of how Wallace started his killing of the English. In Blind Harry’s story, Wallace had been married to a Scottish woman Marion. He had to marry her in secret due to Longshanks instating primae noctics. This law is a fictional law that stated that the first night that any peasant bride was married, the noble in that area had sexual rights to her on the night of her wedding. The idea has been around in many fictional stores, but never with any evidence to support.
In Blind Harry’s story, the local sheriff kills Marion, so Wallace kills him with a short dagger. Another story has Wallace beginning his devastation of English soldiers when he was stopped after fishing by two of them. They demanded his catch. Wallace, stubborn as ever, refused, and fought the two soldiers off and killed them with his fishing rod. This would have been a great story to tell, but there is no real, hard evidence that it happened.
William’s first battle was at Loudon Hill, the same place that his father had died. Being victorious there, he moved into Ayr and won there. In August of 1297, Wallace took his men to join with Andrew Moray, a man who had already started a Scottish uprising of his own. Moray was just as, if not more, of an important influence on the Scottish fights against the English tyranny, but gets lost in the fantasy realm of William Wallace’s exploits. Moray had already successfully taken Aberdeen, Glasgow, Perth, Scone, Dundee, and essentially all of northern Scotland. Moray was a Highlander, and was war trained and experienced. Wallace himself was a lowlander, and it is not known what sort of, if any, military training he had ever received.
On September 11 1297, Wallace and Moray joined for their first combined forces battle against the English. The Brits had come with a combined force of their own, consisting of a professionally trained army of 3,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry. In the Hollywood story, the scenery is that of an open grassland. This was the farthest from the truth. Stirling was a bridge, a narrow but very important wooden bridge across a deep river. The bridge only allowed for three or four of the 3,000 cavalry to cross at once. If it were an open field, Wallace and Moray’s forces would have been run down like an ant pile under the cavalry. But, using the landscape to their advantage, Wallace and Moray waited on one side of the bridge, out of bow shot from the English longbowmen. Once the cavalry was sent, Wallace and Moray moved as many men as they could to rush onto the bridge. This created a backup of sorts, as the bridge was way too narrow to allow the cavalry to flank, or move at all once pressured. The bridge collapsed, and many of the English drowned in the river. Wallace and Moray had won a major battle by using their heads to outsmart their opponent. Moray, however, had become mortally wounded and died either on the field of battle or soon thereafter.
Blind Harry’s story states that Wallace had men waiting in the river below and caused the bridge to collapse. There is no evidence of this, but this one is feasible. Wallace and Moray knew that by using the bridge to their advantage they could not only clog up and make the English numbers mean little; but they had to know also that the little wooden bridge could not hold up under that much weight. What better plan than to have some of your men sabotage the bridge at the exact moment you wish?

Scottish Knight and Guardian of Scotland

Upon word of his glorious win at Stirling, Wallace, along with his now 2nd in command John de Graham, were knighted. Wallace was also given an all-important title of “Guardian of Scotland”. This gave Wallace command over all of the Scottish forces, and Wallace looked to storm into England itself, a rash idea that was almost unthinkable. The English were trained men, most of the Scottish armies were men that had not until recently trained with a sword. The Scots had no cavalry. The English had their infamous longbowmen. The odds were most definitely not in Wallace’s favor.
News of Wallace’s victory at Stirling had not only reached Scottish noble ears. Longshanks oversaw an attack into Roxburgh. Lothian in Scotland was razed, but Wallace avoided capture and would not come before the English force on their terms. Longshanks would not relent in his search; he wanted “Wallace’s heart on a plate” to quote the movie.
On July 22 of 1298, Wallace led his men into The Battle of Falkirk against an army personally led by Longshanks. At this battle, the English crushed the Scottish resistance. It is rumored that a Scottish noble who was secretly paying homage to Edward betrayed Wallace and this is what led to his defeat. This, however, was not as played out in the movie. Robert the Bruce did not betray Wallace. There is no evidence that any Scottish noble betrayed Wallace at this particular time.
Many Scots died in this battle. William escaped alive, while many in his army tasted English steel in their chest. This gave Wallace a bit of a bad name, as it was thought cowardly for him to flee rather than go down with his men. His army disbanded.

