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[edit] Various

Image:Gerreet secourant le vieux chevalier.jpg http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:15th_century_illuminated_manuscripts

[edit] Other topics, bits that don't fit, or useful for other articles

  • Medieval men and women were only marginally shorter than their modern counterpart. The average height of an urban Englishman was 5'8" (1.72m). A woman was on average 5'2" (1.58m). The well-nourished knightly classes would exceed this average. [1] Edward I of England was over 6'.
  • In 732, Pope Gregory III banned the eating of horsemeat. This proscription was ignored, or forgotten, in most of Europe, but was observed in England throughout the Middle Ages, causing old horses to be almost worthless. [2]
  • French word haquenée (an ambling horse or hack)

[edit] arrows etc

[edit] Mounted shock combat

It has been commonly understood that the introduction of the stirrup to Western Europe from the east led to the development of mounted shock warfare; particularly, the stirrup allowed the man-at-arms to couch his lance. This theory is assumed in many histories of medieval warfare. However, this theory has been questioned by recent research. (discuss mechanics of charge). One of the commonly-used pictorial evidence for a later development of mounted shock is the Bayeux tapestry, where the mounted combatants are seen wielding un-couched spears, suggesting to some historians that the spears were not couched at that stage of warfare. However, the tapestry depicts the melee (close-combat stage of a battle), when it would be impossible to wield a couched spear. A couched spear is only appropriate for attacking an enemy who is directly in front, not one who comes from the side, as the torque would be enough to knock the horseman out of his saddle. The style of fighting shown on the Bayeux tapestry is not primitive; the fifteenth-century fight master Hans Talhoffer pictures an almost identical stance in his treatise on fighting on horseback.[3] Moreover, the ground at Hastings was not suitable for cavalry charges, suiting the deployment of small units of mounted men. [4]

Interestingly, the word lance was not used until the fifteenth century, coinciding with the heavy spear (lance) developed for the tournament. By that time, the knight rarely fought as heavy cavalry on the battlefield, but dismounted to fight. During the (heyday) of mounted warfare, the lighter war-lance (or spear) was used, couched only for the initial charge.

The stirrup was developed in the east, where the mode of warfare relied on long, hard riding, and the use of missiles (eg arrows)... (complete)

development of saddle.

[edit] 2

Destriers, in fact, were not very common, most knights and soldiers using cousers or rounceys. [5] The Destrier, or great horse, was a middle-weight horse, similar to modern-day heavy hunters or show-jumping horses. [6]. Horse armour, usually restricted to tournaments, comprised padded leather pieces, covered by a trapper (a decorated cloth), which is not particularly heavy. [7]

There are literary references to horse armour (an "iron blanket") from the late twelfth century.[8]


Medieval swords were in fact finely-made, well-balanced specimens, easily wielded by the experienced swordsman. They are similar in weight and size to the swords from the Renaissance, a fact confirmed by a study of the swords now currently held in the Wallace Collection, the Stibbert Museum, Florence, and the Royal Armouries.

Results of study of swords dated 9th-16th centuries[9]:
sword type grip length (cm) sword length (cm) weight (g)
Single-handed swords ~10 75-120 650-1400
Hand-and-a-half (bastard) swords min. 15 800-1400
Two-handed swords ~20-45 max. 150 1500-2600

Note that the results were evenly distributed for length and weight throughout time period.


Cuir bouilli is hardened leather used for armour, horse-harnesses, boots and other household items. It is not boiled (which would destroy it) or oiled (which would soften it). It was in fact soaked in cold water, then dried (or heated) in a mould. [10]

Consent -willingness to marry- was central to the concept of marriage, and if given under duress, the marriage was deemed invalid, as long as certain requirements were met, regarding the nature of the threats and the consummation (if any) of the marriage. Cruelty was grounds for dissolution, although reconciliation (and pledges from the guilty party) were encouraged. [11]

  1. ^ Clark, John (Ed). The Medieval Horse and its Equipment: c.1150-c.1450, Rev. 2nd Ed, UK: The Boydell Press, 2004, p 25
  2. ^ Gies, Frances; Gies, Joseph. Daily Life in Medieval Times, UK: Grange Books, 2005, p 147 (originally published by Harper Collins in three volumes, 1969, 1974, 1990)
  3. ^ Talhoffer, Hans. Medieval Combat, 1467. Translated and edited by Mark Rector, London:Greenhill Books, 2000, plate 269
  4. ^ Prestwich, Michael. Armies and Warfare in the Middle Ages: The English Experience, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996, p 326
  5. ^ Prestwich, Michael, Armies and Warfare in the Middle Ages: The English Experience, London:Yale University Press, 1996. p 30; (analysis of horses lost in Flanders, 1330s)
  6. ^ Oakeshott, Ewart, A Knight and his Horse, USA:Dufour Editions, 1962, revised 1998, p 10
  7. ^ Barker, Juliet, The Tournament in England, 1100-1400, UK: Boydell Press, 1986, pp 175-6 (based on purchase orders)
  8. ^ Bumke, Joachim. Courtly Culture: Literature and Society in the High Middle Ages, translated by Thomas Dunlap, USA: Overlook Duckworth, 2000, p 176 (First published in 1986 as Höfische Kultur: Literatur und Gesellschaft im holen Mittelalter by Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag)
  9. ^ Dawson, Timothy, 'A Club with an Edge', Medieval History Magazine, Vol 2, Issue 3
  10. ^ Nicolle, David, 'Jawshan, Cuirie and Coats-of-Plates: An Alternative Line of Development for Hardened Leather Armour', in Companion to Medieval Arms and Armour, edited by David Nicolle; UK: The Boydell Press, p 180
  11. ^ leyser, Henrietta, Medieval Women, London: Phoenix Press, 1995, pp 113-114 (refers particularly to English law)