Knight on a Horse

 

Knight on a Horse

 

Knight on a Horse

Medieval Knight on a Horse

Step back into history get Medieval facts and information about the Medieval Knights of the
violent period of the Middle Ages

Medieval Knights - Knight on a Horse

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  • Interesting Facts and information via the Knight on a Horse
  • Knight on a Horse - Facts and interesting information about the life of a Medieval Knight in England and Europe
  • Code of Chivalry and Courtly Love
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Knight on a Horse

Facts and interesting information about the life and times of the
Medieval Knights of England - Knight on a Horse

Knight on a Horse
A Knight on a Horse was a fearsome opponent. His war horse was called a destrier which were used by all the wealthy Medieval Knights. The destrier was brought to England by William the Conqueror following his victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. A horse played an extremely important part in the life of a Medieval knight.

A Medieval Knight and his Horse
A Medieval knight would own several horses which were built and used for his different duties. The Medieval knight's horses ranged in variety of sizes starting with a palfrey, or an ambler, for general travelling purposes. Bigger and stronger horses were required as warhorses. The Courser was the most sought after and expensive warhorse, owned by the most wealthy knights. The more common warhorses were like modern hunters, known in Medieval Times as a Destrier.

Knight on a Horse - Description of a Warhorse
The warhorse owned by a Medieval knight had a dense rounded body with a broad back, strong loins, powerful hind-quarters, and long legs with dense bones. The colors of such horses ranged from black, brown, bay, or gray. These war horses sometimes had long silky hair (often white) on the lower parts of its legs. A Medieval knight on a horse wearing full armor required a massive animal and theses warhorses measured in excess of 24 hands tall.

Medieval Knight on a Horse - The Warhorse
A Medieval Knight on horse had a warhorse specially trained for use in battle or individual combat at jousting tournaments. Such a war horse needed the strength and stamina to carry both a knight and his heavy armor into battle during the Medieval times. Theses warhorses also trained to become a battle horse - able to inflict injury on the enemy. A Knight on Horse had to undergo significant training. A warhorse was trained to:

  • Carry a knight and respond to a Knight's commands from leg pressure rather than reins
    • A knight needed his hands to weald his weapons and hold his shield
  • A war horse was trained to trample the bodies of fallen enemies
  • The war-horse was trained to bite and kick on command

Horse Armor called Barding
Medieval war horses were protected by rigid pieces of plate armor made of both of leather and steel. Horse armor was called 'barding'. A full dressed Medieval Knight on Horse would be armored on the head, neck, body and chest. The rear of the war horse would be covered with a padded cloth. Stirrups were added later. The head armor of a warhorse was often highly decorated and spike horns were added to the mask armor  resembling the look of a legendary unicorn. An ornamented cloth covering for a war horse was called a trapper. 

Original Knight on Horse breed is now extinct
The original breeds of warhorses are now extinct, but recently horses have been bred from Clydesdales and Quarterhorses to reproduce a type similar to that used by the Knight on Horse. They are the largest breed of horse, standing from 20 to 24 hands tall, with a thicker build than Clydesdales with less fur.

Knight on a Horse
The Medieval Times website provides interesting facts, history and information about knights of old which scatter the Medieval History books including the subject of Knight on a Horse. The Medieval Times Sitemap provides full details of all of the information and facts about the fascinating subject of the lives of the people who lived during the historical period of the Middle Ages. The content of this article on Medieval life and times provides free educational details, facts and information for reference and research for schools, colleges and homework for history courses and history coursework.
 

 

Medieval Knights - Knight on a Horse

  • Medieval Knights
  • Knight on a Horse
  • Read books from a history book club or watch the History Channel DVDs on Medieval Times
  • Interesting Facts and information via the Knight on a Horse
  • Knight on a Horse - Facts and interesting information about the life of a Medieval Knight in England and Europe
  • Medieval Knights Tournaments and Jousting
  • Knight on a Horse

Helpful information for history courses and history coursework - Read History Books - Knight on a Horse - Medieval Society - Realms - Medival - Lives - England - Britain - Uk - Britons - Medieval Times - Middle Ages - History - Information - Facts - Info - Era - Life - Times - Period - Age - Culture - Society - Education - Midieval - Knights - Knights Templar - Medieval Knights - Knight Online - Jousting - Armor - Armour - Costume - Battle - Fighting - Medival Era and Period - Knight on a Horse - History Channel DVDs - Written By Linda Alchin