Fall from Guardian

William decided, whether on his own accord or not, to step down as Guardian of Scotland in September of 1298, just a year after Stirling. He handed Robert the Bruce the role of the new leader of Scotland. Bruce, however, began talking peace with Longshanks. This is the one time that Wallace felt betrayed by the Bruce. Wallace hated any idea of peace with England, and warned Robert that Longshanks would never truly desire peace so long as Scotland desired to be free of English rule.
In 1302, Robert the Bruce signed a peace deal with England. Wallace, however, had not waited for this domino to fall and had already set out nearly 4 years before with William Crawford to France to plead assistance from King Philip IV. France and England had been at odds for some time, and were for some time in the future as well. King Philip IV would not risk his men for another country when his own lands were threatened by England. So, in 1303, 5 years after they had set out, Wallace returned home to Scotland. Wallace knew he was hunted by the English, and that with the new peace deal with Longshanks, there were those Scots that would turn him in as an outlaw.
Several times this happened, but Wallace was a sly fox and avoided capture many times, killing one of his own men himself for being a turn coat. In 1304, Wallace came out of hiding to fight in the Action of Earnside. It was called an action rather than a battle because of the peace treaty, but, as Shakespeare wrote “A rose by any other name”…

Capture and a horrifying end

It was on August 5th 1305 that the traitor John de Menteith turned Wallace over to Longshanks. Menteith had been a Scottish knight who now bowed his head to Edward I in fealty and loyalty. Wallace was tried for treason. He denied this charges time and time again, asking “How can I be treasonous when I am not his subject?”
Nevertheless, the court at Westminster Hall found Wallace guilty. On August 23rd of 1305, one of the most brutal executions ever recorded took place. This part the movie got fairly close.
First Wallace’s hands were tied together, as well his feet. The other end of each rope was tied to a plow horse. The horses began pulling in opposite directions, popping bones out of place and tearing ligaments. The horses were stopped just shy of ripping his limbs off.
Then, Wallace was strung up by the neck to suffocate for a time, and then released to gasp for air before he passed out.
After that, he was set upon a table where he was castrated. His genitals were shown to him after they were cut from his groin.
His stomach was cut open and his entrails pulled out. A person can live for an hour of more with their entrails outside of their body. Wallace’s entrails were burned before him.
After his entrails were burnt, he was finally given the release of death by beheading (which has religious footnotes on it). His head was dipped in tar and preserved to sit upon a pike atop London Bridge. His arms and legs were taken separately to display at Newcastle, Berwick-Tweed- Stirling, and Aberdeen.
This was meant to send a message to the Scots, but the message was not received the way that Longshanks had hoped for.

The Bruce is back

Edward I died not long after Wallace’s death. His son, Edward II was an imbecile compared to his father. Edward I had never truly stopped his attacks on Scotland, and after Robert the Bruce witnessed what Longshanks had done to Wallace, he began a new rebellion against England. Robert took up Wallace’s family coat of arms to use as his battle standards.
This time, however, with the twerp Edward II on the throne, Robert was finally able to defeat the English and win his country’s independence.
There is a poem written by Bernard Barton (1784-1849) that tells a story of Robert The Bruce watching a spider try 6 times to shoot a strand of web across to start a web, and 6 times the spider failed. On the 7th, the spider succeeded. Robert took this as a sign that, even though he had been defeated 6 times, the 7th would succeed.


