The Materiality of the Horse: 2 (Rewriting Equestrian History) 9786158135399, 6158135399

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Table of Contents

Introduction I Pony Breeding in the New Forest: A Continuation of Medieval Practice Gail Brownrigg 1 Practical Advice on Equine Care from Jordanus Rufus, c. 1250 CE Jennifer Jobst 37 A Tapuya “Equestrian Nation”? Horses and Native Peoples in the Backlands of Colonial Brazil Felipe Vander Velden 71 Counting Your Blessings in Froissart’s “Debate of the Horse and the Greyhound” Anastasija Ropa 107 Equids in Late Byzantine Hagiographies: A Comparison with the Middle Byzantine Period Alexia-Foteini Stamouli 133 Alexander’s Arabian: Noble Steed or Fantastic Beast? Miriam A. Bibby 175

Hishām ibn al-Kalbi’s Kitāb al-Khayl: A Premodern Arabic Pedigree for the Horse? Hylke Hettema 203 Equestrian Military Equipment of the Eastern Roman Armies in the Sixth and Seventh Centuries Mattia Caprioli 221 Horse Burials among the Lombards and Avars: Some Differences and Similarities between the Germanic and Nomadic Rituals Annamaria Fedele 239 The Irish “Deer” Series of Cheek-Pieces Brian G. Scott 261 Notes on Contributors 295

Introduction Miriam A. Bibby and Brian G. Scott

The original inspiration for Materiality of the Horse was provided by the equine history themed papers that have been presented at Leeds International Medieval Congress (IMC) since 2015. The initiative of equine history scholars Anastasija Ropa and Timothy Dawson, the creation of horse-focussed sessions at Leeds was greeted with enthusiasm by medievalist equine historians. The concept has gone from strength to strength, with the first set of proceedings, those from papers presented in the years 2015 to 2017 as well as invited contributions, being published in 2020. 1 Indeed, it is a sign of the success of the initiative that the editors of this volume, based initially on papers presented at Leeds IMC in 2019, have been able to extend a welcome to a chapter that expands the remit in a new and stimulating way. The editors are therefore pleased to include the paper by Felipe Vander Velden on the Tapuya horse nation of Brazil in this work. Equine and equestrian history is a growing and fruitful field of academic research. Through their work, scholars, many of whom share their lives with horses or other equids, continue to extend our knowledge of how much human society owes to the horse. From the first widespread domestication of the horse on the Eurasian Steppes, sometime in the fifth millennium BCE, to the mass mechanisation of the later twentieth century CE, horses have been prominent in every walk of life in nearly every society. Even though today we no longer use them for heavy work, their significance lives on in the idea of Imperial units of “horse power,” one HP being the energy required to lift five hundred and fifty pounds by one foot in one second. James Watt developed this concept in CE 1782 and motor output continued to be measured in these units until the turn of the twenty-first century.

The Horse in Premodern European Culture, ed. Anastasija Ropa and Timothy Dawson (Berlin and Boston: Medieval Institute Publications, 2020).

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There is not an area of human existence that has not been influenced by the horse, including religion and philosophy. The belief system of the Celts revered the horse goddess Epona and her avatars, while the Greek God Apollo was charged with harnessing four horses to his golden chariot to pull the sun across the sky each day. The use of chariotry and the composite bow in the ancient world changed the face of societies such as Egypt forever. Adoption of horse riding allowed herders to range further and faster, and the development of horsedrawn chariotry, and later, cavalry transformed warfare. A (somewhat controversial and still much-disputed) thesis suggested that the introduction of the stirrup further altered the course of mounted combat, becoming a factor in the rise of the feudal systems that dominated mediaeval Europe. Horses drew the plough, pulled the carts and canal barges that moved goods from one place to another, hauled coal from the coal face and carried ore from the mine. They drew the carriages and coaches that transported people and mail, and entertained – and still do – in equestrian sports from jousting to racing. Use of the horse brought with it great changes in technology. Horse-drawn wagons and chariots required the development of new woodworking techniques, including those to produce the exquisitely-formed spoked wheels of Hallstatt Europe and ancient Egypt and Assyria. The sophisticated bits of the high- and post-mediaeval periods required metalworkers with advanced skills. These represent just a few of the societal changes we owe to the horse. In short, it is difficult to imagine a world without the horse, even more so one in which its profound shaping – and ongoing – influences were never felt. The term “materiality” may be viewed by some as a rather ugly neologism, intrusive to an already overloaded archaeological and historical jargon. However, in the title of this volume, The Materiality of the Horse, it does render useful service by compacting neatly a quite disparate selection of studies into a coherent narrative, covering the past roles of the horse,2 its breeding, veterinary care and genealogy, training, accoutrements, archaeology and place in early spirituality and belief systems. As such, it also sets the scene for future volumes in the Trivent Rewriting Equestian History series, taking a different approach While the primary subject of the volume is the horse, donkeys make an occasional appearance, hence the regular use in this volume of “equid.” 2

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from the first book in the series, Anastasija Ropa’s monograph Practical Horsemanship in Medieval Arthurian Romance, which examines a set of literary sources in their contemporary contexts.3 The texts are arranged in three sections, to reflect the disciplinary and thematic focus of the contributions. The first section examines the practices of breeding, training and keeping horses in different geographic and historical contexts. The second section discusses the representation of horses in various textual contexts, encompassing Byzantine hagiography, medieval French poetry, Scottish chronicle and Arabic furūsiyya literature. The third section takes an archaeological approach, studying horse equipment and horse burials in Europe. Management practices in horse-human interactions Gail Brownrigg discusses the history of the New Forest and its herds of semi-feral ponies. A Royal Forest and former hunting domain in south-west Hampshire and south-east Wiltshire in the south-east of England, the region has one of the few remaining extensive systems of common rights operating in lowland Europe. This system probably dates to the end of the eleventh century. She examines the history behind the legislation enacted by English kings that protected the “beasts of the chase,” and the husbandry and exploitation of the ponies that still roam the area today. Jennifer Jobst provides an English translation of the first three books of the De medicina equorum by Jordanus Rufus (c. 1250). While ostensibly a book on veterinary medicine for horses, it provides also an insight into horse care and training practices in the mid-thirteenth century. The text demonstrates how little horse care has changed over the past nearly 800 years and highlights the strong oral tradition of passing down horse care and training techniques. Felipe Vander Velden introduces a New World perspective, bringing to light the effects of the sixteenth-century introduction of the horse to the Amerindian peoples of Brazil. He proposes that an equestrian Anastasija Ropa, Practical Horsemanship in Medieval Arthurian Romance (Budapest: Trivent, 2020).

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culture or “horse nation” emerged (albeit briefly) among certain indigenous groups known as Tapuya in the sertão badlands of northeastern Brazil. Incorporating the horse, along with the technologies associated with raising and riding horses, allowed their use in pursuing indigenous social, economic and political goals. However, the processes that brought the horse also ended up destroying most of Tapuya, although traces of the culture may be glimpsed within the intense material and symbolic relationships that the present inhabitants of the region, called sertanejos, have with their horses, and the great esteem and value accorded to the cowboy as a professional. Secular, sacred, and historical Anastasija Ropa takes the poem Le Debat du Cheval et du Levrier (“The debate between the horse and the greyhound”) by the fourteenthcentury chronicler Jean Froissart, and first sets it in the context of contemporary European literature involving animal and human relationships. She emphasises the fact it presents a novel discussion from the point of view of the animals. The two companions debate the advantages and disadvantages of each other’s position, considering duties and their respective capacities to perform them, rewards and punishments, feeding, as well as the general and medical care accorded to each. The information provided by each animal is examined in light of other evidence from literature, hippiatric treatises and hunting books, as well as the illuminations used to elucidate Froissart’s representation of the lives of the horse and the greyhound, and their relations to their human owner. Alexia-Foteini Stamouli demonstrates the important roles of equids – horses and donkeys – in the hagiographic literature of the Middle (AD 843–1204) and Late (AD 1204–1453) Byzantine periods. Comparing the two reveals a complexity of relationships. Both horses and donkeys appear in each period as companions to saints, or as vehicles of punishment for the wicked. In the later period, however, more emphasis is placed on the horse in war. Τhe references to equids used for water transport are of particular interest, and there are similarities in the use of similes, metaphors, and proverbs involving horses, across both periods. IV

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Miriam A. Bibby untangles the tale of a horse, described in the foundation accounts of the Priory of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland as the gift of an equum Arabicum, reported to have been a donation by King Alexander I of Scotland in CE 1121. She sets this interrogation of the Foundation Accounts of the priory in the broader context of the interpretation of the term equum Arabicum, invoking evidence for wider themes relating to Scottish identity, sovereignty and nationhood. Consideration of the interpretation as “Arab (or Arabian) horse,” leads to the conclusion that it may represent another beast entirely. Hylke Hettema analyses the Arabic text Nasāb al khayl fi al jāhilïyyah wa al islām w akhbāriha (“Origins of horses in the time of ignorance and of Islam and their stories”) by the ninth century historian Ibn al Kalbi. She explores the content of Ibn al Kalbi's work on horses as one of the earliest examples of furūsiyya literature, as well as the historical, cultural and political context in which it was written. Did Ibn al Kalbi really establish a 'pedigree' based on a single ancestor of religious, cultural and historical value, upon which the discourse surrounding a superior Arab race was built over time, introducing the "father of all horses,” the stallion Zād al Rakib? Analysing and contextualising this early medieval genealogy of the horse explores how the horse was viewed by early Islamic society, and gives insight into its role in the making of the Arab identity. Equestrian material culture: archaeological perspectives Mattia Caprioli examines the literary and archaeological evidence for the production and use of horse equipment among Roman armies in the sixth and seventh centuries CE. In particular, he discusses the forms of saddle in use, and the key question of the extent to which the stirrup had been adopted. Archaeological evidence is compared with the detailed descriptions in the Strategikon of the Emperor Maurice Tiberius, and differences and similarities between Roman armour and that of contemporary Avar and Sassanian suits are debated. Annamaria Fedele shows that amongst Germanic and Nomadic cultures in the Early Middle Ages, the horse was the sacrificial victim V

Introduction

par excellence. Lombard cemeteries in Italy include numerous burial pits containing horses, and the majority of horse burials found in Italy shows similar deposition methods to some discovered in the cemeteries of Central and Eastern Europe, where Lombards and other Germanic peoples overlap. The Italian cemetery of Campochiaro in southern Italy includes horse burials where the ritual is similar to that observed among the nomadic Avars who settled in the Carpathian Basin in the sixth century CE. These observations permit differentiation between the two traditions. Brian G. Scott defines a class of zoomorphic cheek-piece of predominantly Irish provenance, in which the motif is a male deer, either red or fallow. Unfortunately, none has a firm archaeological context, and so dating depends on stylistic comparison between the pieces and metalwork, stone carving and ceramics of the tenth to fifteenth centuries CE. Metal analysis would tend to indicate later production rather earlier mediaeval, a view that might be supported by ceramic motif parallels and, by the dating of the introduction of fallow deer to Ireland at the start of the thirteenth century CE.

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Pony Breeding in the New Forest: A Continuation of Medieval Practice Gail Brownrigg

The New Forest The New Forest, covering nearly 150 square miles (some 380 km),1 is one of the largest areas of unenclosed land remaining in the south of Britain. Lying to the west of Southampton on the south coast, a large part of the area was granted special status as the New Forest Heritage Area in 1985 and designated a National Park in 2005.

Fig. 1. Free-living New Forest pony. Photo courtesy of Elaine Gill.

In the region of 47,800 acres of open Forest (This does not include the Commons which are also within the National Park). Sue Westwood, Clerk to the Verderers, personal correspondence, June 28th, 2019. 1

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Some of the soil is clay, as well as sandy hillsides with heather and gorse. There are freshwater ponds and streams and coastal saltmarsh. Windswept, gravelly plateaux provide much of the grazing land, with stretches of open grassland, as well as heath, woodland pasture, and denser forest. Ancient woodlands, consisting of oak, holly, beech and yew and fenced “enclosures” or plantations, are managed by the Forestry Commission. Timber is grown for commercial use as it has been for centuries. Across much of the heathland, against woodland or on steeper slopes, are areas of scrub, typically of common gorse with hawthorn, holly, rowan, and bramble which provide a valuable source of year-round browsing for ponies and deer. Streams run through the valley bottoms, which provide good grass, but are also riddled with bogs. The New Forest contains about 75% of the remaining areas of valley mire habitat in north-west Europe and by far the largest area in the UK. These produce wetland grasses, rushes and sedges, all of which are eaten by the cattle, ponies, and donkeys which roam throughout the wide expanses of heath and much of the woodland. It is largely their grazing that maintains the open character of the Forest. Their trampling creates the environment for certain rare species such as small fleabane, clubmoss and Britain’s smallest fern, pillwort. 2 The open stretches of grass, grazed down like mown turf, are known as “lawns,” derived from Old French launde – a grassy plain or pasture, especially surrounded by woodland. The New Forest is unique in preserving an assemblage of wild species and traditional management practices that is of global significance. The New Forest’s survival as an intact cultural landscape, with a system of common grazing that harks back to the very origins of settled farming in the British Isles, is truly remarkable and reflects its location, geology, ownership by the Crown, historic rights of use and the independent spirit of its people.3 It represents one of the few remaining extensive systems of common rights operating in lowland 2 Boudicca Fox-Leonard, “Are the New Forest Ponies overgrazing? No – they’re at risk of dying out,” Daily Telegraph, August 29th, 2016. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news /2016/08/29/are-the-new-forest-ponies-overgrazing-no--theyre-at-risk-of-dyin/ (accessed June 15th, 2019). 3 Understanding the New Forest’s Natural Capital. New Forest Natural, www.newforestnpa. gov.uk/app/uploads/2019/10/00995-NF-Natural-Capital-Report-web.pdf (accessed January 13th, 2020).

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Europe. The long continuity of grazing by livestock, and especially the free-ranging ponies, is the primary reason for the survival of the Forest’s outstanding landscapes, biodiversity, and archaeological record.

Fig. 2. Ponies grazing on the open Forest. Photo courtesy of Elaine Gill.

A Royal Hunting Ground In its original meaning, the word “forest” did not imply a wood, but was an ancient term for a hunting ground in which the deer and certain other wild animals were reserved to the king and protected by special laws – indeed this was a royal hunting preserve throughout the Middle Ages. The Nova Foresta is mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086. William the Conqueror claimed all the deer as his personal property. He and his sons were famed for their devotion to hunting. The compiler of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle noted that William .... preserved the harts and boars And loved the stags as much As if he were their father.4 Dorothy Whitelock, David Douglas and Susie Tucker, ed., The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A Revised Translation (London: Eyre and Spottiswood/New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 196), 165. 4

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It is said that William “had villages rooted out and people removed, and made it a habitation for wild beasts,” but as much of the land is heathland, rough grazing and bog, it is likely that the area had, in fact, been only sparsely populated.

Fig. 3. Medieval hunting. From Le Livre de Chasse by Gaston Phoebus. Fifteenth century, Bibliothèque Nationale Française, Paris. BNF Fr616 f.68.

Strict laws were enacted to protect the beasts of the chase - red deer, fallow deer, roe deer, wild pig - and penalties for poaching were severe, including mutilation or even death. Peasants were banned from enclosing their property by fencing or other means, as this would restrict the hunt. The Pipe Rolls5 indicate that by the mid 1160s the framework that would survive into the next century and beyond was 5 The records of the yearly audits performed by the Exchequer of the accounts and payments presented to the Treasury by royal officials. The earliest date from the twelfth century.

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well established.6 Besides the laws directly protecting the “venison” by preventing all unauthorised hunting, there were others designed to prevent the destruction of the “vert,” which included all trees, bushes and underwood providing food or cover for the deer. Perhaps the most telling description of the royal forest is offered by Richard fitz Nigel, Bishop of London, in his Dialogus de Scaccario (1176). He states that “the whole organisation of the forests, the punishment, pecuniary or corporal, of forest offences, is outside the jurisdiction of the other courts, and solely dependent on the decision of the King, or of some officer specially appointed by him. The forest has its own laws, based ... not on the Common Law of the realm, but on the arbitrary legislation of the King.”7 Assize – that is occupation and agricultural exploitation of the land – was forbidden, resulting in the wild, open countryside that we see today. Common Rights Perhaps partly to compensate the local people who could neither farm nor hunt the deer for food, the laws confirmed certain rights associated with property ownership or occupation. These included the right to harvest firewood (“Estovers”), the right to dig clay as fertilizer for use on the smallholding (“Marl”), to take peat for fuel (“Turbary”), to allow pigs to roam in autumn to eat the acorns which would be poisonous to other stock (“Mast”), and most important of all, the right to allow cattle, horses and other livestock to graze on the open Forest as well as on commonland (“Agistment” or “Common of Pasture”). This enabled the Commoners (those who held these rights) to own more animals than would otherwise be possible. These were supposed to be removed from the Forest during the period when the deer were fawning (“the fence month”) and in the winter when their food was scarce (“winterheyning”). Hay would be cut and stored to feed the stock taken back to the holding. In fact, Common Rights probably predate the creation of this ancient hunting ground. They gave free men protection to use the 6 Jane Winters, “Forest Law,” Institute of Historical Research, University of London, 2019. www.earlyenglishlaws.ac.uk/reference/essays/forest-law/ (accessed June 25th, 2019). 7 Richard fitz Nigel, De Necessariis Observantiis Scaccarii Dialogus qui vulgo dicitur Dialogus de Scaccario (1176), ed. and trans. C. Johnson (Oxford, 1983), 59–60. Quoted by Jane Winters, “Forest Law.”

