Reading "Erec and Enide" by Chretien de Troyes, it isn't hard to imagine the adventures Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson had in mind when they suggest in vol. III The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures that off-hand adventures in the wilderness can be made on Avalon Hill's Outdoor Survival playing board. The authors give rules for converting the board into a map for wilderness adventure, including various castles. Jousting matches, played out via the rules in Chainmail, are a central feature of wilderness encounters with fighting men. The author's suggest this is just for adventuring about and that journeys to and from destinations should be made on a map prepared by the referee.
So you want to ride out and have some adventures, make a reputation testing yourself against a world of fantastic wonder, this is an old thought. Chretien de Troyes describes just such an event in the romance "Erec and Enide" written late in the twelfth century. Set in the time of King Arthur, Erec is a prince of Wales and a very talented knight who undertakes a journey of adventure as a result of words he hears his wife speak. It is a romance story of love and misunderstanding and trust. It is also a story of high adventure involving many jousts and much swordplay. The fantastic makes it's appearance in the form of two giants and an enchanted garden.
The more recent writers of sword & sorcery fiction and high fantasy are often cited as influences for our hobby, but many older tales may also provide inspiration. White Box is a combination of a lot of influences, many of which were later described in Appendix N of the GM Guide. Thomas Mallory and Chretien de Troyes may not appear by name on this list, but the adventures they describe certainly fit within the milieu and are an inspiration for me as referee. It's been too long since my players jousted with a knight they met in the wilderness.
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