palfrey - destrier - courser - rouncey
palafrén (amblador) - montura de guerra - corcel - rocín
Ver:
Horses in the Middle Ages
El caballo en la guerra
The word "palfrey" is cognate with the German word for horse (of any type), "Pferd". Both descend from Latin "paraveredus", meaning a post horse or courier horse. The German term for a palfrey, meanwhile, is
Zelter, which literally means "
ambler" and is cognate with the
Icelandic tölt.
The term 'palfrey' usually referred to the most expensive and highly-bred types of riding horse during the Middle Ages,
[1] sometimes equalling the
knight's destrier in price. Consequently, it was popular with nobles, ladies and highly-ranked knights for riding,
hunting and ceremonial use.
[2]The significant characteristic of the palfrey was that, rather than
trotting, it usually possessed a smooth,
ambling gait.
[3] The amble was the name given to a group of smooth, four-beat
gaits faster than a walk, but slower than a
canter or gallop. The
trot is a two-beat gait, about 8 mph, suitable for covering a lot of ground relatively quickly. However, the horse also has a bit of a spring in its motion as it switches diagonal pairs of legs with each beat, and thus can be rough for a
rider, and jostles about packs or weaponry to a considerable degree. The amble is about as fast as the trot, not tiring for a horse that performs it naturally, and much smoother for the rider. Thus, because much ground transportation in the Middle Ages was on horseback, with long distances to be covered, a smooth-gaited horse was much desired.
An amble is achieved by the horse when it moves with a four-step rhythm, either derived from the two-beat lateral gait known as the
pace or from the diagonal trot, with the two beats broken up so there are four. There are several variations, but most either have a lateral sequence of footfalls (left hind, left front, right hind, right front), or a diagonal sequence (left hind, right front, right hind, left front). In either case, only one foot is all the way off the ground at a time. Such a gait can be maintained for long distances, and sometimes at considerable speed.
Ambling horses are now uncommon in Europe. They were effectively replaced by trotting horses for several reasons. The first was that travel by
carriage became more common, and trotting horse breeds were generally larger and stronger, more suited to the job at hand. Another reason was the rise of the
Thoroughbred and other breeds developed for
horse racing and for light
cavalry, both of which required horses able to
gallop for substantial periods of time. Breeds swift at the gallop also tend to trot rather than pace or amble.
The smooth ambling gaits today have many names, including the single-foot, the stepping pace, the tolt, the rack, the paso corto, and the fox trot (see
ambling). Though ambling horses are less common today than in the
Middle Ages, there are still many ambling
breeds, particularly in
North America where today they are referred to as
gaited horses. Some of these breeds include the
Missouri Fox Trotter,
Tennessee Walking Horse,
Icelandic horse and a sub-group within the
American Saddlebred. The
Paso Fino and the
Peruvian Paso, breeds developed in
Latin America, perform two or three different ambling gaits of varying speed, and are probably the closest modern descendants of the medieval palfrey.
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The term
destrier is derived from the
Vulgar Latin dextarius, meaning "right-sided" (the same root as our modern
dexterous and
dexterity). This may refer to the fact that it was led by the
squire at the knight's right side (or led by the right hand) or to the horse's
gait, (possibly leading with the right).
[1]
While highly prized by knights and men-at-arms, the destrier was actually not very common.
[2] Most knights and mounted men-at-arms rode other war horses, such as
coursers and
rounceys.
[3] These three types of horse were often referred to generically as
chargers.
A
Jennet or
Spanish Jennet was a small
Spanish horse.
[1] It was noted for a smooth naturally
ambling gait, compact and well-muscled build, and a good disposition.
In the
etymology provided by the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica,
jennet is derived from the
French genet, from
Spanish jinete, a light horseman who rides
à la jineta, explained as "with his legs tucked up." The term is taken to be a corruption of the
Arabic Zenata, a
Berber tribe famed for its
cavalry. English and French transferred the word from the rider to the horse, a meaning which the word has only acquired in Spain in modern times. The American Heritage Dictionary's etymology is similar, citing the
Middle English genet, from Old French, from the
Catalan ginet, of
Arabic or
Berber origin.
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This depiction of a knight on horseback might show a courser
Coursers are commonly believed to be named for their running gait,
[1] (from Old French
cours, 'to run'.
[2]). However, the word possibly derived from the Italian
corsiero, meaning 'battle horse'.
[3]
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The term
rouncey (also spelt
rouncy or
rounsey) was used during the
Middle Ages to refer to an ordinary, all-purpose
horse. They were used for riding, but could also be trained for
war. It was not unknown for them to be used as
pack horses.
Use in warfare
While the
destrier is the most well-known warhorse of the Medieval era, it was the least common, and
coursers were often preferred for hard
battles. They were both expensive, highly trained horses prized by
knights and nobles, and the poorer knight,
squire or
man-at-arms would use a rouncey for fighting. A wealthy knight would provide rounceys for his
retinue.
[1][2]Sometimes the expected nature of warfare dictated the choice of horse; when a summons to war was sent out in
England, in 1327, it expressly requested rounceys, for swift pursuit, rather than destriers.
[3]