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forest for basic needs. The “waste,” which included heathland, woodland, wood pasture, common pasture and marshland, was a vital component of the system. In addition to grazing and fuel, it provided the local villagers with other useful resources such as thatch, clay, stone, timber, turf, and bracken for bedding. Laws formulated under Henry II in the twelfth century, claimed to be based on Canute’s Law of the Forest,8 mention large numbers of cattle and “beasts of the Forest,” such as wild horses, wild cattle, cows and the like living there. It is likely that many of these horses were virtually unhandled, except when they were rounded up to take the youngstock away to be sold or trained. They were referred to as the “wild” mares, meaning shy and untamed. In the Domesday Survey certain townships contained animals listed as “equi silvatici.” The word is derived from “silva,” a wood, and in the distant past had meant “living in the woods.” The clerks wrote down “silvaticus” as the Latin translation of “wild.”9 The inclusion of mares described as “silvaticae/silvestres” and “indomitae” (untrained) shows that they were presumed to have a value as possessions rather than being considered wild animals without ownership. The great variation in the numbers recorded by the clerks in different parts of the country10 – 317 in Devon and 356 in Somerset, for example, compared with none in Essex and only twelve in Cornwall11 - may reflect their focus on providing details of demesne livestock, or perhaps indicates that the “wild” horses may have been difficult to count, perhaps even impossible to find on the wastes and wilderness outside the villages. The nine breeds of British native ponies – Connemara, New Forest, Fells, Dales, Highland, Shetland, and four types of Welsh pony – all originated in the regions of mountain and 8 Cox, J. Charles, Royal Forests of England (London: Methuen & Co., 1905), 4-5; Anthony Dent and Daphne Machin Goodall, The Foals of Epona: A History of British Ponies from the Bronze Age to Yesterday (London: Galley Press, 1962), reprinted as: Anthony Dent and Daphne Machin Goodall, A History of British Native Ponies (London: J. A. Allen & Co Ltd., 1988), 101. 9 Anthony Dent and Daphne Machin Goodall, The Foals of Epona, 93-94. 10 Charles Gladitz, Horse Breeding in the Medieval World (Dublin and Portland: Four Courts Press: Four Courts Press, 1997), 143-144. In his survey of breeding across Eurasia, Gladitz mentions the woodland and untamed horses in Britain (143-147), but fails to recognise that these were breeding stock. 11 Ibid., Table 55.

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moorland that were least inhabited or suitable for cultivation. Perhaps the locals did not mention to the visiting administrators in 1086 how many ponies they had running on the hills and in the woodlands – just as it is still difficult to quantify the actual number of ponies roaming in the New Forest. Certainly the offspring of these “equi silvatici,” when they were rounded up and sold, must have made a substantial contribution the stock of ordinary horses available for everyday use, when compared with the high-class and valuable mounts raised on the stud farms.12

Fig. 4. Ponies bred on the Forest would be sold at local fairs and trained as mounts, pack ponies, or to work in harness, like this one illustrated on the Bayeux Tapestry.13

Wulfric of Mercia, who made his will in 1002, left “to the monastery at Burton one hundred wild horses and sixteen broken stallions as well as all the remainder of my live and dead stock except insofar as I have already bequeathed it elsewhere.” By the “hundrath wildra horsa,” he meant the breeding stock which he had running out, in contrast to his “xvi tame hengestas” which were presumably being ridden.14 About 1008-1012 Alfwold Bishop of Crediton left four horses to the King, and his wild mares (wildra werfa) at Ashburn to the King’s son.15 In the Ibid., 147-189. After Catherine Rommelaere, L’Attelage Médiéval: Les documents figurés in: G Raepsaet & C Rommelaere, ed. Brancards et Transport Attelé entre Seine et Rhin de l’Antiquité au Moyen Age. Actes du colloque de Bruxelles et Treignes, 1-2 octobre 1993, Centre d’Histoire et de Technologies Rurales, Treignes, (Belgium), p. 91. 14 Anthony Dent and Daphne Machin Goodall, The Foals of Epona, 53, 96. 15 R. H. C. Davis, The Medieval Warhhorse. Origin, Development and Redevelopment, (London: Thames and Hudson 1989), 74. 12 13

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fourteenth century, Chaucer’s Reeve still refers to the fenlands as the place “where wilde meares renne.”16 The poet who composed Sir Perceval of Galles,17 probably in the north-east Midlands during the first half of the century, was clearly aware of the herds of brood mares roaming free in the woodlands. Perceval has met three knights on horseback, and wants to emulate them: And als he welke in the wodde,

[And as he was walking in the wood He saw a fine stud of colts and good mares But not one of them was tame .... Though he had no saddle gear He jumped up on the mare: She began to carry him homewards Without fail.]

He sawe a full faire stode Offe coltes and of meres gude Bot never one was tame … Kepes he no sadill-gere, Bot stert up on the mere: Hamewarde scho gun hym bere Withowtten faylynge

Throughout the Middle Ages, vast areas of the New Forest continued to be a royal hunting ground, but the Church was also a substantial landowner. King John founded the Cistercian Abbey at Beaulieu in 1204, granting it a rich endowment including manors spread across southern England as well as extensive farmlands. In 1217 his son Henry III ordered the warden of the New Forest to give to the monks of Beaulieu all the profits accruing from his stud from that date until November 1220, this gift being for the benefit of the soul of his late father.18 There were clearly a sufficient number of ponies to have been a source of annual revenue to the Crown. Ibid., 217. “Sir Perceval of Galles,” in Sir Perceval of Galles and Ywain and Gawain, ed. Mary Flowers Braswell, TEAMS Middle English Series (Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publications, 1995), ll. 325-328; ll. 345-348. d.lib.rochester.edu/teams /text/braswellsir-perceval-of-galles (accessed December 11, 2019). (Translation by Gail Brownrigg). 18 Anthony Dent and Daphne Machin Goodall, The Foals of Epona, 257. 16 17

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Fig. 5. Map of Royal Forests in England 1327-1336.

The necessity of hunting to obtain venison for the court and the king’s followers was transformed into a stylized pastime of the aristocracy. It became an important arena for social interaction, essential training for warfare, and a privilege and measurement of nobility. Medieval writers often recommended hunting as a practical preparation for war, including tracking skills, hardiness, the use of bows and swords, and horsemanship. Participation was seen to be an important element in the education of young noblemen, as military training but also as an essential part of the manners of an aristocrat.19 Hunting, however, was not the only function for the royal forest. Kings would also use these territories for raising cattle, farming, and extracting the land’s natural resources, especially harvesting timber for their own use and for sale. 19

S. A. Mileson, Parks in Medieval England (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), 18. 9

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The crux of the early laws was that although the landowner should be able to hunt on their own estates – as had been the case since Roman times – all other forests and wastelands belonged to the royal domain and thus the “beasts of the chase” found there should be reserved for the king and those to whom he granted express permission. Over time, more land was “afforested” – taken into the king’s preserves – until by the end of the twelfth century nearly a third of England’s countryside had been claimed as Crown property. The extent of land designated as royal hunting grounds and the strict imposition of forest laws were amongst the grievances of the lords and barons who confronted King John at Runnymede. Incorporated into Magna Carta (June 15th, 1215) was the agreement to disafforest (remove from the jurisdiction of forest law) large parts of the country which had been appropriated during his reign. Though the amount of land reserved for the king was reduced, many royal forests remained, including Sherwood Forest, the Forest of Dean, and the New Forest - much of which is still Crown property today, managed by the Forestry Commission. This was followed two years later by Henry III’s “Charter of the Forest” which was less focused on the rights of the barons and more on the interests of free men – it reiterated that much of the recently adopted forest was to be disafforested and explicitly gave rights to people living in the remaining Royal Forests.20 It was at this time that Verderers courts were set up to enforce the charter, and they are still in existence today in the New Forest, where they play an important part in the management of the National Park. In 1297, the Forest Charters and the text of Magna Carta were consolidated into the “Confirmation of Charters,” which affirmed the Common rights of the landholders.21 Over the years, the royal rights became less extensive and by Tudor times, the forest laws mainly protected the timber in Royal Forests. However, some parts of the Laws of the Forest remained in force right up until the 1970s when they were finally superseded by the Wild Creatures and Forest Laws Acts in 1971.22 20 The Charter of the Forest of King Henry III. http://info.sjc.ox.ac.uk/forests/ Carta.htm (accessed November 20, 2019). 21 https://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/flora-and-fauna/medieval-woodlands/ (accessed October 2, 2019). 22 Idem.

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Statutes of Henry VIII Statutes enacted by Henry VIII make it clear that horses were kept by wealthy landowners in parks which had been enclosed for keeping and hunting deer, as well as those bred and reared on the unenclosed “wastes” throughout his realm. His Act 27 Henry VIII (1535) decreed that Every person which shall have any ground enclosed with a hedge ditch wall or pale within which any deere shall be kept, containing the quantity of one myle in compass, shall keep two mares ..., able and apt to bear foles, each of them 13 handfulls at the least from the lowest part of the houfe of the foot unto the highest part of the shoulder, every handfull to contain 4 inches of the standerd, upon paid of forfeiture of 40s. for every moneth lacking the said mares contrary to this Act. Larger landowners were obliged to keep four broodmares. Ridden stallions, on the other hand, would be kept stabled (“stalled ones”), like the “tame hengestas” of Wulfric of Mercia over 500 years earlier. Very wealthy clergymen and nobles were expected to “find, keep, maintain and sustain seven stoned trotting horses for the saddle ... three years and upwards, in height 14 handfulls from the nether part of the heare of the houfe unto the upper part of the widderson, that is to say the upper part of the shoulder.” Men of lesser means should provide five, three, or two stallions subject to military requisitioning for the king’s wars, according to their social standing. Anyone “whose wife shal weare anie goune of silke or anie frenche hoode or bonet of ueluet with anie habilement, paste or edge of gold etc.” was to keep one stallion with effect from Michaelmas 1546 [38 Henry VIII (1546)]. Stallions turned out on the commons and wastes were also subject to Henry’s statutes: Forasmuch as the breed of good and strong horses is a great help and defence to the realm and a great comoditie to the inhabitants thereof, which is now much decayed by reason that little stoned horses and Nags be suffered to pasture in forests etc. and to cover mares feeding there, Therefore for the encrease of stronger horses hereafter be it enacted that no commoner or commoners within any forest, chase, 11

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moore, marish, heth, common or wast grounde at any time after the 31st March 1543 shall have or put forth to pasture in any such ground etc. any stoned horse or horses being above the age of two yeare and not being of the altitude and height of 15 handfulls. Despite the annual roundups which he ordered to be carried out, it is unlikely that the commoners and those responsible for managing the parks, woodlands or heaths would have succeeded in catching and removing the small stallions – which would be the only ones to thrive without extra feeding – any more than they would, in practice, have complied with the legislation that decreed that: “If there be found any mare, filly fole or gelding that then shall be thought not be able or like to be able to beare foles of reasonable stature; or not able or like to grow to be profitable labours, by the discretion of the drivers aforesaid, or of the more number of them then the same drivers shal cause the same unprofitable beastes every one of them to be killed [32 Henry VIII (1540)].”23 What is meant by “reasonable stature” is not specified, but the 13hand (132 cm) broodmares to be kept in enclosed parks with relatively good grazing, reflect the height of the typical all-round working or riding ponies of the period. Larger horses were needed for war, but were not readily available for everyday use. The ponies running on the Forest today, expected to live out and fend for themselves for most of the year, seldom grow bigger, though their offspring if taken on to good keep for a year or two after weaning, can grow a hand (4 inches/10 cm) taller. Ponies larger than this do not thrive on the Forest, though those produced on private studs and raised on good grazing are being bred bigger in response to modern demand. Throughout the centuries, youngstock would have been sold for riding, driving or agricultural work, bringing a small income for the Commoners. They were taken to the fairs, and herds bought by dealers would be driven to London to be trained for riding or to go in harness.

Anthony Dent and Daphne Machin Goodall, The Foals of Epona, 141-142; https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Portal:Acts_of_the_Parliament_of_England/Henry_V III (accessed December 12, 2019). 23

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Pony Breeding in the New Forrest: A Continuation of Medieval Practice

The Eighteenth Century William Gilpin, vicar of Boldre in the south of the Forest, described the ponies he saw grazing around him in the late 1780s: A diminutive breed of horses runs wild in the New Forest. In general, however, the horse is private property, though sometimes with difficulty ascertained. Numbers of people, who have lands in the neighbourhood of the forest, have a right of commoning in it; and most of the cottagers who border on it assume that right. Many of them have two or three mares; and some, who make it their business to breed colts, have droves. The horse is gregarious. Herds of twenty or thirty are often seen feeding together, when they have plenty of pasturage, and can live as they please. In winter they are obliged to separate, and seek their food as they can find it. In general, indeed, they are left, in all seasons, to take their chance in the forest.... In marshy parts a severe winter often goes hardly with them. But in dry grounds, where heath and furze abound, they pick up a tolerable winter-subsistence; especially if they have learned the little arts of living, which necessity teaches. Of these arts, one of the most useful is to bruise and pound with their forefeet the prickly tops of furze. This operation, which I have often seen performed, prepares the rigid diet of a furze bush in some degree for mastication; and renders it rather less offensive to the palate. From observing perhaps this instinct in a horse, furze is sometimes pounded in a mill, where fodder is scarce, and affords a wholesome nutrition for horses. When such colts as have run wild are to be caught for sale, their ideas of liberty are so unconfined, from pasturing in so wild a range, that it is a matter of no little difficulty to take them. Sometimes they are caught by slight of hand, with a rope and a noose. But if this method fails, they are commonly hunted down by horsemen who relieve each other. Colt-hunting is a common practice in the forest. The colts which feed on Obergreen are sometimes taken by the following stratagem. In this part runs a long bog, described 13

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under the name of Longslade Bottom, which is crossed by a mole thrown over it. With this passage a colt is well acquainted, and on being pursued is easily driven towards it. When he is about the middle of the mole, two or three men start up in front, and oblige him to leap into a bog, where he is entangled and seized. At all their neighbouring fairs, these horses are a principal commodity, and are bought up for every purpose to which a horse can be applied. Diminutive as they are, you may often see half a dozen of them straining in a waggon; and as it is fashionable to drive them in light carriages, their price has been enhanced. It is a little fortune to the poor cottager, if he happens to possess three or four colts that are tolerably handsome and match well. He can probably sell them for ten or twelve pounds a piece... He clearly admired the breed, and tells of two greys which ran on the Forest until they were eight years old, and then carried men with distinction in the hunting field. One was, not surprisingly, not easy to break in but “became by degrees patient of the bit, and at length suffered a rider. He was well known on every road in the county, the favourite of every groom, and the constant theme of every ostler. But in the chase his prowess was most shown. There he carried his master with so much swiftness, ease, and firmness that he always attracted the eyes of the company, more than the game they pursued.” Another was a mare who became the favourite of her master. She was rather more than thirteen hands high; was finely made; had a round body; beautiful head and neck; and limbs like a deer. But her motions were still more admirable. Her paces and mouth were uncommonly pleasant; and her power of action was surprising. Nothing but a bred horse could lead her in the chase; and with a weight proportioned to her strength, neither hedge nor ditch could oppose her. The beauty of her form, and the perfection of her motions were such that no judge of al horse, who had once seen her, ever

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Pony Breeding in the New Forrest: A Continuation of Medieval Practice

forgot her. Mr Powney rode her till she was twenty-three or twenty-four years of age.24 The Nineteenth Century In the nineteenth century, New Forest ponies were appreciated for their versatility and the benefits they could bring to their owners: The brood mares of the forest are perhaps the nearest approach to the wild horse now existing in this country, so far as their life and habits entitle them to the name. Many of them have run for twenty years in heaths and woods, unbroken, unshod, and almost without experience of the halter except when “pounded” by the “agisters” for occasional marking. Their graceful walk and elegant shape, their sagacity and hardihood, their speed and endurance, and, not least, the independence and prosperity which their possession confers on the commoners and borderers who live in and around the forest, give to these ponies an interest apart from that attached to the life of any other breed of domesticated animal in this country. Nearly all the work done elsewhere by large horses seems to be performed in and around the forest by these miniature ponies, drawing miniature carts. Singly, or driven tandemfashion, they draw bricks, haul loads of brushwood and poles, trot almost any distance to markets and fairs in carts and gigs, and will carry a heavy forester safely and well ... without fatigue or stumble. There is something in the fact of owning horses – be they only ponies – which seems to raise a man in his own esteem, and the jolly foresters have an air and demeanour, whether standing in front of their mud-built cottages, or riding across the heaths to drive in their various stock, which belongs of right to the equestrian order of mankind. The ponies running on the forest are rarely left for long without being looked after to see how they are doing, or at 24 William Gilpin, M.A., Remarks on Forest Scenery and Other Woodland Views, written in the late 1780s, published in London, 1808, quoted by Anthony Dent and Daphne Machin Goodall, The Foals of Epona, 189-192.

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least being inquired after by their owners, of those living near or working in the forest...25 G. E. Briscoe Eyre, a local landowner, understood that the cottagers’ income depended not just on the land that they farmed or their employment on the local estate, but especially on their right to turn out their stock. He recognised the value of the Forest to the Commoners and the part they played in maintaining its character. It is the right of pasture which is of importance. It gives a wide scope to enterprise, skill, and thrift; and while the expenses out of pocket are small, a modest capital can be accumulated (either by hard work and rigid economy in early life, or by the co-operation of a helpful family in later life).... An admirable investment is always ready, and sometimes a family owes its first start to a windfall applied to stock-keeping on the wastes. From this right the most widespread benefit arises. The aged and the widow may make a bare livelihood and preserve their honourable aversion to parish relief; the shrewd and careful labourer may become gradually independent of work, and may even raise himself into the ranks of the tenant-farmers.... Indeed, many a young man before leaving home has a colt or mare running in the open wastes, or possibly even two mares, before he is of age.... The ponies are habituated to some locality, and are left to themselves being driven in only for marking by the agister, or when wanted for sale, so that they cost their owners nothing but the marking fee of 1s. 6d. per annum. The fillies are usually left at large; they run with the mare, and in their fourth year breed a good colt. Brood mares are much valued, and rarely sold.26

C. J. Cornish, The New Forest (London: Seeley and Co., 1894), 43-44. G. E. Briscoe Eyre, Briscoe Eyres’s New Forest (Burley: The New Forest Ninth Centenary Trust 2006), first published as: The New Forest, Its Common Rights and Cottage Stock-keepers, which included articles reprinted from the Fortnightly Review (April 1870) and the Report of the British Association at Southampton (1882) (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1883), 49-50. 25 26

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Pony Breeding in the New Forrest: A Continuation of Medieval Practice

Fig. 6. Polo at Hurlingham, 1874. The Illustrated London News, June 20th, 1874.

