In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, boats were used to transport

horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 milli ...

over long distances, both for war and for trade. They can be found from the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

, in

Celt The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

ic, Germanic and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

traditions.

Military shipment of horses

The Mediterranean World

The

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

had developed efficient methods of sea transport for horses, which were improved by the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

nations in the Early Middle Ages; these transports became common in Europe from the tenth century. Horse transports could be powered by oars, or sometimes by sail. The oared ''tarida'' was able to be loaded and unloaded directly on a beach, using doors as loading ramps.Nicolle (1999) pp 271–4 In 1174 an

Italo-Norman The Italo-Normans (), or Siculo-Normans (''Siculo-Normanni'') when referring to Sicily and Southern Italy, are the Italian-born descendants of the first Norman conquerors to travel to Southern Italy in the first half of the eleventh century. ...

force attacked

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

with 1,500 horses transported on 36 ''tarides''. Detailed specifications for thirteenth century tarides exist, showing they could carry 20 to 30 horses. In Angevin tarides, horses were stalled in threes, supported by canvas slings. Genoese tarides in 1246 carried 150 water butts containing 39,750 litres in total. Sailing transports, known as ''usciere'' in Italian (French ''huissiers''; Latin ''usserii''), were also built. These had two decks and could carry up to 100 horses. The horses were loaded through openings in the hull, which were then sealed for the voyage. Venetian ''usciere'' built for

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis ...

in 1268 were 25.76 m long, had a beam of 6.1 m, had two decks and two masts.

Northern Europe

Records of cavalry transportation abound throughout the period, reflecting the changes in warfare. For example, the Scandinavians had adapted the horse-transport technology by the 12th century as part of their move away from the traditional

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

infantry. The first illustration displaying such horse-transport in western Europe can be found in the

Bayeux Tapestry The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidery, embroidered cloth nearly long and tall that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest, Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William the Conqueror, William, Duke of Normandy challenging H ...

's depiction of the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

. This particular military venture required the transfer of over 2,000 horses from

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

.Hyland, p 99 Scholars have linked the successful use of horse transports during the Norman conquest of England to Norman interactions with Byzantines (who had mastered horse transportation in amphibious operations) in Southern Italy in the 11th century. The small size of many transport vessels available and the need to carry fodder and water on all but the shortest journeys restricted the number of horses that could be carried. Records from the 13th century show a range from 8 to 20 horses. In 1303 ships transporting horses between

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

carried between 10 and 32 animals. Adapting a ship for horse transportation required the installation of stalls of wood or

hurdle A hurdle (UK English, limited US English) is a moveable section of light fence. In the United States, terms such as "panel", "pipe panel" or simply "fence section" are used to describe moveable sections of fencing intended for agricultural u ...

s. Detailed records of the fitting of an English fleet of 1340 show the creation of 418 hurdles, 413 iron rings and staples, canvas

manger __NOTOC__ A manger or trough is a rack for fodder, or a structure or feeder used to hold food for animals. The word comes from the Old French ''mangier'' (meaning "to eat"), from Latin ''mandere'' (meaning "to chew"). Mangers are mostly used in ...

s and the creation of four gangways for loading 30 feet long by 5 wide. Similar records from 1338 show 47 ships were equipped with 134 tuns to carry water for horses. Whether English vessels used canvas slings to support the horses like contemporary Mediterranean practice is uncertain. Military historian Michael Prestwich speculates they didPrestwich, p 270 and he is supported by naval historian Ian Friel, who believes that the references to canvas mangers referred to above should actually be translated as canvas slings.

Shipping horses for trade

The development and building of horse transports for use in war meant it remained easy to transfer horses for breeding and purchase during peacetime. After

William of Normandy William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was ...

's successful conquest of England, he continued to bring horses across from Normandy for breeding purposes, improving the bloodstock of the English horses. By the time of the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

, the English government banned the export of horses in times of crisis.Nicolle (2000), p 22

Footnotes

References

* Bennett, Matthew; Bradbury, Jim; DeVries, Kelly; Dickie, Iain; Jestice, Phyllis G. (2005) ''Fighting Techniques of the Medieval World: AD 500-AD 1500'', London: Amber Books * * * Hyland, Ann (1994) ''The Medieval Warhorse: From Byzantium to the Crusades'', London: Grange Books, * Nicolle, David (1999) ''Medieval Warfare Source Book: Warfare in Western Christendom'', UK: Brockhampton Press. * Nicolle, David (2000) ''Crécy 1346: Triumph of the longbow'',

Osprey Publishing Osprey Publishing is a British publishing company specializing in military history formerly based in Oxford. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company p ...