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Jump to navigationJump to searchCreated page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame ==Origin== French ''mêlée'', from Old French ''meslee'', from ''mesler'' to mix *[http://e...'
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:The_Melee,_Eglinton_Tournament300.jpg|right|frame]]
==Origin==
French ''mêlée'', from Old French ''meslee'', from ''mesler'' to mix
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_century 1648]
The French term is the feminine past participle of the verb ''mêler'' "to mix". Nominalized, it refers to any [[confused]] tangle or [[agitated]] scramble, in particular unordered [[combat]]. The term descends from Old French ''meslede'', from Vulgar Latin ''misculāta'' "mixed", from [[Latin]] ''miscēre'' "to mix"; compare [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9lange mélange], [[milieu]]. Like other common foreign-derived terms used in [[English]], the word is sometimes written without accents (i.e. as "melee").
==Definition==
*1: a [[confused]] [[struggle]]; especially : a hand-to-hand fight among several people
==Description==
'''Melee''' French: mêlée, the French spelling is also quite frequent in [[English]] [[writing]]), generally refers to disorganized close [[combat]] involving a group of fighters. A melee ensues when groups become locked together in combat with no regard to group [[tactics]] or fighting as an [[organized]] unit; each [[participant]] fights as an [[individual]].
During the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages Middle Ages], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tournament_(medieval) tournaments] often contained a ''mêlée'' consisting of knights fighting one another on foot or while mounted, either divided into two sides or fighting as a free-for-all. The object was to capture opposing knights so that they could be ransomed, and this could be a very profitable [[business]] for such skilled knights as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Marshal,_1st_Earl_of_Pembroke William Marshal]. There was a tournament ground covering several square miles in northern France to which knights came from all over Europe to prove themselves in quite real [[combat]]. This was, in fact, the original form of tournaments and the most popular between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries—[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jousting jousting] being a later development, and one that did not completely displace the ''mêlée'' until many more centuries had passed. The original ''mêlée'' was engaged with normal [[weapons]] and fought with as much [[danger]] as a normal battle. Rules slowly tempered the danger, but at all times the ''mêlée'' was more dangerous than the joust.
The term "melee" has been extended to refer to other forms of [[combat]], such as a naval or [[armor]] battle that is fought at abnormally close range with little central [[control]] once it starts. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Trafalgar Battle of Trafalgar] became a ''melee'' when the British ships broke the French and Spanish line, precipitating a ship-to-ship battle. In this instance, the ''melee'' was planned; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Nelson Admiral Nelson] used the superior fighting [[qualities]] of his crews to offset the greater French and Spanish numbers.
''Melee'' is occasionally used to describe disorganized [[groups]] of people and vehicles, such as [[mobs]], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosh_pit mosh pits], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_jam traffic jams].
It is also used in sport. For example, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Football_League Australian Football League] has an official ''melee'' rule which is used to fine players involved in large on-field brawls, regardless of whether or not they throw punches.
[[Category: History]]
[[Category: Sociology]]
==Origin==
French ''mêlée'', from Old French ''meslee'', from ''mesler'' to mix
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_century 1648]
The French term is the feminine past participle of the verb ''mêler'' "to mix". Nominalized, it refers to any [[confused]] tangle or [[agitated]] scramble, in particular unordered [[combat]]. The term descends from Old French ''meslede'', from Vulgar Latin ''misculāta'' "mixed", from [[Latin]] ''miscēre'' "to mix"; compare [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9lange mélange], [[milieu]]. Like other common foreign-derived terms used in [[English]], the word is sometimes written without accents (i.e. as "melee").
==Definition==
*1: a [[confused]] [[struggle]]; especially : a hand-to-hand fight among several people
==Description==
'''Melee''' French: mêlée, the French spelling is also quite frequent in [[English]] [[writing]]), generally refers to disorganized close [[combat]] involving a group of fighters. A melee ensues when groups become locked together in combat with no regard to group [[tactics]] or fighting as an [[organized]] unit; each [[participant]] fights as an [[individual]].
During the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages Middle Ages], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tournament_(medieval) tournaments] often contained a ''mêlée'' consisting of knights fighting one another on foot or while mounted, either divided into two sides or fighting as a free-for-all. The object was to capture opposing knights so that they could be ransomed, and this could be a very profitable [[business]] for such skilled knights as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Marshal,_1st_Earl_of_Pembroke William Marshal]. There was a tournament ground covering several square miles in northern France to which knights came from all over Europe to prove themselves in quite real [[combat]]. This was, in fact, the original form of tournaments and the most popular between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries—[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jousting jousting] being a later development, and one that did not completely displace the ''mêlée'' until many more centuries had passed. The original ''mêlée'' was engaged with normal [[weapons]] and fought with as much [[danger]] as a normal battle. Rules slowly tempered the danger, but at all times the ''mêlée'' was more dangerous than the joust.
The term "melee" has been extended to refer to other forms of [[combat]], such as a naval or [[armor]] battle that is fought at abnormally close range with little central [[control]] once it starts. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Trafalgar Battle of Trafalgar] became a ''melee'' when the British ships broke the French and Spanish line, precipitating a ship-to-ship battle. In this instance, the ''melee'' was planned; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Nelson Admiral Nelson] used the superior fighting [[qualities]] of his crews to offset the greater French and Spanish numbers.
''Melee'' is occasionally used to describe disorganized [[groups]] of people and vehicles, such as [[mobs]], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosh_pit mosh pits], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_jam traffic jams].
It is also used in sport. For example, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Football_League Australian Football League] has an official ''melee'' rule which is used to fine players involved in large on-field brawls, regardless of whether or not they throw punches.
[[Category: History]]
[[Category: Sociology]]