The ponies were in demand for driving and for adults as well as children to ride. The introduction of polo to England from India opened up a new market for Foresters: the first stud book in which they appear is, in fact, the Polo Pony Studbook of 1899, when the height limit was 13.2 hands (137 cm). The ponies had a reputation for being able to carry a stone (6.35 kg) for each hand (10 cm) in height.27 For several years Sir Berkeley Piggott rode a little home-bred New Forest pony called Shobley Hazel – in 1947 she was the only Forest pony ever to play in the County Polo Championship at Roehampton.28 The height limit for the breed is now 14.2 hands (148 cm) and today polo ponies may be of any size.

Dionis Macnair, A Short History of the New Forest Pony (Burley: Privately published, 1992), 14. 28 Idem, 20; Dionis Macnair, New Forest Ponies. Architects of the Forest (Stowmarket: Whittet Books Ltd, 2006), 118. 27

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Ponies in the New Forest Today The ponies grazing in the New Forest are not wild, but wild-living,29 which means that they fend for themselves on a daily basis, roam where they choose, usually in small groups, find water and suitable grazing at different times of year, and seek shelter according to the prevailing weather. Generally they choose to stay in a limited area, within a range of about three miles, which is known as their “haunt.” The haunt or home range includes the main feeding areas, a water supply and a place of shelter and shade. The ponies are of domestic stock, not truly wild like the Przewalski horses in Mongolia. Only a small percentage of them are regularly handled, though some are trained and can be caught and ridden. They are all in private ownership. They are tough and hardy, capable of living out all year round. Deep bodies enable them to conserve heat. They grow thick winter coats, consisting of two layers: a thick, woolly undercoat which keeps them warm, with long hairs growing through, channelling the rainwater to drip off or run down the back of their legs to the “feathers” on their fetlocks, leaving the belly and underside of the jaw and throat dry and fluffy. Sometimes in cold weather they can be seen with a white blanket of unmelted snow on their backs, due the insulating properties of their natural “fur coats.” The hairs at the top of the tail form a protective “fan” as the ponies stand with their backs to the wind taking advantage of shelter amongst the trees or clumps of gorse and scrub. Healthy ponies put on weight over the summer, building up fat reserves for wintertime when grazing is sparse. As well as grass on the “lawns” and valley bottoms, heather, gorse, holly, bramble, acorns and the young leaves of trees such as oak and beech all go to make up the ponies’ diet. Trees in the woodland will show a “browse line” indicating how high they can reach to nibble at the lower branches. In winter, they seek out gorse shoots and holly - some ponies even grow a “moustache” which enables them to bite the nutritious but prickly bushes more easily! In the past, it was often the case of “survival of the fittest.” Ponies that could thrive on the Forest despite sometimes harsh conditions, would pass on their hardiness to the next generation. Fillies that spent their early years with their dams would learn where to find shelter or the best grazing according to the prevailing weather. There is some 29

Sometimes referred to as “semi-feral.” 18

Pony Breeding in the New Forrest: A Continuation of Medieval Practice

evidence that the breed has certain inbred characteristics such tolerance to crab flies30 and strangles and possible some resistance to acorn and bracken poisoning.

Fig.7. Browsing gorse in winter. Photo courtesy of Elaine Gill.

Today, higher welfare standards and supervision mean that animals which are in poor condition will be removed from the Forest and either taken to the owner’s holding, or sold. Many well adapted mares live more than twenty years, and some have had twelve to sixteen foals. A few owners choose to winter their ponies at home where they can be given extra feed. Others may let them into a yard for an hour or two, generally between January and April.31 The majority, however, will remain on the Forest all year, under the watchful eye of the local Agister, who will advise the owner if a pony is not doing well. The ponies and other stock grazing on the Forest are the property of the Commoners: that is, those who benefit from “Right of Common of Pasture” which is attached to land either owned or leased. Insects the size of a fingernail which do not bite but settle under the ponies’ tails, often causing animals from outside the area and so not used to them to kick and panic. 31 It is against the bylaws to put out hay for the ponies on the Forest. 30

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Many of the medieval rights associated with certain properties in the area are still exercised, including permission to harvest fallen branches as firewood – today a certain amount of timber is designated for collection by those to whom this applies - and the ability to put pigs into the Forest to eat the acorns and beech mast in the autumn. This custom helps to prevent cattle and ponies from over-indulging on a crop which can be poisonous if too many are eaten. The most important is perhaps the right to graze animals, including the ponies which have been instrumental in creating the landscape as we know it. On payment of a “marking fee” for each animal; ponies, cattle, donkeys and mules can be put out to graze on the open lands of the Forest. These rights are not associated with people, but through ownership or occupation of land or property, so if Commoners sell up or relinquish occupation, their Common Rights are lost. Common of Pasture and Common of Mast are associated with land, whereas Common of Estovers (fuelwood) is associated with dwellings. Common of Marl and Common of Turbary have fallen into disuse. There are currently some 700 practising Commoners turning out their cattle and ponies.32 A few of them own large herds of fifty ponies or more, while others have only a few animals.33 The local families who turn out and care for their animals grazing the Forest are central to the survival of a system that produces substantial benefits, whether for access, nature, landscape or culture. Though their cattle and ponies graze for most of the year on the Forest, the Commoners need to be able able to accommodate livestock in winter or at other times when they may need to be brought in, and to produce useful fodder through the summer. The New Forest is still scattered with smallholdings occupied by active Commoners. These give a very distinctive feel to the landscape: cottages and bungalows with one or two acres of back-up land to care for grazing livestock, a few stables and small barn are a familiar sight. The centuries-long legacy of livestock management and care for the environment has produced a unique and irreplaceable Sue Westwood, Clerk to the Verderers, personal correspondence, December 16th, 2019. In a census taken in 2010, just over 60% of the Commoners depasturing ponies on the Forest owned five or less, while only 5% had more than thirty. Jo Ivey, Census of the New Forest Commoners, August 2011, paragraph 6.2.4 and Chart 4. www.realnewforest.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Final-census-report-August2011.pdf (accessed November 2, 2019). 32 33

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Pony Breeding in the New Forrest: A Continuation of Medieval Practice

reservoir of skills and knowledge held in commoning families. Successful commoning requires an understanding of the patterns of movement and grazing by livestock, signs of ill health and distress, the breed lines and brands of New Forest ponies, and stock selection for breeding to suit the Forest environment. Retaining this knowledge and passing it on to younger generations will be essential for the commoning system to continue in the future. The commoning community is the living heart of the cultural heritage of the New Forest. Most Commoners have to fit their Forest activities around a normal working life. Much of the drive to keep doing this comes from the strong sense of community and of place, of belonging to the real New Forest. The challenges of staying part of this are considerable. The most recent survey of commoners34 showed that lack of affordable housing was amongst the greatest concerns of young commoners. The trade off for a young person between a local job compatible with commoning and moving to somewhere cheaper and with better career prospects can be a tough one to make. Thankfully many continue to do so, actively supported and encouraged by the Young Commoners group. Whilst Commoners are thinly spread across the whole area of the New Forest, and in the surrounding towns and villages, the spirit of community that sees each helping others out on a daily basis remains as important today as ever.35 Verderers are appointed to protect the Rights and Privileges of the Commoners. They oversee commoning, and also have wide responsibilities with regard to conservation in the area. The Verderers’ Court, which originated in the Middle Ages to try those accused of infringing the Forest Laws, is now a legal body set up under the New Forest Act of 1877, consisting of ten members, five of whom are elected by the Commoners. These must occupy a minimum of one acre of land with pasture rights, and will serve on the Court for six years. The others are appointed by Defra, the Forestry Commission, the National Park Authority and Natural England, while the Official Verderer is chairman of the Court and is appointed by the Queen. 36 Monthly courts are still opened with the traditional announcement: “Oyez, oyez! All manner of persons who have any presentment to Jo Ivey, Census of the New Forest Commoners. https://www.realnewforest.org/the_forest/community/ (accessed January 13, 2020). 36 www.verderers.org.uk/education.html (accessed June 8, 2019). 34 35

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make or matter or thing to do at this court of Verderers, let them come forward and they shall be heard. God save the Queen.” Although in the past it would have been for the Forest officers to present offences to the Court, nowadays the Court invites any Commoner or other person wishing to make a statement or complaint on public matters affecting the Forest to come forward. The last remnants of the ancient form of Forest government, The Verderers are responsible for:  Protecting and administering the unique agricultural commoning

practices in the New Forest

 Conserving its traditional landscape, wildlife and aesthetic

character, including its flora and fauna, peacefulness, natural beauty and cultural heritage  Safeguarding a viable future for commoning upon which the foregoing depends.37 The Verderers employ five Agisters who supervise the day-to-day welfare of the stock grazing on the open Forest – ponies, cattle, donkeys, mules and pigs – and belonging to the Commoners, while the Forestry Commission is responsible for the deer and other wildlife. They keep a check on the animals, which must be taken off the Forest if they are in poor condition. They monitor weight loss in winter and early spring and arrange for the owners to remove their stock if need be, so that supplementary feed can be provided on the holding. If an Agister finds an injured animal, he will inform the owner. If necessary, for example in the case of a road accident, he can dispatch it humanely. Much of the Agisters’ time is spent out on the Forest, often on horseback, and they can be called out at any time and in any weather to deal with an emergency. They have to deal with cows which calve while their owners are at work, angry people who have their beautiful gardens invaded by pigs, donkeys with overgrown hooves, or animals that are sick or injured, stuck in a bog or have got on to a main road or railway.38 In the spring, they collect the “marking fee,” which is the payment a Commoner has to make for each animal turned out to graze. In the autumn, regular round-ups are organised to drive the pony herds into wooden corrals known as pounds, constructed in areas https://www.hlsnewforest.org.uk/projects/verderers-grazing-scheme/ January 13, 2020). 38 Dianus Macnair, New Forest Ponies. Architects of the Forest, 28. 37

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Pony Breeding in the New Forrest: A Continuation of Medieval Practice

where it is naturally easy to catch the animals. The riders on the “drifts” spread out to encircle the group of ponies they want to bring in, with lines of helpers on foot waiting near the pound to ensure they do not break away at the last moment. Some older mares become very wise and learn to recognise the difference between a group of riders hacking out on a regular trail, and the Commoners on horseback trying to make their way round to drive them in the desired direction. By the time the horsemen reach the place where a little herd was spotted grazing peacefully only a short time ago, they have often mysteriously vanished! Once a group of ponies is spotted and approached, they break into a gallop and it is the task of the riders to keep them going in the right direction until they reach the pound. The riders have to duck under tree branches, jump over obstacles or hidden ditches and take the shortest line over whatever rough terrain lies hidden by the heather and bracken under their horses’ feet. I was lucky enough to be allowed to help at a drift several years ago – now only the Commoners are permitted to take part, and spectators are discouraged as they can cause problems. Imagine the frustration of chasing a bunch of galloping ponies for two miles through forest and heath, only to have them headed off in the wrong direction by a tourist with a camera standing in the wrong place! Once inside the pens, the mares and foals soon settle down and accept to the routine of being checked over. Bringing the ponies into the pounds in the autumn allows the owners to check their animals, worm them, remove any which are in poor condition and need to be brought back to the holding and fed over the winter, and especially to take home any youngsters to be handled and trained, or due to be sold. The colts (young males) will be removed, and most sent to the sales, meaning the mare will not have to feed her foal over the winter and to provide a small income for the owner. Fillies are usually kept for breeding: they will remain with the herd and will be branded. As a sign that marking fees have been paid, a notch is cut in the tail of each pony, denoting the area in which the Commoner lives. This helps the Agisters to identify it and contact the owner if it needs attention during their regular tours of inspection. Most ponies are recognised individually by the Agister in whose district they run.

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Fig. 8. Herding ponies on the drift. Photo courtesy of Elaine Gill.

Fig. 9. Tail marking. Photo courtesy of Elaine Gill.

When they have been checked and attended to, the mares and youngstock will be let out to roam freely for another year. If a single animal or small group is needed, a commoner may arrange with a few others to round them up and bring them into a yard or pound. Some of the ponies which have been handled and trained, including stallions, can be easily caught by their owners on foot, and are taken home when they are needed, reflecting the good nature of the breed. Stallions due to be exhibited at the Breed Show in August 24

Pony Breeding in the New Forrest: A Continuation of Medieval Practice

would often be brought home a few days beforehand (or even on the morning of the Show), brushed and groomed to look their best, and led all together round the ring in just in a halter. In the evening, they would be turned out again to go back to their mares. This highlights their outstanding temperament.

Fig. 10. Stallions on the Forest: Furzey Lodge Benjamin and Buckland Dragonslayer. Photo courtesy of Elaine Gill.

In the past, up to 130 stallions would run out with the herds all year round, thus proving their hardiness and fitness to breed strong foals. All were inspected and only those approved by the Verderers were allowed to graze freely on the Forest. However, in recent years, for welfare reasons and due to economic uncertainty, only a certain number of selected stallions are turned out for a limited period each spring. This ensures that foals are not born outside the normal breeding season and thus have to face the winter when they are too young to thrive. In 2001 the number was cut from 90 to 34 and they were only allowed to run out for eight weeks. In 2019, sixteen stallions were selected to run with the mares on the Forest from May 13th to June 24th39 in order to limit the number of foals being produced.40 The 39

www.verderers.org.uk (accessed September 16, 2019). 25

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reduced number of colts at the sales and the addition of a foal show where foals have to be halter broken – which has encouraged new private buyers – have improved prices somewhat.41

Fig. 11. Poppets, a 12.2 (128 cm) black mare, sold because she wandered into the village lanes instead of staying on the Forest, was a top prizewinner in the 1950s and foundation mare of the Gosden Stud. Note the brand on her back.

Colts must be removed before February 1st in the year in which they will be two years old. A few will be gelded and kept as future riding ponies, others may be selected as potential stallions and taken to the holding. Most, however, will be weaned in the autumn and sent to the sales held at Beaulieu Road, where special holding pens and an auction ring have been built. The earliest recorded sale yard for New Forest stock was at Swan Green, on the western boundary of Lyndhurst, in the 1840s. Shortly after WW2 it was moved to its present location at Beaulieu Road, close to the railway station through which the animals could be transported Others may be kept on the holdings. In addition, there are private studs in different parts of the country which breed and produce registered New Forest ponies. 41 Dionis Macnair, New Forest Ponies. Architects of the Forest, 29-30. 40

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Pony Breeding in the New Forrest: A Continuation of Medieval Practice

away.42 Several sales are held in the autumn, with one in late spring, and are sometimes preceded by a foal show. This has proved popular, as many of the foals are now well handled and trained to lead prior to the sales. All animals are microchipped before leaving the sale yard. Most – though not all – of the ponies for sale are youngstock, especially colt foals which have not been selected as potential breeding stock. The majority will be bought privately as future riding ponies, and there are bargains to be had if you have an “eye for a horse” and can pick out a potential prizewinner. There are many advantages to buying a pony that has grown up “in the wild.” “The ideal pony,” explained Dionis Macnair,43 is the one that is bred on the Forest from a good mare, taken off at 5 or 6 months old and fed on through its first two or three winters. If it’s run out for the first few months of its life, it’s ‘streetwise,’ it’s learning to go through water, it’s learning about plastic bags in bushes, about traffic, and it’s also learnt to pick up its feet and to cover the ground. It’s got space and it’s also stressed its limbs without any weight on them so they’ve grown naturally, and it hasn’t been overfed too young, and has had plenty of others to play with. This is very important; it is one of the problems on the studs that very few of them have enough space for their foals to really gallop and play, and go up and down hills, and that sort of thing.44 New Forest ponies are natural all-rounders. Lifting their feet on the rough ground and through the undergrowth makes them sure-footed and agile, and many have jumping ability. They make good mounts for lightweight adults as well as for children, and many bought at the sales go on to be successful competition winners or just much-loved members of the family. They frequently compete on equal terms with far bigger horses. Foresters have won at Riding Club dressage and Jo Ivey, Report on New Forest Traditions. Our New Forest. A Living Register of Language and Traditions, unpublished report, n.d. web.archive.org/web/20130309124857/ www.newforestcentre.org.uk/uploads/publications/65.pdf (accessed June 8, 2019). 43 Secretary to the Breed Society for many years, who is also a Commoner, a pony judge, and has served as an Agister. 44 Valerie Russell “New Forest Ponies,” Native Pony Magazine, April/May 2002. http://www.nfed.co.uk/latest.htm (accessed September 16, 2019). 42

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hunter trial championships, at BHS One Day Events, and been consistently highly placed in national and international Trec competitions. In 2010, the New Forest Pony Enthusiasts Club (a riding club whose members compete only on registered New Forest ponies) won the Quadrille competition at the London International Horse Show at Olympia. This was a significant achievement in a national competition, with only four teams from the whole of Britain selected to compete at the final.45

Fig. 12. Fleetwater Flame, a 12.2 (138 cm) Forest-bred pony, competed successfully in many different types of competition under saddle and in harness. Photo courtesy of Suzanne Kempe.

