Medieval Warhorses and Horsemanship.

Gunter and Rutger stopped fighting and gazed in astonishment as the sun grew tentacles and a face

I recently read an article* on medieval warhorses and seems they were not the behemoths many people believe them to have been. Using pictorial (contemporary artwork) and archaeological (horse shoes, etc.) evidence, it is suggested they would of been 15 hands high at most (at the shoulders I believe). This reminded me of a couple of videos of a horse used in bull fighting. If a knight’s horse had this type of skill, they would be very formidable against unformed infantry.

*Bennett, M 1994, ‘The Medieval Warhorse Recondsidered’ in Medieval Knighthood V., eds S Church & R Harvey, The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, pp. 19-40.

~ by Magnus on 9 May, 2008.