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13th
Century – Circa 1225-1250 Secular and Religious Knights
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Tack
| Saddle - The saddle of the period was constructed with a high
cantle and pommel In many sources, especially the Maciejowski Bible,
the saddles are painted with designs. The saddles seem to have a
girth, but in many pictures appear to have multiple girths and/or
surcingles. It is not uncommon to see a girth and two surcingles or
two girths and a single surcingle. The stirrups of the saddle are
shown with the edges of the stirrup slightly below the main part of
the foot rest part of the stirrup. |
| Breast Strap - The breast strap or breast collar appears in
most illustrations. When shown in combat scenarios it is plain and
unadorned. It is usually illustrated wrapping around the cantle of
the saddle. Sometimes in more peaceful situations, pendants can be
seen hanging from the strap. |
| Bridle - A survey of the bridles from the Maciejowski Bible
show two distinct types. In one type the head strap terminates at the
main part of the bridle leather. In other illustrations, the head
strap clearly terminates at the cheek strap. The second configuration
is a bit of a mystery to me as it does not seem to makes sense in a
modern context. I imagine it was done this way due to the inherent
construction of the bridle. |
| Bit - The bit of the time period is clearly illustrated in the
Maciejowski bible and other sources, but very few examples remain.
The bit probably had a very high and punishing port. It seemed to be
some kind of broken curb bit. The cheek pieces angle at 90 degrees to
the line of the attachment to the headstall. Since this seems to
limit the leverage one would get, this may indicate a very high port. |
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Armored Kit
| Illustrations from Maciejowski and other period documents show
a variety of helms, body armor and weapons. The most common form of
armor by far is mail. The Maciejowski Bible probably shows a mixture
of Knights, Sergeant's and Squires. I think most of the knights
illustrated are wearing a form of the barrel helm that is not too far
removed from the simple helms with faceplates of just a few years
before. The armored combatants of the Maciejowski Bible wear a mail
shirt almost always with an integral coif. Some of the shirts are
wrist length, some have mitten gauntlets and some even seem to show
fingered gauntlets (gauntlets being the integral mail hand covering in
this case). There is not much indication that a gambeson was worn
under the mail, although there appear to be a number of gambeson's
over the mail. I find it hard to fathom that they did not wear some
form of padded undergarment. Some combatant's do wear surcoats, while
many do not. Many also wear mail chausses. |
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| Few written examples exist
from the time period that describe riding styles and mounted combat.
One very good example is a 13th Century Norse writing called "The Kings
Mirror." It is written in a kind of question/answer format. It talks
about riding with your legs stiff and straight (which almost all
contemporary illustrations show) and various aspects about horse
equipage. |
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| Riding Style
<excerpt>
(Father)...Now if your comrades are planning to
go from the king's apartments to some drinking bout or other
merry-making, and you, too, have the king's permission to seek
diversion, you should prefer the forms of amusement which I shall point
out to you. If you are sojourning where horses may be ridden and you
have your own horse, train yourself in the art of sitting on horseback
in the firmest and most handsome manner. Train yourself to press the
foot firmly into the stirrup; keep your leg stiff and the heel a little
lower than the toes, except when you have to guard against thrusts from
the front; and practice sitting firmly with the thighs pressed close.
Cover your breast and limbs carefully with a curved shield. Train your
left hand to grasp firmly the bridle and the grip of the shield, and
your right hand to direct the spear-thrust so that all your bodily
strength will support it. Train your good steer to veer about when in
full gallop; keep him clean and in good condition; keep him shod firmly
and well, and provide him with a strong and handsome harness.
<excerpt> |
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| Equipage
<excerpt>
Father: The man who is to fight on horseback
needs to make sure, as we have already stated, that he is thoroughly
trained in all the arts of mounted warfare. For his horse he will need
to provide this equipment: he must keep him carefully and firmly shod;
he must also make sure that the saddle is strong, made with high bows,
and provided with strong girths (1) and other saddle-gear, including a
durable surcingle across the middle and a breast strap in front (2).
The horse should be protected in such a way both in front of the saddle
and behind it that he will not be exposed to weapons, spear thrust or
stroke, or any other form of attack. He should also should have a good
shabrack (3) made like a gambison of soft and thoroughly blackened (4)
linen cloth, for this is good protection against all kinds of weapons.
It may be decorated as one likes, and over the shabrack there should be
a good harness of mail. With this equipment every part of the horse
should be covered, head, lions, breast, belly, and the entire beast, so
that no man, even if on foot, shall be able to reach him with deadly
weapons. The horse should have a strong bridle, one that can be gripped
firmly and used to rein him in or throw him when necessary. Over the
bridle and about the entire head of the horse and around the neck back
to the saddle, there should be a harness made like a gambison of firm
linen cloth, so that no man shall be able to take away the bridle or the
horse by stealth. (5)
The rider himself should be equipped
in this wise: he should wear good soft breeches made of soft and
thoroughly blackened linen cloth, which should reach up to the belt;
outside of these, good mail hose which should come up high enough to be
girded on with a double strap; over these he must have good trousers
made of linen cloth of the sort that I have already described; finally,
over these he should have good kneepieces made of thick iron and rivets
and hard as steel. Above and next to the body he should wear a soft
gambison, which need not come lower than to the middle of the thigh.
Over this he must have strong breastplate made of good iron covering the
body from the nipples to the trousers belt; outside this, a well-made
hauberk and over the hauberk a firm gambison made in the manner which I
have already described but without sleeves. He must have a dirk and two
swords, one girded on and another hanging from the pommel of the
saddle. On his head he must have a dependable helmet made of good steel
and provided with a visor. He must also have a strong, thick shield
fastened to a durable shoulder belt and, in addition, a good sharp spear
with a firm shaft and pointed with fine steel. Now it seems needless to
speak further about the equipment of men who fight on horseback; there
are, however, other weapons which a mounted warrior may use, if he
wishes; among these are the horn bow and the weaker crossbow, which a
man can easily draw even when on horseback, and certain other weapons,
too, if he should want them.
<excerpt>
1. Notice the plurality here (girths). This is reinforced by
period illustrations.
2. Surcingle's are clearly illustrated as well as breaststraps.
Breaststraps were usually just a wide leather belt that wrapped from the
front of the horse to the back of the saddle.
3. Shabrack is a fancy saddle blanket. May have been decorated.
4. Blackened - The current school of thought on this is that
there is a process that you can expose linen to break it down a bit
where it becomes softer. It includes almost letting the fabric rot a
bit. It will turn darker but apparently becomes much softer.
5. Again this is verified in period illustrations. If trappings
are used (which is being talked about here), they should cover the
bridle. |
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Research
13th Century:
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