Not all the ponies running on the Forest or sold at Beaulieu Road are purebred New Forest – indeed, there are many Shetlands and coloured (i.e. piebald or skewbald) gypsy-type ponies. In the past, if a pony was “known to the Agister” it would have been sufficient 45

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Forest_pony (accessed June 8, 2019). 28

Pony Breeding in the New Forrest: A Continuation of Medieval Practice

evidence to be accepted for registration. Now a foal needs to have both sire and dam in the stud book to be accepted as a purebred New Forest pony. Its sire – whether running on the Forest or privately managed - also needs to have a stallion licence following inspection for conformation, type and temperament. The stud book, managed by the New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society, has been closed to outside blood since 1935. Because so few stallions are now turned out, there is some concern that hardiness and diversity of bloodlines may be lost. Mares living on the Forest all year round are granted premiums based on conformation and condition, indicating their ability to thrive and thus form the basic breeding stock for the future. The number of animals grazing on the Forest has fluctuated over the years. It has been estimated that there used to be around 5,000 ponies, though there are probably fewer today. It is difficult to know how many animals are turned out at any one time, as some Commoners only graze their animals for short periods or part of the year, such as in summer. Records are dependent on the payment of the marking fees, as it is impossible to catch and count all the ponies: it is estimated that only between 60 and 75% of them are actually brought in on the 35 or 40 drifts organised each year.46 Some wily old mares are known to have evaded capture for years! Unsurprisingly, as the receipts must be presented in order to qualify for grants under the Basic Payment Scheme for farmers, the number of animals declared has increased since the scheme was introduced. Commoning Today There have been other changes over time. While it is widely assumed that the drifts are a long established Commoning tradition, information from older Commoners and Agisters reveals that they have only been carried out in their present form since the 1960s. At that time there were thought to be a number of ponies on the Forest that were unmarked and not paid for. The senior Agister, Ron Ings, decided that only by arranging a series of organized drifts could all the animals running on the Forest be identified and their owners charged.47

46 47

Dionis Macnair, personal correspondence during 2013. Jo Ivey, Report on New Forest Traditions. 29

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The ponies have always been rounded up by their owners when they were needed. In the late nineteenth century, De Crespigny and Hutchinson write that August is the time for this, when Lyndhurst and Britford fairs are on. The colts come thundering along, in a dense, terrified band, pursued by the West Saxons... With the cracking of whips and the stampeding of horses, you seem to be at an al fresco entertainment arranged by Buffalo Bill. But the riders use neither the lasso nor the corral – herding them into a corner is the nearest approach they make to the latter plan. The riders ... use the natural peculiarities of the Forest by way of a kind of corral... The immediate object of all this herding is to drive the ponies into a big paddock or enclosure hired for the purpose, where they remain in readiness to be taken to the fairs.48 The majority of the colts taken to the fairs would have been yearlings or two-year olds. Today there are some forty purpose-built wooden pounds sited throughout the Forest, into which the ponies are driven for checking and branding. The sale yard at Beaulieu Road has also been improved over recent years, thanks to many hours of volunteer work put in by the Commoners and grants from various sources, including many of the Forest organisations. High welfare standards have resulted in a duty of care on the part of owners, who must ensure that animals in poor condition are taken off the Forest. A biannual “Welfare Tour” organised by the Verderers for the RSPCA, Horse Trust and British Horse Society has shown that the condition of livestock is good. Premiums are paid for good quality ponies which can do well without supplementary feeding, and are therefore most suitable to ensure the future of the breed in its natural habitat. Inspections are carried out on the Forest – a rather different matter from the formal presentation of well-groomed ponies in the show ring. Premiums and trophies are awarded to ponies which are seen to thrive, and the coveted Dale memorial cup is awarded to the champion mare living on the Forest throughout the winter. The judges 48 R. C. De Crespigny and Horace Hutchinson, The New Forest (John Murray, London, 1895), quoted by Jo Ivey, Report on New Forest Traditions.

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Pony Breeding in the New Forrest: A Continuation of Medieval Practice

go out to find and judge the ponies in their “haunt” – the area where they live – early in the spring. They are looking for a pony that is true to type, has good conformation and has maintained her condition.

Fig. 13. Point-to-point races held on Boxing Day across the open Forest. Photo courtesy of Graham Browning-Martin.

There are many opportunities to exhibit the best of the ponies at County Shows, at some of which there are special prizes available for ponies born and bred on the Forest: the majority of these will have been bought at the Beaulieu Road Sales. The Breed Show held at the end of August is an important date in the calendar, and is also attended by private owners and breeders and by visitors from abroad. Another highlight in the Commoners’ year are the races held across the open Forest on Boxing Day. These are among the last genuine point-to-points in the country: competitors literally choose their own line to the finish which is announced in advance. The start, however, is not made known until the actual day of the race. The jockeys are told the night before where to meet, they are then taken by the official starter to the place that has been chosen, and it is up to them to use their best judgement and knowledge of the countryside to make their way to the finish four miles away, where the spectators await their arrival with great anticipation. Sometimes they may come in from different directions, depending on the route they have chosen to avoid bogs, villages, or fenced enclosures. Most of the races are for purebred New Forest ponies, with a race of one and a half miles for juniors, 31

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novices and veterans. There are now also categories for larger horses which must all be at least part-bred New Forest. Though the ponies on the Forest range freely and fend for themselves without being regularly handled or fed, they are of great importance to the Commoners, who are proud of their stock. As well as a brand signifying ownership, most will have a prefix which forms part of each foal’s name when it is registered, and will thus identify its breeder. Traditionally a pony would be given to a child as a christening present, to form the foundation of their own herd for the future, in which case a new prefix and brand would need to be registered. The “Brock” ponies belonging to the Young family are the oldest recorded herd on the Forest: they have been running for over 100 years with the brand GY. The herd started with nine mares that Miss Warne brought with her as her dowry when she married Mr. L. Young in 1860. Her family had farmed in the Forest since the end of the eighteenth century. The Youngs never bought a mare until recently, so all their ponies were the descendents of those original mares.49 Adapted to their environment, the ponies have in turn shaped the landscape, helping to maintain the heath, bog, grassland, and woodpasture habitats and their associated wildlife. The New Forest preserves a landscape that would once have been widespread across southern England. It is important that the tradition of Commoning is maintained, as without the free ranging livestock the Forest would soon become a very different place. It is said that the cattle follow the ponies which clear the gorse and brambles that would otherwise become overgrown, and the deer follow the cattle. The ponies are not as wild as in Wulfric’s day: they have become accustomed to traffic, bicycles, people, and dogs. Their owners have had to adapt to increased legislation and restrictions, yet they still choose to turn out their livestock to graze the heaths and woodlands as they have always done. Commoning has often been in the family for generations. It is not a business - most Commoners have a full time job – it is more a way of life which has changed little for 900 years or more. Although the ponies are supervised and managed, in that the number of stallions is limited, animals that are not thriving are removed, and fillies that remain on the Forest are named and registered, the free-ranging herds fend for 49

Dionis Macnair, A Short History of the New Forest Pony, 20. 32

Pony Breeding in the New Forrest: A Continuation of Medieval Practice

themselves. They roam freely with minimal intervention except when they are rounded up at the annual drifts so that the mares can be checked, the fillies branded, and the colts taken away to be sold. The age-old tradition of depasturing animals on the Forest – which probably goes back to pre-Roman times – is documented from the eleventh century when this was a royal hunting ground. Breeding and raising ponies in the New Forest is a continuation of medieval practice. Acknowledgements As well as the many Commoners I have had the privilege to meet over the years, I should like to thank Dianus Macnair, Sue Westwood and Elaine Gill for information and advice on aspects of Commoning today, and to Suzanne Kempe, Graham Browning-Martin and Tony Hockley, and especially Elaine Gill for kindly supplying photographs.

Fig. 14. New Forest mare and foal. Photo courtesy of Elaine Gill.

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References Braswell, M.F. “Sir Perceval of Galles.” In Sir Perceval of Galles and Ywain and Gawain, ed. Mary Flowers Braswell, TEAMS Middle English Series. Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publications, 1995. ll. 325328; ll. 345-348. https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/braswellsir-perceval-of-galles (accessed December 11, 2019). Cornish, C. J. The New Forest. London: Seeley and Co., 1894. Davis, R. H. C. The Medieval Warhorse. Origin, Development and Redevelopment. London: Thames and Hudson, 1989. Dent, Anthony, and Daphne Machin Goodall. The Foals of Epona: A History of British Ponies from the Bronze Age to Yesterday. London: Galley Press, 1962. Republished as: Dent, Anthony, and Machin Goodall, Daphne, A History of British Native Ponies. London: J. A. Allen & Co., 1988. Eyre, G. E. Briscoe. Briscoe Eyres’s New Forest. Burley: The New Forest Ninth Centenary Trust 2006, first published as: The New Forest, Its Common Rights and Cottage Stock-keepers, which included articles reprinted from the Fortnightly Review (April 1870) and the Report of the British Association at Southampton (1882). London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1883. fitz Nigel, Richard. De Necessariis Observantiis Scaccarii Dialogus qui vulgo dicitur Dialogus de Scaccario, 1176, ed. and trans. C. Johnson. Oxford, 1983. Quoted by Jane Winters. “Forest Law.” Institute of Historical Research, University of London, 2019. www.earlyenglishlaws.ac.uk/reference/essays/forest-law/ (accessed June 25, 2019). Fox-Leonard, Boudicca. “Are the New Forest Ponies overgrazing? No – they’re at risk of dying out.” Daily Telegraph, August 29th, 2016. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/29/are-the-newforest-ponies-overgrazing-no--theyre-at-risk-of-dyin/ (accessed June 15, 2019). Gill, Elaine. Ponies in the Wild. London: Whittet Books, 1994. Gilpin, William, M.A. Remarks on Forest Scenery and Other Woodland Views. London, 1808. Gladitz, Charles. Horse Breeding in the Medieval World. Dublin and Portland: Four Courts Press: Four Courts Press, 1997.

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Ivey, Jo. Census of the New Forest Commoners, August 2011. www.realnewforest.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Finalcensus-report-August-2011.pdf (accessed November 2, 2019). –––. Report on New Forest Traditions. Our New Forest. A Living Register of Language and Traditions, unpublished report, n.d. https://web.archive.org/web/20130309124857/http://www.newfores tcentre.org.uk/uploads/publications/65.pdf (accessed June 8th, 2019). Macnair, Dionis. A Short History of the New Forest Pony. Burley: Privately published, 1992. –––. New Forest Ponies. Architects of the Forest. Stowmarket: Whittet Books Ltd, 2006. Mileson, S. A. Parks in Medieval England. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Russell, Valerie. New Forest Ponies. Newton Abbot and London: David and Charles, 1976. –––. “New Forest Ponies.” Native Pony Magazine. April/May 2002. http://www.nfed.co.uk/latest.htm (accessed September 16, 2019). The Charter of the Forest of King Henry III. http://info.sjc.ox.ac.uk/forests/Carta.htm (accessed 20 Nov. 2019). Thornthwaite, Hazel. Ethnoarchaeology of Horse Husbandry in the New Forest and its Archaeological Implications, unpublished dissertation. Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, 2013. Tubbs, C. R. “The Development of the Smallholding and Cottage Stock-keeping Economy of the New Forest.” The Agricultural History Review 13:1 (1965): 23–39. https:/www.bahs.org.uk/AGHR/ARTICLES/13n1a3.pdf (accessed 21 November 2019). Whitelock, Dorothy, David Douglas and Susie Tucker, ed. The AngloSaxon Chronicle: A Revised Translation. London and New Brunswick: Eyre and Spottiswood: Rutgers University Press, 1961. Winters, Jane. “Forest Law.” Institute of Historical Research, University of London, 2019. www.earlyenglishlaws.ac.uk/reference/essays/forest-law/ (accessed June 25, 2019). Websites: New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society. www.newforestpony.com (accessed October 2, 2019). 35

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The Commoners’ Defence Association. www.realnewforest.org (accessed January 8, 2020). Understanding the New Forest’s Natural Capital. New Forest Natural. https://www.greenhalo.org.uk/app/uploads/sites/5/2019/12/Ne w-Forest-Natural-Capital-Report.pdf. The New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society. New Forest Ponies in their natural environment. www.newforestpony.com/newforest.php (accessed November 12, 2012). The New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society. About the New Forest Pony Breed. www.newforestpony.com/aboutthebreed.php (accessed November 12, 2012). New Forest Livestock Society. www.nfls.org.uk/ (accessed October 2, 2019) Verderers of the New Forest. www.verderers.org.uk (accessed October 2, 2019). Verderers of the New Forest. Forest Rights. www.verderers.org.uk/rights.htm (accessed October 2, 2019). Further reading: Baker, Sue, and P. Harvey-Richards, ed. A Celebration of New Forest Ponies. Burley: New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society, 1996. Cox, J. Charles. Royal Forests of England. London: Methuen & Co., 1905. Grant, Raymond. The Royal Forests of England. Stroud: Alan Sutton/ Wolfeboro Falls (NH, USA): Alan Sutton Publishing Inc., 1991. Sundkvist, Anneli. “Herding horses: A model of prehistoric horsemanship in Scandinavia - and elsewhere?” PECUS. Man and animal in antiquity. Proceedings of the conference at the Swedish Institute in Rome, September 9-12, 2002, Ed. Barbro Santillo Fritzell. The Swedish Institute in Rome Projects and Seminars. Rome: The Swedish Institute in Rome, 2004, 241-249. www.svenska-institutetrom.org/pecus (accessed October 2, 2019). Young, Charles Robert. The Royal Forests of Medieval England. Pennsylvania University of Pennsylvania Press, 1979.

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Practical Advice on Equine Care from Jordanus Rufus, c. 1250 CE Jennifer Jobst

I. About Rufus and De medicina equorum Jordanus Rufus (also spelled Ruffus or Ruffo), was a mareschal (marshal) in King Frederick II of Sicily’s royal stables in the mid-thirteenth century. His work De medicina equorum is unique: not only is it the first Western European equine veterinary text since that of Vegetius almost 800 years earlier,1 it is also widely considered to be the basis for European veterinary medicine throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance.2 Unlike many ancient and medieval authors who flaunted their knowledge of ancient texts and even paraphrased or copied wholesale, Rufus claimed to have written his book based on his own knowledge and experience:3 Je ay assemblé en ce livre aucunes choses de cheval selonc ma quidance et soustillité de mon angin et ce qu’en ay apris en la marechaucie de l’empereour Fedric, qui je l’ay tout mis en escrip; [I have assembled in this book some things about horses according to my guidance and the subtlety of my knowledge/intelligence/practical wisdom and what I have learned in the mareschal service of the Emperor Frederick, which I have put everything in this script.] (line 5) Klaus-Dietrich Fischer, “A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse! Versions of Greek horse medicine in medieval Italy,” Medizinhistorisches Journal 34:2 (1999): 123-38. 2 For a thorough discussion of Rufus and his influence on hippiatric medicine, see Sunny Harrison, “Jordanus Ruffus and the late-medieval hippiatric tradition: Animalcare practitioners and the horse” (PhD thesis, The University of Leeds Institute for Medieval Studies September, 2018). 3 Harrison, “Jordanus Ruffus and the late-medieval hippiatric tradition,” 35-38. 1

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The book is divided into six sections; this paper focuses on the first three: 1. La premiere partie est de la creacion et la nativité dou poulaine. [The first part is [on] the creation and the birth of foals.] (line 7) 2. La seconde est comment en doit prendre et donter le poulaine. [The second is how you must take and tame the foal.] (line 8) 3. La tierce si est comment li poulains doit ester gardez et enseigniez. [The third is how the young horses should be kept and taught.] (line 9) Part Four, which focuses on training, and parts Five and Six, which focus on the veterinary aspects of horse care, deserve their own discussion and are beyond the scope of this paper. A. A note about the translation Despite the importance of Rufus’ work, it has not been translated into English in the medieval or early modern period,4 thereby limiting some medieval scholars’ equine studies. The overwhelming number of witnesses makes a proper scholarly translation from the original Latin quite daunting.5 However, there are a more manageable number of Old French witnesses, which are the focus of Brigitte Prévot’s La Science du Cheval au Moyen Age. Dr. Prévot used Paris BNF, MS Fr. 25341 – an early fourteenth-century Old French manuscript that is thought to be the first French translation of the original Latin – as the basis for creating a single unified Old French text. It is Dr. Prévot’s amalgamated Old French text that has been translated to English for this paper. As the author is by no means a fluent French speaker, the first step of the translation process involved making a rough translation of the text. Unfamiliar words were then identified using a variety of online sources. Finally, Grégoire de Beaumont, a medieval enthusiast and native French speaker, volunteered his time to review and correct the translation, and Dr. Anastasija Ropa provided additional edits. I would like to thank them both for their help, ensuring the accuracy of this translation. It has, however, been translated into a number of other languages. See Harrison, “Jordanus Ruffus and the late-medieval hippiatric tradition,” 28. 5 Ibidem, 48. 4

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Practical Advice on Equine Care from Jordanus Rufus, c. 1250 CE

II. Part one: The creation and birth of foals The first section of De medicina equorum is about breeding, stallion and mare care, and care for a young horse. Rufus opens with the following passage: Li quiex poulain soit engendrez d’un estalon. Mes li estalons doit estre gardez diligentment de chevaucher et de labour. [The foal is born of a stallion. But the stallions must be diligently kept for riding and labor/ploughing.] (line 14) In Rufus’ time, it seems that stallions were not kept solely for breeding, but were also expected to have a job – either as riding horses or for use in some kind of labor, such as drawing a plough. Today, some stallions work whilst standing at stud, but others are retired to the breeding shed after a successful (and sometimes short)6 career. When breeding, Rufus recommended that: Et a l’utilité de l’estalon il doit saillir la jument en l’estable, pour ce quil la saillira a mendre labour et getera la germe plus parfetement ou ventre de la jument. Et li poulains sera engendrez plus grans et plus gos et plus bienfez. [The stallion must cover the mare in the stable, because if he covers her there it is less effort and throws the sperm more perfectly into the belly of the mare. And the young horses will grow larger and fatter and be more well done [healthier/in better condition].] (line 15) Rufus seems to have found breeding more successful if done “in the stable,” by which we presume Rufus meant that the stallion was in a stable or breeding shed where he was introduced to, and allowed to copulate with, a receptive mare, while supervised by a handler – a process also recommended by Varro.7 This method is an alternative to 6 For example, American Thoroughbred race horse Justify was retired to stud as a threeyear old after winning the 2018 American Triple Crown. See Melissa Hoppert, “Justify, Triple Crown Winner, Is Retired Because of a Bad Ankle,” New York Times, July 25, 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/sports/horse-racing/justify-triple-crown-retired. html. 7 “When the season has come the stallion should be admitted to the mare twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, under the direction of the origa (so the studgroom is