Bruce and the Spider

By: Bernard Barton

For Scotland's and for freedom's right
The Bruce his part has played;--
In five successive fields of fight
Been conquered and dismayed:
Once more against the English host
His band he led, and once more lost
The meed for which he fought;
And now from battle, faint and worn,
The homeless fugitive, forlorn,
A hut's lone shelter sought.
And cheerless was that resting-place
For him who claimed a throne;--
His canopy, devoid of grace,
The rude, rough beams alone;
The heather couch his only bed--
Yet well I ween had slumber fled
From couch of eider down!
Through darksome night till dawn of day,
Absorbed in wakeful thought he lay
Of Scotland and her crown.
The sun rose brightly, and its gleam
Fell on that hapless bed,
And tinged with light each shapeless beam
Which roofed the lowly shed;
When, looking up with wistful eye,
The Bruce beheld a spider try
His filmy thread to fling
From beam to beam of that rude cot--
And well the insect's toilsome lot
Taught Scotland's future king.
Six times the gossamery thread
The wary spider threw;--
In vain the filmy line was sped,
For powerless or untrue
Each aim appeared, and back recoiled
The patient insect, six times foiled,
And yet unconquered still;
And soon the Bruce, with eager eye,
Saw him prepare once more to try
His courage, strength, and skill.
One effort more, his seventh and last!--
The hero hailed the sign!--
And on the wished-for beam hung fast
That slender silken line!
Slight as it was, his spirit caught
The more than omen; for his thought
The lesson well could trace,
Which even "he who runs may read,"
That Perseverance gains its meed,
And Patience wins the race.

​
Sources:
Bernard Barton's Bruce and the Spider poem
Blind Harry's The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campion Schir William Wallace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wallace
http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/william-wallace-203.php
http://www.scottishweb.net/articles/101/1/The-Real-William-Wallace/Page1.html
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1139/did-medieval-lords-have-right-of-the-first-night-with-the-local-brides
http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/william-wallace.html
http://www.poetry-archive.com/b/bruce_and_the_spider.html
http://www.scottishradiance.com/bookreviews/bharry.htm
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/nation/William%20Wallace.pdf

