At the beginning of the 11th century, some mounted warriors distinguished themselves from the mass of free men. Why? Between the 8th and 9th centuries, the methods of combat they had been radically transformed, and only a small number of people knew how to master the elite service of arms and become a Knight.
If we see in a movie an army filled with thousands upon thousands of knights, or a man who gets on a horse and automatically fights like a medieval knightwe must never lose sight of the fact that this is pure fiction and, it goes without saying, an insult to the work and education that the knights of the Middle Ages carried out for years.
Being a knight was extremely difficult. First of all, it required money. Horses, weapons, and armor were among the most expensive objects of that time.
The cavalry was taking more and more prominence in the medieval historywas not always made up of powerful warriors and lords.
The Carolingian Fighter
In the time of Charlemagnewhen the army was still made up of infantry, heavy cavalry already played a primary role, because armies like this could move faster.
Bayeaux tapestry, Carolingian representation
But during the combat, the horsemen they used their mounts very badly: when the enemy approached, they brandished their spears with the point forward and then threw their arms back to throw them at the adversaries.
After this first ranged assault, the sword fighting. Charging on horseback wielding a heavy two-edged sword was extremely difficult, the riders ill-seated in a precarious mount devoid of stirrups. That is why they were forced to get off the horse to fight with the sword in hand-to-hand combat.
And it was at that moment when the heavy equipment that they carried from the horse became an obstacle: the brognea kind of leather tunic lined with horsehair and covered with iron plates to cushion the shock of the javelin, embarrassed the fencer’s movements, as well as the long shieldwhich had no other way of moving except by dragging it along the ground.
Bayeaux Tapestry, combines Carolingian techniques (javelin) with those of the 11th century (loriga)
Summarizing: it was fought on foot with a team designed for combat on horseback.
The 12th century knight
Instead, by the end of the 12th century, the army became almost completely identified with heavy cavalry, and the combatants fought on horseback, following a new method of combat.
Technical improvements are the origin of this transformation. First, the riders had best mountsprobably inspired by the Hungarians, whose rides had terrified Europe in the 10th century.
The gentlemen incorporating their kind of harness for the horse, they now sat firmly on the saddle that rose front and back. The feet were equipped with spurs that entered the stirrups, where they could be supported. This gained a lot of stability and freedom of movement on the mount.
On the other hand, horses began to be better cared for. Their hooves were shod and they attended to the breeding of robust steeds. The cultivation of oats, destined for the horse, grew at the expense of that of barley.
In addition, from Eleventh centurythe leather suit was replaced by the loriga Entirely woven in iron. A truly coat of mail that protected almost the entire body of the combatant: it covered him up to the knees but included some openings to guarantee freedom of movement. The helmeta conical or pyramidal helmet, was placed on top, and also covered the center of the face.
All this heavy clothing hampered the march, even the helmet somewhat reduced vision. But, dressed like this, the combatant of the eleventh century was almost invulnerable, the javelin had no efficacy against the loriga. Therefore, new methods had to be found to reach the adversary.
Little by little, the knight who felt very safe on top of the steed, also understood the new possibilities he had for handling weapons.