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pasture or range breeding, where the stallion is allowed to roam and breed freely with receptive mares in a herd, such as with modern New Forest ponies, American Mustangs, or at PMU ranches.8 While Rufus believed that if bred in a stable, the stallion would “throw[s] the sperm more perfectly into the belly of the mare,” by which he may have meant that the mare would be more likely to become pregnant, modern research shows that pasture breeding results in a higher fertility rate than in-hand breeding.9 Rufus also mentioned that it is “less effort” (presumably for the stallion) to breed in a stable. Since breeding inhand limits the number of encounters between mare and stallion – versus a free-range situation where stallions have been observed copulating multiple times per day10 – a stallion with limited breeding opportunities would presumably still have energy to do his job.11 It is also possible for a single stallion to cover more mares in a season if bred in-hand,12 as opposed to a free-range situation where a stallion might only be able to service 20-25 mares in a season.13 Certainly by breeding in a stable, the breeder can ensure that the mare becomes called), for a mare held in hand is stinted more quickly, nor does the stallion waste his seed by excess of ardor.” Varro, In Res Rusticae, trans. F.H. Belvoir, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Res_Rusticae (Country_Matters) (accessed May 2020). 8 For the modern practice of breeding New Forest ponies and continuities from the medieval period, see the article by Gail Brownrigg in this volume. 9 Sue M. McDonnel, “Reproductive behavior of stallions and mares: comparison of free-running and domestic in-hand breeding,” Animal Reproduction Science 60-61 (2000): 211-219, at 211. 10 Sue McDonnel, “Reproductive Behavior of the Stallion,” Veterinary Chits of North America: Equine Practice 2:3 (1986): 535-555, at 541. 11 Limiting the number of times a stallion is bred appears to be a very old practice. A chapter in Geoponika attributed to the mid-fourth century veterinarian Absyrtus states, “You are also to afford the horse [stallion] rest from work at the time of admission; and he must not cover often in a day; only twice, in the morning, and in the evening.” Geoponika: Agricultural Pursuits, trans. Thomas Owen (London, 1806), 213. As noted above, Varro also recommended only breeding a stallion twice per day. 12 For example, some popular American thoroughbred stallions cover more than 200 mares in a single season. See “Report of Mares Bred,” www.bloodhorse.com/horseracing/thoroughbred-breeding/mares-bred. 13 R. Dean Scoggins, “Pasture Breeding,” last modified January 20, 2004, http://livestocktrail.illinois.edu/horsenet/paperDisplay.cfm?ContentID=6452 One of the characters in In Res Rusticae stated that he keeps one stallion for every ten breeding mares. Varro, In Res Rusticae, trans. F.H. Belvoir, en.wikisource.org/wiki/Res_Rusticae_ (Country_Matters) (accessed May 2020). 40

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pregnant by a certain stallion, although Rufus did not mention tracking equine lineage as a concern. The time of year that the mares were bred was important to Rufus, which is understandable considering that mares and young horses of his era relied primarily on fresh grass to meet their nutritional needs: Li estalons doit saillir la jument ou temps que les herbes nessent, pour ce que la jument donra plus parfeitement le lait a son poulain et tout ce qui li est mestiers. Et ce est samblable chose de verite, pour ce que li poulains sera toujours norriz en habundance de lait et d’erbes, et la char de lui en sera plus espesse et li cors plus gros et les menbres plus granz. [The stallions must cover the mare at a time when the grass is young/starts growing, because the mare will give perfectly the milk to her foal and all that it is her job. And it is [a] similar thing in truth, because the foals are always eating an abundance of milk and herbs/grass, and the flesh of them will be thicker and their body will be fatter and their legs will be bigger.] (lines 16-17) The gestation period of a horse is 11–12 months, so if the mare is bred when the new spring grass starts coming in, the foal will be born roughly a year later. Having access to quantities of good grass ensures that the mare will produce high-quality milk, which in turn ensures plenty of food for the growing young horse. Today, when foals can eat solid food, some are fed a carefully balanced diet to ensure proper growth, as well as supplemental dried forage. However, as Rufus describes later in his script, young horses at the stud of Frederick II were pastured for the first two years of their lives and relied on forage (and their mothers’ milk) to survive. Thus, if the young horses had access to good forage, they were more likely to grow larger – and Rufus timed his breeding program to ensure the best access to forage for both the milk supply of the mare and the growing young horse. Rufus clearly understood that good mare care is essential to ensure a good outcome for the foal: Et al jument qui est empreinte ne doit estre ne trop grasse ne trop meigre, pour ce que, se la jument estoit trop grasse, li poulains ne se pourroit deliter dedenz le ventre de sa 41

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mere, car la crasseté estreindroit trop le lieu ou le poulain seroit; et pour ce, il en seroit plus petiz de cors, et plus soutiex des membres. Et se la jument estoit trop meigre, elle ne porroit doner souffisantment norrissement a son poulain. Et pour ce, il en nestroit meigres et faibles. [And the mare who is pregnant should not be too fat or too thin, because if the mare is too fat, the foals cannot be delivered from the stomach of their mother, for her fatness will restrict the place where the foal is too much; and for this, it would be smaller in the body, and more delicate in the limbs. And if the mare is too thin, she will not be able to give sufficient nourishment to her foal. And because of this, he will be born skinny and weak.] (lines 18-20) His belief that if the mare is too fat, the foal will have no place to grow and therefore be smaller is not true – studies show that overweight mares tend to give birth to larger foals, but that these foals have a higher prevalence of neonatal birth defects and more problems later in life.14 However, his assertion about underweight broodmares is more accurate – thin broodmares have more trouble becoming pregnant, give birth to underdeveloped foals, and produce less milk for their offspring. Even with carefully-timed breeding and good mare care, as with any pregnancy, there was the risk of miscarriage: Et la jument qui est empreinte ne doit estre retenue enclose encontre sa voulanté, ne par jour ne par nuit, pour ce que le fain et la soif ou le retenir contre sa voulanté feroit geter son poulain par aventure avant que le temps fust. [And the mare that is in foal should not be held enclosed against her will, not during the day nor at night, because hunger and thirst or holding her against her will may make her miscarry her foal before its time.] (line 23) Rufus’ recommendation that a broodmare not be “enclosed against her will” deserves further consideration. The use of the word “enclose” Marr Smith, Menzies-Gow Dunnet, “The effect of mare obesity and endocrine function on foal birthweight of Thoroughbreds,” Equine Veterinary Journal 49:4 (2017): 461-466, at 463-464. 14

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may refer to a small outdoor area, such as a pen or paddock, instead of a barn or stable, since Rufus used “en l’estable” in line 15 when referring to a stable. The possibility that the broodmare might become hungry or thirsty if enclosed implies that food and water may not have been readily available in the enclosure. It is also possible that Rufus’ broodmares had access to shelter, such as an open barn or run-in shed, but were not forcibly enclosed therein. Rufus’ broodmare care starkly contrasts Varro (first century BCE), who recommended keeping impregnated mares stabled because, “cold is of the greatest prejudice to a mare in that condition. For this reason the floor of their stable should be kept dry and the windows and doors should be kept shut: and furthermore the mares should be separated one from another by long poles fastened back from the manger so that they may not fight.” 15 It is curious that broodmare care seems to have changed so significantly from ancient times to the thirteenth century, when so many other aspects of horse care remained the same. Regardless, it seems unlikely that broodmares under Rufus’ care were kept in stables or small enclosed areas during their pregnancy. Rufus also did not specify where the mare should deliver her foal, 16 but he is clear how the young horse should spend its early life: Li nessemens dou poulan doit estre es montaignes par droite raison et es liex ou il ait plante des periers, pour ce que les ongles et soient plus durs et plus fors pour l’acoustumence qu’il en prent en sa nativite et en sa joinece. Et ses jambes s’acoustumeront miex pour saillir et pour descendre, car li philozophes dit: « nature et acoustumence en euvre feit toutes choses. » [It is necessary that the young horse must go to the mountains for good reason and the places where there are Varro, In Res Rusticae, trans. F.H. Belvoir, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Res_ Rusticae_(Country_Matters) (accessed May 2020). 16 Rufus’ phrasing in line 21, that the young horse “must go to the mountains,” may indicate that the young horses were born elsewhere (perhaps in the stables) and later moved to the mountains. Varro’s description of foal care supports this theory: “The foal should be led out to pasture with its dam on the tenth day after it is born, so to avoid burning its tender hoofs by standing on manure in the stable.” Varro, In Res Rusticae, trans. F.H. Belvoir, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Res_Rusticae_ (Country_Matters) (accessed May 2020). 15

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plenty of stones, because his hooves will be harder and stronger for he has been accustomed in his infancy and youth. And his legs will be better accustomed [habituated] to leaping and going down [descending], as the philosophers say that nature and habituation in work does all things.] (lines 21-22) In some modern breeding operations, young horses are still turned out in mountain pastures: for example, Lippizans at the Piber stud in Austria, and Haflingers at the state stud in Tyrol. Young American thoroughbreds are grazed on the rolling Kentucky bluegrass hills for the first year of their lives. But where were Emperor Frederick II’s broodmares and young stock kept? While Frederick’s court was in Palermo, his Kingdom of Sicily included the Apuli17 region in southeastern Italy. The Romans had used this area for horse breeding more than a thousand years before.18 Kantorowicz noted that Emperor Frederick II bred horses on his Apulian estates, but unfortunately does not provide a reference.19 Davis stated that there are extant court records documenting Frederick’s importation and use of Barbary horses for the emperor’s breeding program,20 but did not indicate where these horses might have been kept. Radke stated that horses were bred at Palazzo San Gervasio,21 but again did not provide a clear reference. Perhaps our best hint on where the emperor’s horses may have lived comes from the treatise Il Cavallarizzo by Claudio Corte, written in the 1560s, which states:

Also called Puglia, the southeast region of Italy that forms the heel of the “boot.” For example, see, Michael P. Speidel, Riding for Caesar: The Roman Emporer’s Horseguard (Harvard University Press, 1997), 90. Also see Varro, In Res Rusticae, trans. F.H. Belvoir, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Res_Rusticae_(Country_ Matters) (accessed July 20, 2019).Varro stated: “He who wishes to have such studs of stallions and mares as may be seen in Peloponnesus and in Apulia” and, discussing “breeds” of horses, wrote “The breed is of the greatest importance, […] the celebrated breeds take the names of the countries from which they come: […] in Italy the Apulian from Apulia.” 19 Ernst Kantorowicz, Fredrick the Second (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 2nd edition, 2017), 358. 20 R.H.C. Davis, The Medieval Warhorse (London: Thames & Hudson, 1989), 61. 21 Gary M. Radke, “Intellectual Life at the Court of Frederick II Hohenstaufen,” Studies in the History of Art 44 (1994): 179-186, at 182. 17 18

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I caualli del Regno di Napoli principalmente in Italia sono stimati molto […] Benche I Pugliesi siano anc’essi in pregio. Ambi di bona, & gran statura, di bone forze, animosi, di buon’ intelletto, & attissimi alla guerra, & sopra tutto sono eccellenti per huomini d’arme, & resisteno molto alle fatiche, & à gli incommode, & disaggi.22 [And all the studs (breeding farms) of that kingdom [Naples] the horses are the best, and most esteemed. […] Although the Pugliesi23 also have merit. Both of good and great stature, of bone, spirited, of good intellect, and very good at war, and above all they are excellent for men of arms, and they resist much toil, and troubles, and discomforts.] (translation Jobst). Based on these references, we suggest that the emperors’ young horses may have grazed in the Daunian Mountains in southern Italy, on the border between the modern Apuli and Campania24 regions. Hopefully archeological evidence, or court records from Frederick II’s time, will surface and provide a more specific location. Rufus recommended keeping young horses out on these mountain pastures with their mothers until they were two years of age, because they would be well nourished and this would, in turn, make their bodies and legs stronger. Puis que li poulains est nez naturelment, il doit sivre sa mere juques a tent qu’il ait. II ans, ne plus ne mains. Pour ce que s’il avoit passe II anz, naturelement voudroit saillir si comme les austres estalons. Et pour ce il enpireroit legerement ou il se pourroit mehaignier en aucune partie de son cours. Mes, si comme je cuit, il seroit miex au poulein s’il fust dessevre de sa mere, et il alast paissant, por ce que les herbes et la libert sont II choses qui maint iennent le cors et les menbres dou poulain. Et les jambes seroient neites de toutes ordures et de toutes mauveses enfermetez. Claudio Corte, Il Cavallarizzo (Venice, 1573), 22, https://play.google.com/books/ reader?id=_gF4bV5BYXwC&printsec=frontcover&pg=GBS.PP1 (accessed on 18 February 2020). 23 Horses from the Apulian region. 24 Naples is located in Campania. 22

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[Since the foals are born naturally, he must follow his mother until he is II years, no more no less. Because when he has passed II years, naturally he wants to procreate like the other stallions. And for this he will easily worsen or he could injure himself on any part of his body. But I think that it would be better for the foal if he were to be taken from his mother, and he is nourished by grazing, because the grass and liberty are II things which maintain the body and the limbs of the young horse. And the legs will be clean of all impurities and all bad infirmities.] (lines 24–27) Rufus’ recommendation to allow young horses to stay with their mothers until they were two years old likely resulted in horses being weaned naturally.25 Today, this process can be seen among wild mustangs in the American West. Young horses are usually weaned when a younger sibling is born (about one year), but continue to stay with their mother until they are about two years of age, at which point the young stallions are driven out by the herd stallion. Thus, Rufus seems to indicate that whilst bred in a stable, broodmares and their young were essentially allowed to roam wild in the mountains until the two-year-olds were brought in for “taming.”26 III. Part two: How you must take and tame the young horse The second section of De medicina equorum discusses how to tame the young horse, including descriptions of the equipment needed to do so. En cest second partie, nous disons qu’en le doit prendre et lacier legerement et souffisanment par une corde grosse et forte. Et la corde doit estre de laine ou de chanvre ou de lin, pour ce que, la laine et le lin estant ensemble, la corde As opposed to some modern breeding establishments where young horses are separated from their mothers at around six months of age. 26 Rufus’ method of leaving young horses out to pasture contrasts with some of the ancient authors, such as Varro. He recommended that starting at five months old, colts should be fed whenever they were brought into the stable with their dams. They should also be handled so that they would be tame when they were weaned at two years of age. He even suggested hanging bridles in their stalls “so that while they are still colts they may become accustomed to the sight of them and the sound of their clanking as well.” Varro, Marcus Terentius, Res Rusticae, (c.a. 37 BCE), en.wikisource.org/wiki/ Res_Rusticae_(Country_ Matters). 25

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en devient plus mole et pluse convenable a l’office de lacier les pouleins. [In the second part, we discuss how we must take [the young horse] and tie [him up] lightly and sufficiently by a big and strong rope. And the rope must be [made of] wool and hemp or linen, so that, wool and linen being together, the rope becomes softer and more suitable to the office [the task] of tying the young horses.] (line 29) Rufus’ assertion that a blended wool and linen rope was the best for tying a horse is interesting. Linen makes very strong yarn, while wool makes soft yarn. A blended linen/wool rope would presumably provide the strength necessary for holding a horse, while remaining soft and pliable, thereby not hurting it. As we will see throughout parts two and three, the time of day when one worked with a young horse was apparently quite important. For example, Rufus suggested tying the young horse early in the day when it was not too hot, so that he would not hurt himself. Apres ce, li pouleins doit estre laciez a temps tempre et nuble, pour ce que, se li temps estoit chaus, il se pourroit tant traveillier qu’il se pourroit mehaigner en aucune partie de ses menbres. [After this, the young horse should be tied when the time is early and it is cloudy, because, if the weather too hot, it may cause him to suffer so that he could mutilate [hurt] any part of his limbs.] (line 30) What Rufus meant by “tying the young horse” is somewhat unclear. It seems most likely that the horse was simply tied with a rope around his neck.27 One might suppose he was tied with a halter, but in the very next line Rufus says to put a halter on him after he has been tied: Puis que li pouleins est laciez si con j’ay dit devant, l’an li doit mestre ou chief .I. chevestre de chanvre. Et soit meneze en compaignie d’aucun cheval, pour ce que toutes

27 For example, as is shown on fol. 22v in Codex 78 C 15, a thirteenth-century edition of Rufus housed at the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.

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choses semblables devisent a estre ensemble et li poulains en sera menez plus sauvement. [Then when the young horse is tied as I have said before, you must take/put a halter on him made of hemp. And let him be conducted in the company of another horse, because all things like to be together and the young horses will be led more safely.] (line 31) Once again, the material to be used is specified – in this case the halter was made of hemp, presumably for strength.28 Rufus also suggested keeping the young horse in the company of other horses – possibly ones who were older and trained – for safety, because horses, being herd animals, tend to be more settled when they are around other horses. Apres ce, en doit metre toute diligence et touz engins a donter le poulein. Et si doit estre liez de .II. regnes et tele maniere qu’il ne se puisse blecier en aucune partie de ses menbres. [After this, you must take all diligence [care] and all intelligence [skills] to tame the young horse. And if he must be tied by two reins in such manner that he cannot hurt himself in any part of his legs.] (line 32) Once the horse was wearing a halter, he was tied “by 2 reins.” Today, if wearing a halter, a horse is usually tied using a single rope that is attached to the halter under the chin, or with two ropes, one attached to either side of the halter (often called “cross tying”). However, Rufus’ specification of using “reins” to tie is odd, since reins are generally attached to the bit or a cavesson, and not to a halter. However, we do see rope halters with rope reins being used for riding, as depicted, for example, in the fourteenth-century Luttrell Psalter,29 so it is possible that Rufus attached rope reins to the halter and the horse was tied using these.

28 There are many illuminations of horses wearing rope halters – perhaps these were made of hemp, as Rufus suggested. 29 See fl58r, viewable online through the British Library Turning the Pages: www.bl.uk/turningthe-pages/?id=a0f935d0-a678-11db-83e4-0050c24 90048&type=book (accessed August 2019).

