Horses
What it was:
What it looked like:
Dimensions: Size and weight were often decisive in cavalry balle. The neck of a knight's steed was often strongly arched and this increased the certainty of its stride. The breast was broad and muscular, the back had to be short, and strong enough to carry an armed rider. The strong and arched croup was split and bound with a deep-lying tail. For such a heavy body, powerful extremities and joints were necessary, with firm knees and short fetlocks(1).
How it worked:
Range:
Materials: Destrier (dextrarius) - mixed with Arab blood(1).
When and where:
Dates it became popular:
Dates it declined:
Where popular:
Who made and how:
Person who made it:
Where to get materials: Thuringia, Saxony and Meissen, but later in the fourteenth century chargers were brought increasingly from Franconia, Swabia, Bavaria, the Rhineland and other parts of the Empire.
Cost: Around 1400, a good warhorse cost 12 to 15 marks and a very good one 15 to 18 marks, whereas a Sweik could be had for three to six marks. Much greater sums were paid for excellent chargers - even sums as high as 70 marks(1).
Other things needed for it:
Technological innovations:
What changes occured and when:
Usage:
How common a weapon:
Battles it was famously used in:
Primary source quotes:
Pictures:
Go back to Arrows
Go on to Armor
Sources
Navigation
- Home
- Agricultural Technology
- Land Reclamation
- Building Technology
- Industrial Technology
- Shipping Systems
- Military Technology