Books on Medieval Riding and Fighting

[patbailey]

I have been reading a couple of very interesting books which I thought might be of interest also to others. They are available from Chivalry Bookshelf (www.chivalrybookshelf.com) and are "The Royal Book of Horsemanship, Jousting, and Mounted Combat" and "Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship."

"The Royal Book of Horsemanship" was written by the King of Portugal, Dom Duarte, in 1438. The book is actually very deep, venturing into philosphy, religion, and psychology as well as mounted combat, and is not an easy read. Dom Duarte spends a lot of time on the reasons for human behaviors, and then relates them to horsemanship. As an example, he discusses the reasons men are fearless, such as confidence in their skill, ignorance of danger, faith in God, etc, and then relates these to riding. He also discusses different types of saddles of the time and how to ride on them, as well as what to wear and how the clothing should be tailored to make the rider look the best when riding. The most interesting parts to me are when he lists tricks for staying in the saddle while still looking good. He states that many people, when their horse suddenly lowers its head, will lean forward and grab the pommel of the saddle, which causes others to see that they are in trouble. In contrast, Dom Duarte reccommends staying upright and grabbing the cantle of the saddle with only one hand, so that people will see you remain upright and in control. The appearance of the rider would seem to have at least as much imprtance as his skill. He also gives advice on entering into combat in a battle or tournament melee, such as not becoming engaged in a stationary fight with one opponent, but rather to charge through the enemy line, turn your horse when clear of the enemy, and then to charge again. The reasons given are that you will maintain the momentum of your charge to preserve maneuverability, you may gain advantages over new opponents such as striking them from behind, and (in a tournament setting) the crowd will be able to see you better and thus bear witness to your noble deeds. Dom Duarte also reccommends practice in vaulting onto the horse, and specifically states that he has seen men vault into the saddle when fully armed and armored. All in all, a fascinating book. As many of the members of this forum are accomplished equestrians, I am sure that you will find yourself nodding in agreement while perusing this volume.

"Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship" would seem to be of dubious interest to a horseman, and indeed much of the manual is devoted to foot combat. However, the manual is illustrated with modern photos of students of the German fighting arts performing the techiniques in sequence, so one can easily see how they are done. What is of great interest is that this is an integrated fighting system, from wrestling, to dagger fighting, to sword and buckler, to longsword, to armored longsword and spear, and finally to armored combat while mounted. The mounted combat section is rather brief, mostly due to the difficulties in getting two horses who are willing to stand in the correct poses while people in armor pose of their backs, but the instructions for the techniques are there. They include fighting with the sword and the lance, as well as wrestling. Yes, this book shows you how to wrestle your opponent off of his horse while in full armor! The extent of the understanding of the medieval fighting masters is shown when the manual recommends that, should you not wish to continue fighting a particular opponent, you should strike at the opponent's near leg with your sword. The reason given is that the strike against the leg will cause pressure against the horse's side, cuing the horse to turn away from you. Pretty sophisticated stuff for a manual written in the fifteenth century!

Now, these books are not cheap, with the "German Swordsmanship" volume listing for $49.95 and the "Royal Book of Horsemanship" listing for $32.95, but I am very happy with both purchases. The "Royal Book of Horsemanship" will appeal more to the greater number of the the members of this forum, but I suspect that the other volume might also get some attention. I would also encoourage any members who are interested in the medieval era to explore the combat manuals which are available on the web, and will also point out that there are some schools which teach these arts now and even a couple which teach the mounted skills.

[Pat Holscher]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by patbailey</i>
<br />He also discusses different types of saddles of the time and how to ride on them, as well as what to wear and how the clothing should be tailored to make the rider look the best when riding. The most interesting parts to me are when he lists tricks for staying in the saddle while still looking good. He states that many people, when their horse suddenly lowers its head, will lean forward and grab the pommel of the saddle, which causes others to see that they are in trouble. In contrast, Dom Duarte reccommends staying upright and grabbing the cantle of the saddle with only one hand, so that people will see you remain upright and in control.

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The origin of the Cheyenne Roll?



Pat