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By “tying the horse in a manner that he cannot hurt himself” Rufus may have been referring to the practice of attaching a horse’s lead rope or reins to an elevated tie point.30 Tying a horse in this manner, a practice still in use today, ensures that there is little danger of the horse injuring himself by catching a leg in a dangling loop of rope. In lines 33 and 35, Rufus focused on the importance of teaching the horse to allow his handler to touch him all over his body, especially his legs and feet. Et endementres qu’il est sauvages, il doit avoir compaignie d’aucun cheval, pour ce que l’en e pourra touchier plus seuremant de la main. Et torjors de doit on toucher souffisanment par tout le cors et le menbres bien souvent. [And meanwhile while he is wild, he must have company with no [other] horse, so that one will be able to touch him more securely with the hand. And always you must touch him sufficiently on all the body and the limbs/legs often.] (line 33) Et tourjours soit acoustumez de lui toucher son cors et touz les membres simplement, juques tant qu’il soit simples et humbles et dontze en tele maniere que l’en le puisse toucher surement par tout le cors, especiaument les piez en maniere de lui ferrer. [And always accustom him to being touched [on] his body and all his legs simply, so much that he is simple and humble and tamed in such manner that you can safely touch on all his body, especially his feet in the manner of shoeing him.] (line 35) While some modern domesticated horses are handled regularly from birth and taught to lead, tie, be groomed, have their feet handled and cared for, and so on, others are just as unhandled as Rufus’ young horses. However, the practice of training a horse to allow the handler to safely touch and groom them all over, clean their feet, and allow hoof trimming and/or farrier work (shoeing), has not changed since Rufus’ time. 30 For example, as is shown on fol. 45r in Codex 78 C 15, a thirteenth-century edition of Rufus housed at the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.

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It is interesting to note that in line 31 Rufus stated that young horses should be kept with other horses, but in line 33 said that the young horse should not be allowed the company of other horses. One interpretation of this is that while the handler is actively working on touching/taming the horse, he should not be in the company of other horses; otherwise, the company of other horses is permissible. Although the modern perception is that horses were treated cruelly in medieval times, Rufus espoused the humane treatment of horses from their very earliest training: Nus hons ne se doit courroucier contre le poulein, especialment au commencement, car il en pourroit prendre aucun mauves vice ou aucune mauvese tache non convenable. [We must not get angry with the young horse, especially at the beginning, so that he couldn’t take [doesn’t learn] any bad vice nor inappropriate bad habit.] (line 34) Whether or not horses were actually treated humanely in the thirteenth century is debatable,31 but Rufus clearly continued Xenophon’s tradition32 of advocating for the kind treatment of horses.33 Rufus closed the second section by making it scrupulously clear that a young horse must be two years of age before any taming can be done, because otherwise his legs may be damaged: Item le poulein ne se doit lacier ne donter juqu’a tant qu’il soit en l’aage de .II. anz, pour ce que, se il estoit laciez ou There are a multitude of illuminations from this time period that show horses with flanks that have been spurred bloody (for example, in the Morgan M.638 Maciejowski Bible, c. 1250, available at http://manuscriptminiatures.com /4673/7955/. 32 There are many instances of Xenophon advocating for kind treatment of horses. For example: “Compulsion and blows inspire only more fear” (37); “you must refrain from pulling at his mouth with the bit as well as from spurring and whipping him” (55); “there is no need of using harsh measures, as though you were forcing him to work; he should rather be coaxed on” (59) (Xenophon, The Art of Horsemanship, trans. Morris H. Morgan (Dover Publications, 2016)). 33 Humane treatment of the horses is a theme in Rufus’ work. For example, in Part Four, Rufus mentioned that “the bridle must be soft and light and weak, because, when the bridle is less unpleasant the horse” (line 69) and “when the young horse takes willingly the bridle and without any force” (line 71) and “he who rides without violence, and always the horse will go softly for him” (line 95). 31

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dontez plus joines, legeremant li pourroit avenir aucune enfermetez aus jambes pour le traveil non acoustume. [Item: the young horse should not be tied or tamed until it is the age of two years, because, if he is tied or tamed too young, he may easily incur an infirmity in his legs for the work that he is not accustomed to.] (line 36) It is interesting to note that some of the ancient Greek and Roman authors, such as Columella34 (4-70 CE), also recommended starting a horse anywhere between two and four years of age, depending on his intended job: “It is right to break an horse for domestic use, when he is two years old; but, for the public games, when he is three years complete; so, nevertheless, that he be put to labour after his fourth year at farthest.” Varro recommended three years of age: “The foals are not separated from their dams for the first year after they are born: during the second year they are permitted to stay with their dams at night, but they should then be tied with a loose halter or some other such restraint. In the third year you begin to break them for whatever service they are intended.”35 Similarly, modern trainers vary as to when they start horses – for example, the author has started two horses, both handled from birth, lightly under saddle at three-and-a-half-years old. Lipizzans from the Lipica stud are started as four-year-olds, while some American Thoroughbreds are ridden as “long yearlings” and raced during their two-year-old year. IV. Part three: How the young horse should be kept and taught In Part Three, we continue to learn how a young horse should be kept and trained, with a particular focus on stable care, what the horse should eat and drink, and how to care for the horse after he has been worked.

L. Junius Moderatus, Columella Of Husbandry: In Twelve Books: and His Book on Trees, (London, printed for A. Millar, 1745), https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=qcNbAAAAMAAJ&rdid=bookqcNbAAAAMAAJ&rdot=1 (accessed August 2019). 35 Varro, Marcus Terentius, Res Rusticae, (c.a. 37 BCE), https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/ Res_Rusticae_(Country_Matters) (accessed August 2019). 34

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In line 38, Rufus says that one should use a halter of strong, soft leather, whereas earlier in line 31 he said to use a halter made of hemp. Why the material for the halter has changed is unclear, but it seems that both materials were suitable for his purposes. …lequiex doit estre gardez et enseignez en tele maniere : premierement l’en li toit mestre en son chief .I. chevestre de cuir fort et mol et puis soit liez a la manjere de .II. regnes, et les .II. piez devant soient laciez d’une corde de laine. […they should be kept and taught in this manner: firstly, you must put a halter of leather strong and soft and then bind him in the manner of 2 reins, and the 2 front feet are tied [together with] a wool cord.] (line 38) Once again, tying the young horse with two reins is mentioned, but the way in which this line reads may indicate that “tying with two reins” actually means tying the two front feet together with a wool cord, as opposed to tying the horse using a rope or reins on the halter, as was previously discussed. In the very next line, the instruction is to tie one hind foot,36 stating that these “are called hobbles”: Et .I. piez derrieres soit liez d’une corde de chanvre ou de lin, et soit apeleze trainel, que li poulains ne puisse aler avent en nule maniere, pour ce que la santé des jambes en est miex gardee. [And one back foot is tied with a cord of hemp or linen, and are called hobbles, so that the young horse cannot go forward in any manner, so that the health of the legs is best guarded.] (line 39) One interpretation of this line that the single rope tying the back foot is the “hobbles,” whereas the wool cord tying the front feet is the “two reins.” It is also possible that the entire setup – the front feet being tied with wool, and the back foot tied with hemp or linen – are hobbles. Rufus seemed to believe that using hobbles to keep the horse from moving was the best way to prevent injury to the legs.37 The hind foot is presumably tied to either a front foot or to the wool cord tying the two front feet together, although this is not explicitly stated. 37 Rufus’ use of hobbles contradicts the fourth century Greek veterinarian Theomnestus, who said that, “it [the young horse] will be tamed through habit, over 36

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The next line, which admonished the horse-keeper to constantly clean the place in which the horse is kept, seems to indicate that horse was kept hobbled in a stable, and that a knee-deep bedding of hay or straw, should be used. Et li lieu ou li poulain demeure continuelment soit nestoiez de toutes ordures. Et iluec lit soit fet .I. lit de paille ou de faing juques au jenouz pour li bien aisier. [And the place where the young horse lives should continually be cleaned of all filth. And here in this place a bed of straw or of hay should be made up to the knee for better comfort.] (line 40) Presumably Rufus was aware of the dangers that indoor living posed to horses – for example, Aristotle mentioned that stabled horses were especially prone to laminitis and eileos (twisted intestine),38 and Vegetius warned that “foals weaned from their mothers and tied up in the stables, are wont to fall into this distemper”39 – hence his admonition to constantly clean the stable. The manuscript does not explain the living situation within the stables, but it is possible that group stabling may have been used – as opposed to tie stalls or box stalls – as it seems to have been common during this time.40 In addition, hobbling a horse that is kept in a tie or box stall seems redundant, as the horse’s movement is already restricted in such stalls. Rufus then discusses an average day of horse care, starting in the morning with grooming the horse: Aprés soit menez hors de l’estable bien matin, et li frotez tout le dos et tout li ille, et d’une estrille selonc ce que l’an verra miex a fere.

time, not by the force of the hobble.” McCabe, A Byzantine Encyclopaedia of Horse Medicine, 200. 38 Ibidem, 138. 39 Flavius Vegetius Renatus, Vegetius Renatus of the distempers of horses, and of the art of curing them, 31. 40 See, for example, Miroslav Dejmal et al. “Medieval horse stable; the results of multi proxy interdisciplinary research,” PloS one 9:3 (2014): e89273. DOI: 10.1371/journal. pone.0089273 (accessed July 2019). 53

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[After you lead [the horse] out of the stable in the early morning, and rub all his back and all that, and use a curry comb according to what you see is best to do.] (line 41) Rufus did not specify what to rub the horse’s back with – perhaps the groom’s hand, a linen cloth, or a wisp of hay? – but did mention using a curry comb. This might have been similar to the fourteenthcentury metal curry comb with wooden handle that was recovered from the River Thames mud.41 Once the horse had been groomed, he should be taken to drink: Aprés soit menez a boire a l’iaue a petiz pas, et puis demeure a l’iaue le soir par l’espace de .II. heures juques au genous, ou .I. petit dessus les genous, pour ce que la froidour de l’iaue naturelment estraint les humeurs et ne les lesse descendre, que par avanture pourroient fere aucunes enfermetez qui soloient aucune foiz avenir es jambes des chevaux. [Once the horse has been groomed, he should be led to water. After you lead [the horse] to drink water for a little while, and stay in the water in the evening for the space of two hours either up to the knees or slightly below the knees, because the coldness of the water naturally strains the humors and does not allow them [the humors] to go down [descend], which may cause an infirmity to happen to the horse’s legs.] (lines 42- 43) One possible implication of line 42 is that water was not available in the stables, so that horses had to be taken to a water source to drink.42 But once at the water, the manuscript suggests that the handler allow the horse to stand in the water – indicating that the water source was likely a pond or stream, as opposed to a bucket or water trough – to reduce swelling in the legs caused by descending humors. Horses’ legs can swell if they stand immobile for long periods of time, and one modern remedy is to hose their legs with cold water. Here we have The Medieval Horse and Its Equipment, ed. John Clark (Boydell Press; Reprint edition, 2011), 52. 42 There is a similar implication of lack of water in line 23, when Rufus stated that broodmares might become hungry or thirsty if enclosed. 41

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evidence of hydrotherapy being used for the same purpose nearly 800 years ago. Aprés, quant li pouleins sera retornez de l’iaue, ne soit mis en l’estable en nule descend juques a tant que les jambes et les piez soient essuiez de l’iaue, por ce que la fumee dou sablon pourroit fere descender aucunes mauveses hymours aus jambes. [After, when the young horses have returned from the water, do not put them in the stable until such time when the legs and the feet have dried from the water, because the steam of the sand may make bad humors to descend into the legs.] (line 44) In line 44, the reader is admonished to dry the horse’s feet and legs before returning them to the stable. Prolonged dampness can cause bacterial and fungal infections on the legs and in the hoof,43 and Rufus seemed well aware of both the cause of the problem (dampness) and the importance of keeping legs and feet dry to prevent such issues. Next, feeding the young horse is discussed. The manuscript suggests that feeding low on the ground will make the horse’s head and neck longer, cause his legs to grow bigger, and produce an overall healthier horse. Aprés li poulains doit menger bas devant ses piez, que a paines puisse prandre a sa bouche sa provande. Car par le menger en tele maniere, la teste dou poulain en devient maigre et le col li fet lonc, dont il en sera miex enfraignez, et en sera plus biaus a voier, et les jambes en devenront plus grosses et li pouleins en sera plus fors et plus sains. [Also, a young horse must eat low in front of his feet, so that he can barely get his food with his mouth. When he eats in this manner, the head of the young horse will become thin and the neck will be long, due to which he could be reined better, and will be more beautiful to see,

Rain rot, scratches, and other skin maladies, along with hoof problems like thrush, abscesses, and white line disease can all be caused by prolonged exposure to wet conditions. 43

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and the legs will become larger [bigger], and the young horses will be stronger and healthier.] (lines 45-46) While feeding a horse from the ground mimics their natural headdown grazing posture, Rufus’ claim that this would result in a thinner head and longer neck seems somewhat dubious.44 However, horses of this era could also be fed in high racks and mangers,45 and modern research has shown that horses fed in this way can get dust from dried fodder in their eyes and airways, so from that perspective Rufus was correct to say it is healthier to feed horses on the ground – assuming that the horse is not accidently ingesting sand, dirt, or parasites.46 The manuscript also specifies what one should feed young horses, and how it differs from feeding adult horses. Aprés li poulains doit menger paille et orge et faing et herbes et aveine et pariaute et toutes choses qui sont natureles provandes de chevaux. Especialment au joines poulains, leur soit donné a menger herbe et faing, pour ce que la moistesse des herbes et du faim naturelment fet creistre les menbres et engroisser le cors dou poulaine. Et au chevaux qui sont parfez d’aage soit donné a menger paille et orge par reson, pour ce que la sechesé de la paille et de l’orge fet estre les chevaux en convenable char, et ne croissant mie trop, dont pourra traveiller surement. Although it does not necessarily equate to the horse having a longer, thinner head and neck, Higgins mentions that, “Feeding from the floor is essential for correct back posture. Feeding from a high haynet puts the back under continual strain” (Gillian Higgins and Stephanie Martin, Horse Anatomy for Performance. A Practical Guide to Training, Riding and Horse Care (Newton Abbot: David and Charles, 2012), at 65). Interestingly, other authors suggest feeding high for short periods can be beneficial for posture and stance (Sharon May-Davis and Janeen Klein, “Variations and implications of the gross anatomy in the equine nuchal ligament lamellae,” Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 34:9 (2014): 1110–1113. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2014.06.018, accessed March 2020). 45 For example, see BnF, Français 111, fol. 249v in A. Ropa, Practical Horsemanship in Medieval Arthurian Romance (Budapest: Trivent, 2019), 43, and C. M. Woolgar, The Great Household in Late Medieval England (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1999), 191. 46 There are modern guidelines that recommend not feeding horses from the ground, due to increased wastage and risk of parasitic infection (for example, see Kathy Anderson, Basics of Feeding Horses: Feeding Management. https://alec.unl.edu/ documents/cde/2017/livestock-management/2017-basics-of-feeding-horses-feedingmgmt.pdf. Last modified 2017). 44

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[Also, the young horse should eat straw and barley47 and hay and grass and oats and spelt and all the things that are natural provender of horses. Especially with young horses, they should be given to eat grass and hay, because the moistness of the grass and the hay naturally makes the limbs increase and fattens the body of the young horse. And to adult horses straw and barley should be given, and with reason, because the dryness of the straw and the barley will make the horses of suitable weight, and they will not grow much,48 and they will be able to work with certainty.] (lines 46-49) Et quant l’an donne orge a cheval, premierement soit venné au ven ou criblé au crible, pour ce que la poudre fet toussir et cecher le cors dou cheval. [And when you give barley to a horse, first fan it with a winnow or sift it in a sieve, because the powder will make him cough and dry the body of the horse.49] (line 55) Here is important to note that young horses are being fed cereal grains – oats and spelt – in addition to straw, barley, hay, and grass, while adult horses are fed only straw and barley. Whole oats and spelt both have relatively high fiber, low energy, around 9-12% protein, as well as lysine and methionine, all of which are required by growing youngsters.50 Modern veterinary science has shown that young horses have different nutritional requirements than older horses, and that the growth rate of young horses can be affected by nutrition, both of which Rufus was clearly aware of. If over-fed during their first year of life – a condition unlikely to happen since Rufus free-ranged horses until two years of age – young horses can suffer developmental orthopedic Since it is listed with straw, hay, and grass, it is reasonable to assume Rufus refers to barley straw in lines 47 and 49, and not the barley kernel. 48 Meaning, they will not get too fat. 49 It is unclear why Rufus singled out the dustiness of barley, as all forages mentioned can contain dust. However, if he was referring to winnowing barley kernels, it is surprising that he was concerned with the dust rather than with the sharp awns on a kernel of barley, which can become embedded in the horse’s mouth. 50 See, for example, “Oats: The perfect horse feed?” Kentucky Equine Research, last modified December 29, 2003, https://ker.com/equinews/oats-perfect-horse-feed/. 47

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disease, among other ailments.51 However, horses reach 95% of their mature height at eighteen months of age, so while Rufus’ program of feeding two-year-olds cereal grains would likely have made them gain flesh more quickly, therefore making them larger in body, it is unlikely this additional feed would have made them any taller. As with the broodmares that Rufus discussed in the first part of his book, young horses must be kept at a good weight. He noted that an overweight horse will be easily injured, but a thin horse will be weak, and “horrible to see”: Li chevaux ne doit estre ne trop gras ne trop maigres, mes il doit estre en convenable char. Car s’il estoit trop gras, les hymeurs descendroient aus gembes, ou par aventure il pourroit traveiller en tel maniere qu’il en seroit mehaigniez legerement. Et s’il estoit trop meigres, la force li faudroit dou tout en tout, et seroit plus horribles a voeir. [The horses must not be too fat nor too thin, but they must be of suitable weight. If he becomes too fat, the humors will descend into his legs, where by chance the humors will work in such manner that he would be injured easily. And if he is too thin, the strength will fail him everywhere, and he will be more horrible to see.] (lines 50-52) Once a horse has reached his mature age (presumably three, as this is when Rufus started horses in more serious work), additional advice on feeding is provided. Aprés ces choses, puis que li chevaux sera parfez d’aage, il puet menger les herbes ou temps de primevoire par l’espace d’un mois pour espurger. [After these things, then when the horse has reached the finished [mature] age, he can eat the grass in the time of spring for the space of one month for purging.] (line 53) Rufus seems to imply that one should allow coming three-year-old colts free access to fresh spring grass for a month, as a purgative. This is a questionable equine husbandry practice, as not only can consuming 51 For an overview, see “Ready, Steady, Grow – Feeding Young Horses,” The Horse, last modified March 1, 2001, https://thehorse.com/13941/ready-steady-grow-feedingyoung-horses-3/.

