Study reveals the true size of English war horses in the Middle Ages – RT World News

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The horses used by English Knights of that era were not as “big” as those depicted in movies and books

Despite the common depiction of medieval English war horses as giant horses, new research suggests that most horses of that era were only the size of modern ponies – movies and books played a role in the myth of their stature.

The study, published in the International Journal of Archeology, found that chargers used by English cavalry were less than 14.2 hands in height (about 57 inches).

The ancient “hand” unit of measure, specific to horses, measured horses’ height from the ground to the top of the shoulder. Only animals taller than this criterion are classified as “horses” by modern standards.

A team of archaeologists and historians has analyzed around 2,000 skeletal remains from 171 different historical sites, including medieval castles and horse cemeteries, across the UK, dating from the 4th to the 17th centuries. The researchers also looked at historical records as well as fictional accounts of the era.

The study found that horses standing at 15 to 16 hands, roughly the size of modern racehorses and show spurs, were “really very rare”. Even in the royal stables of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, such animals were apparently thought to be “too big.” However, fictional portraits of the period usually depict these mounts using animals up to 18 hands (about 72 inches) high.

Among the largest remains the team found was a 15-handed horse from the Norman period between the 11th and 12th centuries. His stature would make the animal about the size of a small horse riding lightly today.

“It turns out that things are not quite as well as they were usually portrayed. In popular culture, war horses are often depicted as the size of a shire horse. [a large load-pulling breed]. “It wasn’t really like that,” Alan Outram, an archaeologist at the University of Exeter, told the Guardian.

The study suggests that war horses were not bred for ‘raw size’ alone, but for a combination of biological and cultural factors, as well as behavioral characteristics such as ‘mood’. While there may have been large specimens, Outram said the armies would also need smaller horses for long-distance raids and transport equipment.

Researchers note that the average height of horses did not approach something comparable to modern draft animals until the post-medieval period.

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