Horse Culture and Equestrianism
in 14th Century Europe
Abstract:
Horse culture is a crucial area of study with regards to medieval history, but one which is too often overlooked. The horse was not simply a physical and logistic tool, but rather the primary foundation for the idealized medieval knight and consequently the chivalric ideal both at play and at war. The level of sophistication that the art of equestrianism reached in Europe during the 14th century speaks volumes about the horse’s significance in medieval society, however what is perhaps even more significant is how the horse was both used and misused out of a cultural desire to maintain a certain ‘image’ for the nobility. The horse was a huge portion of the medieval perception of greatness, and deviation from the aesthetic ideal of the mounted knight on his valiant and well-bred steed was avoided, often to the knight’s detriment as can clearly be seen in the case of the battle of Crecy in 1346 during which the French refused to abandon the use of cavalry despite the fact that it put them at a disadvantage on the battlefield which was covered in uneven terrain; treacherous for the horse and rider. There is no other period in history during which horse culture reached quite the level of sophistication that it did during the medieval period and one need look no further than at the exceptionally bred Courser at tournament or the powerful and mighty Destrier at war to see how significant these animals were in providing the medieval noble with an identity.