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too much spring grass lead to laminitis or founder,52 but allowing boisterous young stallions out together risks serious injury. Fortunately, the Latin version of Rufus provides some clarification: “After the horse has reached maturity for a month in the spring-time it should eat only grass – whether wild or domesticated – in order to purge it, and not in the open air but under cover.”53 Thus, it appears that the young horses were kept in a stable while being brought fresh spring grass, and by implication their consumption of such could have been moderated. Interestingly, Varro mentioned a similar process of feeding coming three-year-old horses a special mixture called farrago as a spring purge, so the practice of a special spring feeding regimen is quite old.54 Rufus was also concerned about horses becoming ill from eating grasses: Et soit covers d’un drap de laine pour ce que les herbes sond froides naturelement dont, s’il n’estoit bien covers, legerement pourroit refroidier ou chaoir en mauvese enfermete. [Cover him [the horse] with a drape of wool because the grasses are cold naturally, and, if he is not well covered, he could easily become cold or fall into bad health.] (line 54) Thus, while Rufus believed that fresh grass could cause health problems for a horse, it was because of the horse becoming chilled due to the ‘cold’ nature of the grass, rather than about specific hoof ailments caused by overeating spring grass. Back on lines 41-42, Rufus talked about leading the horse to water in the mornings, and then on lines 56-59 specified what type of water the horse should drink.

Both laminitis and founder are conditions of the foot and hoof, caused by a decrease in blood flow to the extremities, which can be triggered by sugar-rich provender such as spring grass. Lack of blood causes the support structures in the hoof to fail, sometimes allowing bones in the foot to rotate and sink downward. In acute cases the coffin bone can rotate through the bottom of the foot, causing acute lameness and death. 53 Latin translation of Hippiatria Jordani Ruffi Calabriensis Molin translation from Sunny Harrison pers. comm. May 2020. 54 Varro, Marcus Terentius, Res Rusticae, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Res_Rusticae _(Country_Matters) (accessed May 2020). 52

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Et l’iaue que li chevaux boit doit estre mole et .I. poi troublee et salee, et ne soit trop couranz, car tiex yaues sont chaudes naturelment, et sont de grosse sustance, et pour ce les chevax s’en engroissent et sont norri plus plainierement. Car, si comme dit Aristotes, li bon philozofes, les yaues plus sont coranz formant et plus sont froides, tant moins norrissenet et main encressent les chevax. Et s’il n’en buvoit assez, il ne pourroit prendre char ne forme planierement. [And the water that the horse drinks should be soft and a little bit cloudy and salty, and should not be from a swiftrunning stream, because such water is hot naturally, and of great substance [thick], and because the horse will fatten and will be fed more fully/completely. For, as says Aristotle, the good philosopher, the more the water is running and the colder it is, the less it is nourishing, and the horses get more irritated. And if he does not drink enough, he cannot take weight nor form completely.] (lines 56-59) These lines deserve attention for a number of reasons. First, the mention of Aristotle appears only in the Old French witnesses, and not in at least nine Latin witnesses.55 The English translation of the Latin text is: The water that horses have available to drink ought to be soft, a little salty, cloudy, and flowing gently or not at all; because due to the softness and thickness of the aforesaid manner of water they [the horses] will retain their warmth and thickness and thus the bodies of the horses will be fully nourished and replenished. And it should be noted that the colder and faster-flowing the water is the less the horse is nourished and replenished, and because the horse does not

These witnesses are: Venice Marciana L 7 24, London Wellcome Library MS 7756, Munich BSB 23646 (these three are the earliest identified Latin witnesses, and are all thirteenth-century), Paris BNF Latin MS 1203, Beinecke MS 136, Beinecke MS 161, Paris BNF NAL 1553, either the Latin or French versions, London Wellcome Library MS 700, Vatican BAV Pal. Lat. 1327. Sunny Harrison pers. comm. July 2019. 55

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sufficiently drink to satisfaction, they are not able to gain weight properly…56 Note the lack of mention of Aristotle in the Latin translation. Thus, the reference to Aristotle is likely an addition of the Old French copyist or translator. Of course, it is possible that Rufus was familiar with the famous philosopher’s works, either by reading him or a derivation thereof, or by oral tradition. Certainly, Rufus’ words are quite similar to those of Aristotle: The horse delights in meadows and marshes, and likes to drink muddy water; in fact, if water be clear, the horse will trample in it to make it turbid, will then drink it, and afterwards will wallow in it.57 Rufus’ assertion that warm water of “great substance” was more nourishing than cold water is an interesting observation, as is Aristotle’s statement that horses prefer to drink muddy water. A study at the University of Pennsylvania showed that in cold weather, horses drink more water if it is warm, 58 so Rufus’ recommendation for providing warm water is in line with modern practices. It is possible that “soft,” “salty” water with “great substance” indicates water with dissolved salts or minerals. Modern horse theorists have observed that salt is more readily available in muddy water,59 and some modern vets recommend adding salt or electrolytes to feed or water to increase hydration and reduce the risk of colic.60 Thus, it seems that modern veterinary medicine confirms ancient and medieval horse care practices as far back as Aristotle (third century BCE).

Latin translation courtesy of Sunny Harrison pers. comm. July 2019. Aristotle, The Complete Works. https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/zrWk DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1 (accessed March 2020). 58 M. A. Kristula, S.M. McDonnell, “Drinking water temperature affects consumption of water during cold weather in ponies,” Applied Animal Behaviour Science 41 (1994): 155160. 59 Karen Campbell, “Reading Horses and Writing Chivalry,” in The Horse in Premodern European Culture, ed. Anastasija Ropa and Timothy Dawson, 107-122 (Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publications, 2020), 112. 60 Surprisingly, the text does not mention colic from dehydration as a possible outcome if the horse does not drink enough water. 56 57

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After discussing the best food and water for the horse, the text turns to caring for a horse after it has been ridden.61 Riding at specific times of day was important: Et sachez: le chevaucher a la vespree n’es pas profitable ne bon au cheval, pour ce que l’air de la nuit est froiz, et legerement pourroit refroidier. Et le chevaucher a la matinee est bon pour ce que li chevax se puet dessuer et mener si comme il convient. [And know: if you ride in the evening it is not profitable nor good for the horse, because the night air is cold, and the horse may easily become cold. And riding in the afternoon is good because the horses are able to go out and behave as they should.] (lines 62-63) Riding a horse in cold air, especially in the evenings, to the point that it becomes wet with sweat, means that the horse could become chilled if not properly rugged and cooled out (that is, walked until his coat is dry and his temperature is normal). Ancient authors such as Hippocrates and Columella also wrote that horses could easily become sick if they became cold, especially after working hard.62 Rufus was clearly concerned about this and admonished the rider to ride in the afternoons instead to avoid such situations. However, if the horse did become wet with sweat, the groom should care for him as follows: Item que li chevaus est endementrés en sueur ou en chaust, il ne doit menger ne boire juques a tant qu’il soit couvert d’aucun drap, et soit menez pas pour pas et la chaleur et la sueur en soit alee dou tout en tout. [Item: if the horse is in the meantime sweaty or hot, he must not eat nor drink until such time that he is covered with a drape, and lead him around until the heat and the sweat have left him entirely.] (lines 60-61) Until recently, horse-care lore agreed with Rufus, namely that one should not allow a hot horse to eat or drink – especially cold water – until he had cooled off. Nor was Rufus the first to make these Rufus did not explain how to ride the horse until part 4 of the book, so he got a little ahead of himself here. 62 Anne McCabe, A Byzantine Encyclopaedia of Horse Medicine, 248. 61

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recommendations – the ancient authors Eumelus, Varro, Columella, and Pelagonius all state that an overheated horse should be given neither food nor drink.63 Nowadays, veterinarians recommend rehydrating a hot horse as quickly as possible, to avoid dehydration that can lead to colic. However, Rufus was right that hot horses should not be given anything to eat, since we know now that hot horses have reduced gut motility because blood is diverted to the heart and lungs during exercise, and giving food when the horse is hot can lead to digestive upset. Rufus’s advice to cover the horse and lead him until he is cool is still practiced today. Just watch any racehorse being handed off to a groom to be covered and walked until he is cool and dry. But cooling a horse out is not the only time Rufus suggested putting some form of “clothing” on the horse: Aprés ces choses, li chevaux doit estre covers en yver pour le froit, et ou temps d’esté doit estre covers d’aucun drap linge por les mouches et autres choses semblables. [After these things, the horse must be covered in winter for the cold, and in times of summer they must be covered with a linen drape against the flies and other similar things.] (line 64) Interestingly, both Varro (116-27 BCE) and Apsyrtus (fourth century CE) also mentioned covering a horse in case of a chill, so this practice goes back at least two millennia.64 Some modern domesticated horses also wear turnout and/or stable rugs in the winter for warmth, and fly masks/boots/sheets in the summer to protect them from insects. Rufus also advised that the horse should not be ridden during certain times of the year: Item li chevax no doit ester chevauchez en diversete la mitie de juing juques a l’issue d’aoust, por ce que le chalor dou temps li nuist, ou le trop chevaucher li porroit eschaufer legereent dedenz son cors. Aussi di ge de janvier juques a l’issue de fevrier ne se doit li chevax chevaucher 63 64

Ibidem, 104. Ibidem, 89 and 139. 63

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enuieusement pour le grand froit, pour ce qu’il se pourroit refroidier legerement. [Item: the horse must not be ridden diversely [much] the [second] half of June until the end of August, because the heat is harmful [to him] or too much riding can easily make him too hot in his body. Also I say from January until the end of February you should not ride the horse in a risky way due to the great cold, because it could easily make him cold.] (lines 65-67) Today, some riders in colder climates give their horses the winter off work, and those in hotter climates (the author included) may take the summer off to avoid horses overheating. Rufus left one last piece of advice at the end of this section: Et sachez que se li chevaux est seigniez .IIII. foiz l’an de la veine dou col, c’est assavoir en premevoire une foiz, en esté une foiz, en autonne une foiz, et yver un foiz [And know that the horse must be bled 4 times a year from the vein in the neck, once in spring, once in summer, once in autumn, and once in winter.] (line 68) Bloodletting was actually a common veterinary practice until the end of the nineteenth century, and was used for a variety of ailments.65 The text does not explain why he recommended bleeding the horse during each season, but this advice may have something to do with balancing the horse’s “humors.” Part 3 of the book concludes with the following promise: Et se il est gardez bien si comme j’ai dit desus, et est chevauchiez atrempemant, et il sera en sa vertu et en sa legereté sainz et fors par l’espace de .XX. ans. [And if he is well kept as I have told you before, and ridden with moderation, and he will preserve his virtue and his ease, and he will be healthy and strong for the space of 20 years.] (line 69) See, for example, George S. Heatley, The Horse-owner's Safeguard: A Handy Medical Guide for Every Man who Owns a Horse (Edinburg and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1882). 65

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It is interesting to note that many ancient authors claimed that horses have incredibly long lifespans. For example, Pliny stated that a mare will live up to seventy-five years of age, whereas Pelagonuis claimed up to thirty years “in the household of a most careful master.”66 This seems to be a dubious claim, given that even with modern veterinary care, the average life expectancy for a horse is twenty to thirty years. Rufus’s expectation for the horse’s useful life is more believable, assuming that he is “ridden with moderation.” Perhaps this is a veiled jab at those who overused their horses,67 especially since as mareschal, Rufus would have been tasked with nursing an overworked animal back to health. V. Conclusions Despite their brevity, the first three books of Jordanus Rufus’ treatise De medicina equorum provide a great deal of insight into horse care in the mid-thirteenth century. What stands out most are not the differences between Rufus’ and modern practices, but rather how little horse care has changed over the past nearly 800 years. Hand-walking hot horses, using hydrotherapy for leg ailments, blanketing horses in the winter and providing insect protection in the summer are all horse care practices still in use today. Other methods have changed – indoor plumbing can provide water in the stable, some modern breeding operations provide special indoor foaling stalls for broodmares, and caretakers may wean young horses at a comparatively young age. Still other practices, such as quarterly bleeding, are no longer used in Western veterinary medicine. But Rufus’ advice to always treat horses with kindness is absolutely timeless. One question that cries out for further investigation is how much influence, if any, the ancient Latin and Greek authors may have had on Jennifer Nielsen, “Pelagonius’ Ars Veterinaria: A translation with notes” (PhD thesis, Kalamazoo College, 2002), 17. 67 For example, accounts of Alexander the Great (third century BCE) “replacing his exhausted horses at Marakanda” (“Arrian: Campaigns of Alexander (Anabasis),” Michael Goodwin, last modified 2002, www.mcgoodwin.net/pages/otherbooks/ lfa_anabasis.html) or Vegetius’ discussions on “horses forced to run or gallop beyond their strength, or over-burdened with too great weight” (Flavius Vegetius Renatus, Vegetius Renatus of the distempers of horses, and of the art of curing them (London: Andrew Millar, 1748)) . 66

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Rufus’ text. Although Rufus explicitly stated that De medicina equorum is based on his own experiences, one cannot help but note overlaps with Greek and Roman authors such as Eumelus, Varro, Columella, Aristotle, and Pelagonius. Several scholars68 have tried and failed to find any concrete linkage between Rufus and the ancient authors. Thus, if his text is – as he claims – based solely on what he learned as a mareschal, it indicates a strong, ancient oral tradition of passing down horse care and training techniques, which continues in the modern day. References Primary sources Aristotle. The Complete Works. www.google.com/books/edition/_/zrWkDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbp v=1, accessed March 11, 2020). Corte, Claudio. Il Cavallarizzo. Venice, 1573. https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=_gF4bV5BYXwC&print sec=frontcover&pg=GBS.PP1. Heatley, George S. The Horse-owner's Safeguard: A Handy Medical Guide for Every Man who Owns a Horse. Edinburg and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1882. https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Horse_owner_s_Saf eguard.html?id=2XKtXMYO4pIC&hl=en. Moderatus, L. Junius. Columella of Husbandry: In Twelve Books: and His Book on Trees. London: Printed for A. Millar, 1745. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=qcNbAAAAMAA J&rdid=book-qcNbAAAAMAAJ&rdot=1. Nielsen, Jennifer. Pelagonius’ Ars Veterinaria: A translation with notes. PhD thesis, Kalamazoo College, 2002. Prévot, Brigitte. La science du cheval au moyen âge. Le Traité d’hippiatrie de Jordanus Rufus. Paris: Klincksieck, 1991. Renatus, Publius Vegetius. Vegetius Renatus of the distempers of horses, and of the art of curing them. Michigan: Gale Ecco, Print Editions, 2018. Varro, Marcus Terentius. In Res Rusticae, trans. F. H. Belvoir. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Res_Rusticae_(Country_Matters). 68 For example, Harrison, “Jordanus Ruffus and the late-medieval hippiatric tradition,” 35-38, and Fischer, “A horse!,” 123-138.

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Xenophon. The Art of Horsemanship, trans. Morris H. Morgan. New York: Dover Publications, 2016. Secondary sources Anderson, Kathy. Basics of Feeding Horses: Feeding Management. https://alec.unl.edu/documents/cde/2017/livestockmanagement/2017-basics-of-feeding-horses-feeding-mgmt.pdf. Last modified 2017. Bloodhorse. Report of Mares Bred. https://www.bloodhorse.com/horseracing/thoroughbred-breeding/mares-bred. Last modified 2020. Campbell, Karen. “Reading Horses and Writing Chivalry.” In The Horse in Premodern European Culture, ed. Anastasija Ropa and Timothy Dawson, 107-122. Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publications, 2020. Clark, John, ed. The Medieval Horse and Its Equipment. Suffolk, England: Boydell Press, reprint edition, 2011. Davis, R.H.C. The Medieval Warhorse. London: Thames & Hudson, 1989. Dejmal, Miroslav, and Lenka Lisá, Miriam Fišáková Nývltová, Aleš Bajer, Petr Libor, Petr Kočár, Romana Kočárová, Ladislav Nejman, Michal Rybníček, Zdenka Sůvová, Randy Culp, Hanuš Vavrčík. “Medieval horse stable: the results of multi proxy interdisciplinary research.” PLOS one 9:3 (2014): e89273. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0089273. Harrison, Sunny. “Jordanus Ruffus and the late-medieval hippiatric tradition: Animal-care practitioners and the horse.” PhD thesis, The University of Leeds Institute for Medieval Studies, September 2018. Higgins, Gillian and Stephanie Martin. Horse Anatomy for Performance. A Practical Guide to Training, Riding and Horse Care. Newton Abbot: David and Charles, 2012. Hoppert, Melissa. “Justify, Triple Crown Winner, Is Retired Because of a Bad Ankle.” New York Times, July 25, 2018. www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/sports/horse-racing/justify-triplecrown-retired.html. Fischer, Klaus-Dietrich. “A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse! Versions of Greek horse medicine in medieval Italy.” Medizinhistorisches Journal 34:2 (1999): 123-138. www.researchgate.net/publication/12854767_A_horse_a_horse_my _kingdom_for_a_horse_Versions_of_Greek_horse_medicine_in_m edieval_Italy. 67

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Goodwin, Micael. Arrian: Campaigns of Alexander (Anabasis). Last modified 2002. www.mcgoodwin.net/pages/otherbooks/lfa_anabasis.html. Kantorowicz, Ernst. Fredrick the Second. California: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2nd edition, 2017. Kentucky Equine Research. Oats: The perfect horse feed? Last modified December 29, 2003. https://ker.com/equinews/oats-perfect-horsefeed/. Kristula, M.A., and S.M. McDonnell. “Drinking water temperature affects consumption of water during cold weather in ponies.” Applied Animal Behaviour Science 41 (1994): 155-160. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.585.363 9&rep=rep1&type=pdf. May-Davis, Sharon and Janeen Klein. “Variations and implications of the gross anatomy in the equine nuchal ligament lamellae.” Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 34: 9 (2014): 1110-1113. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2014.06.018, accessed March 2020. McCabe, Anne. A Byzantine Encyclopaedia of Horse Medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. McDonnel, Sue. “Reproductive Behavior of the Stallion.” Veterinary Chits of North America: Equine Practice 2:3 (1986): 535-555. McDonnel, Sue M. “Reproductive behavior of stallions and mares: comparison of free-running and domestic in-hand breeding.” Animal Reproduction Science 60-61 (2000): 211-219. Radke, Gary M. “The Palaces of Frederick II.” Studies in the History of Art 44 (1994): 179-186. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42621908. Ropa, A. Practical Horsemanship in Medieval Arthurian Romance. Budapest: Trivent, 2019. Scoggins, Dean R. “Pasture Breeding.” Last modified January 20, 2004. http://livestocktrail.illinois.edu/horsenet/paperDisplay.cfm?Conten tID=6452. Smith, Marr, and Menzies-Gow Dunnet. “The effect of mare obesity and endocrine function on foal birthweight of Thoroughbreds.” Equine Veterinary Journal 49:4 (2017): 461-466. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/evj.12486_3. The Horse. “Ready, Steady, Grow – Feeding Young Horses.” Last modified March 1, 2001. https://thehorse.com/13941/readysteady-grow-feeding-young-horses-3/. 68

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Tütüncü-Çağlar, Filiz. “Tracing the Hoof-prints of Byzantine History: Horses and Horse Breeding in the Middle Byzantine Period.” In Questions, Approaches, and Dialogues in Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology, ed. E. Kozal et al., 699-717. Munster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2017. https://www.academia.edu/33383071/Tracing_the_HoofPrints_of_Byzantine_History_Horses_and_Horse_Breeding_in_the _Middle_Byzantine_Period. Speidel, Michael P. Riding for Caesar: The Roman Emporer’s Horseguard. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997. https://epdf.pub/download/riding-for-caesar-the-roman-emperorshorseguard.html. Woolgar, C. M. The Great Household in Late Medieval England. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1999.