There are lists going around of 10 top this and 10 ten that relating to weaponry. What I have compiled here is an objective list of what I believe to be the top 10 iconic weapons from books, video games, and movies combined. Please feel free to comment your own list, suggestions, or debates. This is a highly debatable topic, but be sure you bring your game with facts to back it up!
A couple of honorable mentions:
11. Anduril from Lord of the Rings
The sword that was broken, then remade. True, it was the sword that cut the ring off of Sauron's finger, but it had been broken. It falls outside of the top 10, but gets an honorable mention due to it is iconic, and it does have power, but there are (in my opinion) better from the series itself.
12. Keyblade from Kingdom Hearts
What is this thing anyways? A sword? A key? Sigh... It is iconic in that it is original, albeit original doesn't mean good...
13. Lightsabers
The ONLY reason this is not in the top ten is that it is technically not a medieval weapon. Star Wars does not take place in that time, and it is not of a design technically speaking, from the medieval age. Yes, it is very similar to a sword, but the workings of a light saber with power crystals that create the "blade" make it different. Otherwise, I'd have a hard time not putting this at the top of the list...
·       Number 10 Longclaw; Jon Snow's sword from Game of Thrones
You know nothing.
Jon Snow from Game of Thrones is a fan favorite, and one of the few who has such an identifiable weapon. A good bastard sword, Jon received this blade after saving his commander from a white walker (a frozen zombie in layman's terms). Before given to him, the pommel head was remade with a white dire wolf for the sign of House Stark, of which Jon is a bastard son of.
It is revealed later that this sword has powers as well, but I will not spoil that.
·       Number 9 Frostmourne
"Whomsoever takes up this blade shall wield power eternal. Just as the blade rends flesh, so must power scar the spirit."
—The inscription on Frostmourne's pedestal
Taken from the Warcraft series of games and books, Frostmourne was pulled from icy slumber by Arthas. It then helped to turn Arthas into the new Lich King. Frostmourne added bonuses to almost all levels in the games and the books to Arthas, making Arthas a truly capable villain.
But, it hasn't quite reached an iconic level such as the other weapons on this list to many outside of WoW gamers.
·       Number 8 Buster Blade
Wielded by Cloud in Final Fantasy VII, this is a very iconic sword indeed. Measuring between 5 and 6 feet long with the blade at over a foot wide, it is simply massive.
But, that is what it really is, a massive, heavy, weapon. For that reason, it comes in at number 8.
·       Number 7 Sting from Lord of the Rings
Coming in at number 7 is a Lord of the Rings weapon; Sting.
Sting is the sword of Frodo, given to him by his uncle Bilbo who found it in The Hobbit. The blade turns blue when orcs or goblins are near. Initially made as an Elven dagger, it was the perfect size for a small hobbit to wield. Both Uncle and nephew wielded it well; dispatching orcs, goblins, and even a large spider.
However, this is not even the best weapon from this series, so it falls at number 7.
·       Number 6 The Witch Kings Flail
This, oh, this is a personal favorite...The flail is my personal favorite weapon to wield as it is, so my bias may show some with this, but...
The weapon of the leader of the Nazgul, the Witch King of Angmar used this weapon to beat on Eowyn till she and Pippin ultimately were able to defeat him as he "could not be killed by the hand of a man", but she, obviously, was not a man.
This ridiculously large flail did not have magical powers in and of itself, but the size alone made it powerful enough. You can't honestly say that the first time you saw Return of the King and he pulls that bad boy out you didn't say a "holy sh!*". Making it better than Sting, but not a top 5.
·       Number 5 Sauron's Mace
In the Fellowship of the Ring Sauron is seen brandishing this beast of a weapon, appearing to scatter hundreds of elves and humans in each stroke. It is not clear, however, if the power resides in the weapon at all, or if the wielder himself is channeling it through the weapon. There is no evidence that this weapon has any power at all; though it is damn impressive.
Number 5 seems an appropriate spot.
·       Number 4 Mjolnir
Hammer of Thor, Norse God of thunder. No other weapon on this list is as powerful, if you are going by the Norse Thor and not the Marvel version...
Marvel has lowered the bar for this weapon, and character in their comic world. In Norse, none other than Thor could even pick it up. Yet in the Marvel world, Thor became a girl, Thor is an alien and not a God, and even Wonder Woman was able to use it for a short while...
For this reason, the mighty Thor's hammer has fallen to 4.
·       Number 3 Spear of Destiny
The Spear of Destiny is a Biblical weapon that is supposed to have been the weapon that struck Jesus in the side. The myth of this weapon is that it is said that "He who holds the Spear of Destiny controls the world." It has been said that Hitler was the last one to hold this spear, yet, no evidence of that has actually surfaced. It has also been placed in several movies, such as Constantine, where the spear holds other special powers.
Because it has been trodden down into different movie myths, and not held up to the Biblical sense of the weapon, it lands it at a very respectable number 3 and not top of this particular list.
·       Number 2 The Master Sword from Legend of Zelda
As far as gamers go, this is the most iconic sword from a game series. Making its first official appearance in A Link to the Past for Super Nintendo, the Master Sword was a sword in the stone type of mythological sword that could only be wielded by one who had proven himself. In A Link to the Past, Link must gather three pendants and find it in the Lost Woods. In Ocarina of Time, Link gathers the three spiritual stones. In Skyward Sword, the Master Sword is infused with the spirit of Fi, his companion for that game (beginning in Ocarina of Time, Link usually has a companion that helps him along the way).
The Master Sword is evils bane, and easily the most iconic video game weapon, but it emulates another sword in many ways, making it second to the number one...
 
·       Number 1 Excalibur
There can be no doubt, the most iconic medieval weapon of all times is and always will be Excalibur. This sword is what almost all other mythological swords are based off of and wish to be. Sword int he stone or Lady of the Lake version, this is the most fantasied about weapon from the medieval age, and has survived in myths from the medieval age to now. And is still going strong.

With all the fantasy weapons to choose from, I have compiled a list of what I consider to be a top 10. Leave comments below of your favorites!