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

KNIGHT
The high pommel and
cantle of the knight's
saddle, like this 16th-
century example, helped
to hold the rider in place
against the shock of a
lance strike. (Bridgeman
Art Library)
70
through the tip of the lance. The saddles and seat of the Carolingian horseman would
have seen both attacker and target flung from their saddles.
But those depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry and other contemporary images, wrth
their high pommel and cantle and long stirrup leathers attached to the front edge,
meant that the knight rode very deep in the saddle as a result, almost standing up wrth
his legs at full stretch and pushed forward, whilst his pelvis was enclosed within the
high and curving saddlebows. Although this made him almost impossible to knock
from the saddle it also meant that the knight could not so easily use his legs as aids in
directing his mount, which also explains the seemingly ridiculous long spurs that are
to be found; their long shafts were necessary to reach the horse's flanks. The war
saddle was also very high off the horse's back, the large tree and padding serving
to spread the weight of saddle and rider more evenly, but this would have meant that
the rider had very little sensation of the movement of the horse beneath him. As a
result the knight would have had to be a very skilled rider, sensitrve to the slightest
changes in the movement and gait of the horse.
Riding was only part of the skill set that the knight required for war. He also had
to be able to handle weapons at the same time. The use of the spear or lance before the
development of couching would appear to require much greater skill and dexterity