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Osprey - General Military - Knight - The Warrior and ... - Brego-weard

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TACTICS AND TRAINING -}=>•<br />

fine <strong>and</strong> valuable had it not been for one terrible flaw that was a terrible drawback: effjgy 0f Gilbert<br />

the horse was so wild that it could not be tamed.' Just like Alex<strong>and</strong>er, William was able Marshal in the Temple<br />

to tame the creature bv using his knowledge of horses <strong>and</strong> horsemanship. Alex<strong>and</strong>er C UrC..' ° n ° n' k' ves<br />

J D D r no indication ot the<br />

used gentle words <strong>and</strong> turned the horse away from its own shadow, which had unfortunate manner of<br />

frightened it; William lengthened the bridle <strong>and</strong> adjusted the bit so as to press less his death, dragged behind<br />

hard on the horse's mouth. Ironically William's third son, Gilbert, was killed at a . „ 1 ,a . , „<br />

J tournament. (Bridgeman<br />

tournament in 1241 when, as he struggled to control a new <strong>and</strong> sprrrted Italian charger, Art Library)<br />

the bit broke <strong>and</strong> he was thrown from the<br />

saddle <strong>and</strong>, his foot tangled in his stirrup,<br />

dragged along the ground for a great distance.<br />

On top of everything else, the knight had<br />

to be able to keep his seat whilst wielding<br />

lance <strong>and</strong> sword, striking <strong>and</strong> being struck by<br />

opponents. <strong>The</strong> unhorsing of an enemy was a<br />

key tactic of the period. Even if the blow did<br />

not kill him it left him vulnerable (though not<br />

defenceless) to further strikes or for capture<br />

<strong>and</strong> ransom. <strong>The</strong> combat could be brutal.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Huftory of William Marshal is replete with<br />

examples of knights grappling with each other,<br />

grabbing for their opponents' helmets, bits,<br />

bridles <strong>and</strong> stirrups in an attempt to wrestle<br />

them from their mounts. In one engagement<br />

William's opponents managed to turn his<br />

helmet right around <strong>and</strong> he could only free it<br />

by tearing at the laces, injuring his h<strong>and</strong> in<br />

the process. Joinville records how, during the<br />

French king Louis IX's crusade into Egypt in<br />

1250 he was struck by a lance that 'caught me<br />

between the shoulders, pinning me down to the<br />

neck of my horse in such a way that I could not<br />

draw the sword at my belt'.<br />

One of the reasons Joinville became pinned<br />

was that his saddle held him in place. <strong>The</strong><br />

medieval war saddle developed alongside<br />

the tactic of fighting with couched lance, which<br />

channelled enormous forces, the mass <strong>and</strong><br />

impetus of both knights <strong>and</strong> their mounts,<br />

69

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