This is the first of a short series about horses, the engines of the fourteenth century. They were the car, the lorry and the van, but they weren’t necessarily the tractor. On the farm, the heavy work was usually done by oxen.
We’ll start with a look at the types of horses that were in use. There were quite a few of them, not just the trained warhorse and the farm horse.
At the top was the incredibly expensive destrier. It was also known as a charger or warhorse and the best ones came from Lombardy. Large enough to carry a fully-armed and armoured knight, they also wore their own armour at times. A knight would take up to four of them on campaign with him. Imagine a garage with four top of the range sports cars and you’re still not thinking about the right order of expense.
The courser was the fast horse used, by those that could afford them, for hunting.
A rouncey was an ordinary saddle horse. They were ridden by soldiers, but could also be used as pack horses.
Palfreys were small horses most often used by women.
Hackney was a place beyond London’s walls, about a mile from its centre, where horses were pastured. Eventually the word was used to describe the horses kept there for hire. Much later it was used to describe the two-wheeled cabs they pulled and today a hackney carriage is the black London taxi. Hackneys were used by the king’s messengers, but they could also be used as pack horses. They were of fairly low value.
An ambler was, as its name implies, a slow horse. They were trained to move both right legs together, then both left legs, which apparently made for a more comfortable ride. They were good for inexperienced riders. The wife of Bath rode one in The Canterbury Tales.
The sumpter (or caballus) was a pack horse. They could carry loads of up to 200 pounds. The were used in baggage trains.
The somier was also a pack horse.
A stot, or affer, was a basic farm horse. Its tasks were pulling the harrow or carrying sacks of grain to and from the mill. It was the kind of horse ridden by the reeve in The Canterbury Tales, although he could have afforded something much better. Even cheaper horses were expensive, though, as we’ll see next week.
Sources:
The Medieval Horse and its Equipment by John Clark
A Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases by Christopher Corèdon and Ann Williams
Power and Profit: The Merchant in Medieval Europe by Peter Spufford
April Munday is the author of the Soldiers of Fortune and Regency Spies series of novels, as well as standalone novels set in the fourteenth century.
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So many different types! I wonder if there still that many now we use cars and the like.
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I don’t know. I know that there are different breeds and they’re each, presumably, more suited to certain activities than others. I was going to write that warhorses don’t get much of a look in these days, but then I remembered that tournaments are making a bit of a comeback and that I follow someone on YouTube who trains horses and participates in tournaments. He has made a couple of lovely videos recently where he just films a ride through a wood from the back of a walking horse. He doesn’t speak and all you can hear are birds and the horse. It’s very calming.
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Sounds lovely. When I was a kid we had our. milk and coal delivered by carts pulled by Drey/Shire horses, still see some up at Beamish now and again, they are quite gorgeous.
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I don’t remember the milk being delivered by horse-drawn carts, but the local rag and bone men used one well into the 70s.
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Our milkman also had a horse riding school. I used to ride a small Shetland called Hercules 😀
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I’ve never got on with horses
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Maybe you just met the wrong ones 😊
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Probably
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I have never given thought to how many different types of horse there would be. Of course when you think about it, it makes sense. I love the different names too.
Coincidentally, I am re-reading the Vet books by James Herriot at the moment and he talks about about how all his vet training had been focused around the care of the horse but when he started as a young vet in the 1930s, the beginning of the end of the use of horses was already well under way.
I look forward to part two..great post.
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Thank you. I suspect that the difference between horses was as obvious to medieval people as the difference between makes of cars is to us.
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Great post! I don’t think I’m very skilled at telling horses OR cars apart. 😂
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Yes, I wasn’t sure that the analogy would work in all cases.
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I hadn’t heard of some of these!Love that connection from Hackney as a pasture to todays black cabs..
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It’s a fun fact, isn’t it.
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Being a horsey person, I found this post fascinating, April. Really looking forward to the next ones in the series.
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Thank you, Marina.
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I know next to nothing about horses. But, as usual, April, this was really fascinating – and, frankly, worth bookmarking for future reference. Excellent research – again, as you always do.
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Thank you. I just read the books by people who know what they’re talking about.
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I really should try doing that!
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