Put together, this made it easier to deliver the strong lance thrusts and sword attacks that characterised knightly combat. This helped to create stability when riding and fighting in heavy armour, but it also limited combat options, forcing riders into a straight legged style of riding. Saddle Design Affected CombatĮuropean men-at-arms rode in saddles that were higher up than those of Asian horse archers, with short seats and forward stirrups. These were to be fitted with mangers, stall rails and other equipment for the safe transport of horses on the Mediterranean. In 1246, the crusading army of King Louis IX of France commissioned a dozen round ships from the dockyards of Genoa. Specialist horse ships continued to be developed throughout the Middle Ages. Images of this can be seen in the Bayeux Tapestry, with horses being led out of ships prior to the Battle of Hastings. Norman armies learned from the Byzantines, using a ship called a dromond to transport their mounts. Horses were best transported in different vessels from either the soldiers who rode them or the goods that would supply the armies. Transporting any goods over long distances was most efficiently done by water. Horses Had Their Own Ships Trade-cogs were the main transport vessels of Northern Europe. They were used to improve stock elsewhere on the continent. Spanish horses were generally light and more agile than those bred elsewhere in Europe, but larger and heavier than Arabic horses. Occupied by both Christians and Muslims, Spanish society was a melting pot, and so was its equine stock. Spain Produced Great Horses Detail from 15th-century painting by Gentile da Fabriano, showing curb bits, with ornamental bosses at the sides of the mouthpiece. It was only later that the truly massive horses would emerge. Around 15 hands high and with a slightly stocky build, they weighed 800-1000 pounds. The Normans, who took knightly warfare to Britain, rode horses similar to Arabian mares. The distinctive heavy warhorses associated with knightly combat were a relatively late development, like the plate armour their riders wore. Heavy Warhorses Were a Late Development Ornate 16th-century armour for horse and knight, and typical high saddle. This 15th-century depiction of Charlemagne and Pope Adrian I shows a well-bred medieval horse with arched neck, refined head and elegant gait. Tribute to lords and kings could also be paid in horses, something monarchs used to maintain their own stocks. As a result, tithes were sometimes paid in horses, and the Earl of Chester did this for twenty-four years from 1077 to 1101.
Tithes, the taxes paid to local churches, were commonly paid in whatever goods the payer grew on their land.
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