![]() An associated development dating from the end of the 12th century was the incorporation of a rigid backplate into knightly armour this, backed with several inches of padding, braced the man-at-arms against the shock of head-on impact and protected his kidneys from the cantle. These developments welded horse and rider into a single unit and enabled the knight to apply much of the force of his horse’s charge to the point of the lance, held couched beneath the arm, without being driven over the horse’s rump on impact. By the 12th century the European knight was using a war saddle with high, wraparound cantle and pommel that protected the genitals and held him securely in his seat the saddle itself was secured to the horse by a double girth that held it firmly in place fore and aft. According to literary evidence, iron horseshoes date from the end of the 9th century, and, based on pictorial evidence, spurs date from the 11th. ![]() The curb bit, vitally important for controlling a war-horse, probably dates from about the same time. The war saddle with a single girth was introduced by the 6th century, and the iron stirrup was common by the 7th (having probably been known earlier in the East). Using scattered artistic and archaeological evidence, historians have constructed an approximate chronology of technological innovation in medieval Europe. The stirrup alone meant little without powerful war-horses and supporting technologies such as saddle, girth, and bridle. The Germanic tribes that pressed against the boundaries of Rome from the 3rd century on may have made a breakthrough in horse breeding, and, in the Arab conquests of the 7th century and following, the superior breed of the Arabian horse was a major determinant of tactical success. Improvements in the breeding of war-horses played a major and perhaps dominant role. The age of heavy shock cavalry did not come on suddenly, ushered in by the stirrup or any other single invention. Perhaps ironically, these improvements seem to have involved the development of a means of harnessing the horse to agricultural transport and the plow-particularly beginning in the 14th century, when seed-to-yield ratios began to improve. Horses required large quantities of grain, and in an agricultural economy where returns on seed grain were as little as 2 to 1, mounted shock action could not have solidified its dominance without improvements in agricultural production. It is clear that a basic reorientation of the means of production and of the social distribution of the means of armed violence was involved. The tactical dominance in Europe of the heavy mounted elites had a number of complex causes. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!Įnglish axman in combat with Norman cavalry during the Battle of Hastings, detail from the 11th-century Bayeux Tapestry, Bayeux, France.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.From tech to household and wellness products. This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.
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