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A Tapuya “Equestrian Nation”? Horses and Native Peoples in the Backlands of Colonial Brazil Felipe Vander Velden

This chapter is dedicated to Roberto, vaqueiro (cowboy), Xukuru do Ororubá, Pernambuco, Brazil

I. Introduction The horse (Equus caballus Linnaeus 1758) was introduced to the Americas at the end of the fifteenth century: on his second transatlantic journey to the Caribbean, Christopher Columbus brought horses that landed on the island of Hispaniola in November 1493.1 Several narratives of the conquest insist that these animals were fundamental to the advance of Iberian colonization in America, not only because they allowed men and cargo to be transported over often difficult terrain, but also because of the terror they inflicted on native peoples who could not understand the strength and impetuosity of this previously unknown animal, nor its strange amalgamation with a (seemingly) human rider.2 But Matthew Restall, in his fundamental analysis of the myths of the Spanish conquest of the New World, argues that the spectacular role assigned to the action of horses was above all wishful 1 John Johnson, “The introduction of the horse into the Western Hemisphere,” The Hispanic American Historical Review 23:4 (1943): 587-610. 2 Johnson, “The introduction”; Robert Cunninghame Graham, The horses of the conquest: a study of the steeds of the Spanish Conquistadors (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1949).

Felipe Vander Velden

thinking, and that horses were not as decisive as depicted by the heroic historiography of conquest.3 From very early in the history of American colonization, these formidable animals were adopted by indigenous peoples across the continent in processes that have been (critically) called “equestrian complexes” (complejos ecuestres), “horse cultures,”4 or more recently, “horse nations.”5 The historiography has focused on these relationships between Amerindian groups and horses in various parts of the New World, with special attention to the Great Plains, but South America was also the scene of multiple processes involving the adaptation of Indian life to the use of horses; in certain cases this implied radical changes in means of subsistence, regional exchange networks, and the cosmologies and social practices of these peoples. Classic cases of these “horse nations” in lowland South America include the native groups of the Pampas, Patagonia, and Araucania,6 as well as the Gran Chaco, particularly the Guaykuru-speaking peoples,7 certain groups in central Argentina,8 and others in the La Guajira 3 Matthew Restall, Sete mitos da colonização espanhola (Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 2006), 238-239. Gregson suggests that it was ironic that the supposed military advantage of the mounted Spaniards was demolished a few decades after their arrival with the adoption of the horse by many Amerindian peoples (Ronald Gregson. 1969. “The influence of horse on Indian cultures of Lowland South America,” Ethnohistory 16:1 (1969), 33. 4 Eduardo Galvão, “O cavalo na América indígena: nota prévia a um estudo de mudança cultural,” Revista do Museu Paulista (nova Série) 14 (1963): 221-232; Miguel A. Palermo, “Reflexiones sobre el llamado ‘complejo ecuestre’ en la Argentina,” Runa 16 (1986): 157-178; François-René Picon, “Le cheval dans le Noveau Monde: histoires culturelles,” Études Rurales 151-152 (1999): 51-75. 5 Peter Mitchell, Horse nations: the worldwide impact of the horse on Indigenous societies post-1492 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015). 6 Palermo, “Reflexiones”; Mitchell, Horse nations, 253-301; Miguel A. Palermo, 1988. “La innovación agropecuaria entre los indígenas Pampeano-Patagonicos: genesis y procesos,” Anuario del IEHS 3 (1988): 43-90; Lidia Nacuzzi, Identidades impuestas: Tehuelches, Aucas y Pampas en el Norte de la Patagonia (Buenos Aires: Sociedad Argentina de Antropología, 1998); Lidia Nacuzzi, “Los grupos nómades de la Patagonia y el Chaco en el siglo XVIII: identidades, espacios, movimientos y recursos económicos ante la situación de contacto. Una reflexión comparativa,” Chungara: Revista de Antropología Chilena 30:2 (2007): 221-234. 7 Mitchell, Horse nations, 231-251; James Saeger, The Chaco mission frontier: the Guaycuruan experience (Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 2000). 8 Nacuzzi, “Los grupos nómades”; Helmut Schindler, “Equestrian and Non-Equestrian Indians of the Gran Chaco during the Colonial Period,” Indiana 10 (1985): 452.

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peninsula on the borderlands between Colombia and Venezuela, where the Wayuu or Guajiro still live today.9 In Brazil, the best known are the Kadiwéu or Mbayá-Guaikuru (in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul), who were even called “horse-riding Indians” (Índios Cavaleiros) in reference to their ability to ride and use horses, which helped them resist conquest by the Iberian colonial powers for nearly two hundred years.10 Examples of the adoption of horses with more circumscribed sociocultural impacts are found in the Venezuelan llanos,11 in the savannas of northern Brazil and southern Guyana,12 and among the Chiriguano, who rode captured horses as war booty in the Andes de Charcas in the seventeenth century.13 Colonial documentation (which is certainly sparse and scattered, but perhaps still not fully explored) depicts the emergence, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, of other horse nations among indigenous societies in a region with poorly explored ethnohistory and ethnology. This region is the semiarid backlands of north-eastern Brazil (the sertão),14 where since the earliest days of colonization, horses seem to have been received and adopted to great advantage by the native peoples collectively known as Tapuya — a generic term referring to Mitchell, Horse nations, 220-231; Gustav Bolinder, Indians on horseback (London: Dennis Dobson, 1957). 10 Mitchell, Horse nations, 244-247; Ricardo Franco de Almeida Serra, “Parecer sobre o aldeamento dos índios Uaicurus e Guanás com a descripção dos seus usos, religião, estabilidade e costumes (1803),” Revista do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro 7 (1845): 204-218; Antonio de Pádua Bertelli, Os fatos e os acontecidos com a poderosa e soberana Nação dos Índios Cavaleiros Guaycurús no Pantanal do Mato Grosso, entre os anos de 1526 até o ano de 1986 (São Paulo: Uyara, 1987); Chiara Vangelista, Confini e frontiere: alleanze e conflitti interetnici in America Meridionale, sec. XVIII (Torino: Il Segnalibro, 2001); Heather Roller, “On the verge of total extinction? From Guaykurú to Kadiwéu in nineteenth-century Brazil,” Ethnohistory 65:4 (2018): 647-670. 11 Mitchell, Horse nations, 227-231. 12 Thomas Henfrey, 2017. Wapishana ethnoecology: a case study from the South Rupununi, Guyana (Lethem: The Wapishana Wadauniinao Ati’o, 2017): 127-129. 13 Thierry Saignes, “La guerra ‘salvaje’ en los confines de los Andes y del Chaco: la resistencia chiriguana a la colonización europea,” Quinto Centenario 8 (1985): 114-115. 14 In Portuguese, sertão has multiple meanings and an unclear origin. Here, it refers to a region (inland northeastern Brazil) known for its semiarid climate and xerophyte vegetation. During the colonial period, this region was also defined in contrast with the coastal area by the indigenous groups generally known as the Tapuya; the Europeans considered it a hostile environment, inhabited by a sparse population of wild and barbaric people. 9

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groups generally hostile to the Europeans (but with whom they sometimes forged ephemeral alliances) who lived inland and spoke various languages,15 as opposed to the Tupi-speaking peoples living on the coast which was quickly occupied by the Europeans after 1500.16 The brutal occupation of this region by cattle ranching between the sixteenth and the eighteenth centuries eventually interrupted this experience of transforming lives and cultures among the Tapuya groups before they could be properly documented. In fact, it is interesting to note that the same “pastoral expansion front”17 that brought them the horse also ended up destroying most of them. However, this Tapuya “equestrian culture” may still be glimpsed within the intense material and symbolic relationships that the present inhabitants of the region, called sertanejos, have with their horses and the great esteem and value accorded to the cowboy as a professional, including by the indigenous peoples who inhabit this part of Brazil. This chapter brings together sparse references which have not been addressed by those authors who have previously discussed the trajectory of equines in the New World18 suggesting the adoption and Although the languages spoken by most of these peoples are virtually unknown, several elements suggest that they may have belonged to the Macro-Jê linguistic family, largely because of the fact that the four languages of the Kariri family and Yaathê (spoken by the Fulni-ô in Pernambuco) are grouped within Macro-Jê, which includes many other indigenous languages of central Brazil (see Eduardo Rivail Ribeiro, “Macro-Jê,” in Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, volume 7, ed. Keith Brown (Oxford: Elsevier, 2006), 422-426. 16As has been known since at least Robert Lowie, “Tapuya” does not designate a specific ethnolinguistic or cultural ensemble, but rather a location: those groups that lived in the interior of northeast Brazil during the colonial period and spoke languages other than the Tupi in the coastal areas. In this article I use this term mainly because I am discussing sources of this period which refer to these peoples as Tapuya, sometimes referring to some groups in particular – with great emphasis on the Tarairiú, the main Tapuya actors in the history of clashes between the Dutch and the Portuguese (Robert Lowie, “The ‘Tapuya’,” in Handbook of South American Indians, vol. 1: The Marginal Tribes, ed. Julian H. Steward (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1946), 556); see also John Manuel Monteiro, “The crises and transformations of invaded societies: coastal Brazil in the sixteenth century,” in The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas, ed. Frank Salomon and Stuart B. Schwartz (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 973-1023; Cristina Pompa, “Religião como tradução: missionários, Tupi e “Tapuia” no Brasil colonial” (PhD diss., Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 2001). 17 Darcy Ribeiro, Os índios e a civilização (São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 1996). 18 Galvão, “O cavalo na América do Sul”; Palermo, “Reflexiones”; Palermo, “La innovación agropecuaria”; Picon, “Le cheval das le Noveau Monde”; Mitchell, Horse nations. 15

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use of horses by some Tapuya groups (especially those in the north known as Tarairiu or Janduí), as well as minimal documentary indications pinpointing the transformations brought about by the introduction of this animal into the daily life and social practices of these peoples. Moreover, it suggests (without any pretensions of defending ethnohistorical continuities), that this Tapuya equestrian culture may still be alive in the relations that the indigenous peoples in the Brazilian Northeast have with their horses and cattle, arguing that they also were and are part of the culture of the sertanejo cowboy.19 In this way, we begin the task of provincializing (or particularizing) the formation of the “civilization of cattle and leather,” as defined by Capistrano de Abreu in the north-eastern backlands of Brazil,20 which was shaped by a myriad of distinct social and historical processes and not, as the great narrative of the “pastoral expansion front” would hold, by an unavoidable expansion of the European model of cattle raising in an area inhabited by societies that (when they were not previously erased by the image of a “demographic void” or “desert”) quickly gave way to animals and their accompanying human beings — the so-called “extinction chronicle” of the Tapuya groups.21 We know from the pioneering works of Luís Mott,22 which showed how the establishment and consolidation of farms in the region depended heavily on the work of indigenous cowboys, that cattle ranching in the Brazilian semiarid region did not simply extinguish or expel the indigenous peoples. II. The first Brazilian horses The horse arrived in north-eastern Brazil through the efforts of Governor-General Tomé de Souza in 1549, who also brought oxen, sheep, and goats from the Cape Verde Islands and the Azores to the Euclides da Cunha, Os sertões (Rio de Janeiro: Ediouro, 1967); Luís da Câmara Cascudo, Vaqueiros e cantadores (São Paulo: Global, 2004); Gustavo Barroso, Terra de sol (Fortaleza: Editora ABC, 2006). 20 João Capistrano de Abreu, Capítulos de história colonial: 1500-1800 (Brasília: Conselho Editorial do Senado Federal, 1998). 21 John Hemming, Red gold: The conquest of the Brazilian Indians (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1978), 345-376. 22 Luiz Mott, “Os índios e a pecuária nas fazendas de gado do Piauí colonial,” Revista de Antropologia 22 (1979): 61-78. 19

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headquarters of the General Government in Salvador.23 Records show that shortly thereafter, in 1578, many horses were brought to the Northeast by the Dutch.24 These animals were initially confined to the coastal region, where they seem to have adapted very well, as Gabriel Soares de Souza attests in an excerpt written in Bahia in 1587 that illustrates not only their arrival in Pernambuco but also their adaptation to the conditions they were likely to encounter among the Tapuya living in the backlands: The mares went to Bahia from Cape Verde, from which the land was populated, so that, in principle, costing 60,000 reis and more, for which they carried there many mares and horses every year, they multiplied in such a way that they were worth now ten and twelve thousand reis; and there are men who have on their farms 40 and 50, which breed every year […]. The mares of Bahia are as beautiful as the best of Spain, from which are born beautiful horses, and great runners, which until the age of five years are well conditioned, and for the most part as they pass from here, they experience cruelty and they become very restless, but delicate and jealous; so, they, like the mares go unshod, but since their hooves are very hard this causes no problems. From Bahia they take the horses to Pernambuco for merchandise [...].25 It is very probable that these hard-hoofed animals, in the company of cattle and other animals, soon began to penetrate the interior of the region, spreading throughout the Brazilian biome known as caatinga. This biome, which comprises the landscapes of the sertão, is found on an expansive plateau and features a tropical, semiarid climate (hot and dry), rocky soils, xerophyte vegetation naturally adapted to dry conditions, with high temperatures and an average annual rainfall of Arthur Mariante and Neusa Cavalcante, Animais do descobrimento: raças domésticas da história do Brasil (Brasília: Embrapa, 2006), 82; Ana Lúcia Camphora, Animais e sociedade no Brasil dos séculos XVI a XIX (Rio de Janeiro: ABRAMVET, 2017), 105. 24 Camphora, Animais e sociedade, 105. 25 Gabriel Soares de Souza, Tratado descritivo do Brasil em 1587 (São Paulo: Companhia Editora Nacional, 1938 [1587]), 175-176 (my translation, emphasis added). The remarkable multiplication of those animals (namely, their availability) provides one of the main conditions for the adoption of the horse by Native peoples, according to Helmut Schindler, “Equestrian and Non-Equestrian,” 452. 23

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700-800 millimeters concentrated in three or four months of the year and periodic droughts of varying severity. The São Francisco River is the only truly permanent watercourse; all the other rivers and streams in the region dry up partly or entirely during dry periods.26 Because of these climatic adversities, the ranching settle0ments mainly followed the rivers and other reliable water sources, such as those located in the mountains (serras) and swamps which enjoy higher humidity and a milder climate where the ecological conditions were better adapted for raising animals. Peter Mitchell27 has shown that horses need less water and food than cattle, and can survive longer droughts and live on poorer-quality forage; furthermore, raising cattle requires more human intervention, more complex structures, and greater investments in terms of work than raising horses.28 Additionally, horse meat is nourishing and a plethora of useful artifacts can be derived and fabricated from their bodies. Using these animals for transportation or hauling cargo also requires various articles, as can be seen in the sophisticated riding articles of the Tehuelche of Patagonia29 and in the leatherwork of the Kadiwéu.30 This may explain why the horse was domesticated, and why this probably took place on the western steppes of Eurasia, where the climate is extreme31. This hardiness could have helped horses spread among the indigenous peoples of the semiarid sertão of the Brazilian Northeast, as in Argentinean Patagonia, for example,32 but this hypothesis still requires investigation.

IBGE (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística), Geografia do Brasil: grandes regiões Meio-Norte e Nordeste (Rio de Janeiro: IBGE, 1962 - Biblioteca Geográfica Brasileira, série A, v. 3, n. 17); see also Manuel Correia de Andrade, A Terra e o Homem no Nordeste (São Paulo: Brasiliense, 1963). 27 Mitchell, Horse nations, 43-44. 28 Carole Ferret, Une civilisation du cheval: les usages de l’équide de la steppe à la taïga (Paris: Éditions Belin/IFEAC, 2009), 40. 29 John Cooper, “The Patagonian and Pampean hunters,” in Handbook of South American Indians – volume 1: The marginal tribes, ed. Julian Steward (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1946), 145. 30 Ana Lucia Herberts, “Os Mbayá-Guaicurú: área, assentamento, subsistência e cultura material” (Master’s thesis, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, 1998). 31 See also Marsha Levine, “Domestication and early history of the horse,” The domestic horse: the origins, development and management of its behavior, ed. D. S. Mills and S. M. McDonnell (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005): 5-22. 32 See Palermo, “Reflexiones”; and Palermo, “La innovación agropecuaria.” 26

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The expansion of the availability of the horse throughout the northeastern semiarid sertão was linked to the spread of cattle ranching inland, the main driver of the region’s conquest and colonization. According to Alípio Goulart, in a study of the horse in the formation of Brazil, these animals followed the territorial diffusion of cattle, since “there is no extensive breeding of cattle without cowboys, nor cowboys without horses.”33 Horses must thus have been adopted by the many Tapuya groups living in that landscape: exchanged with the Portuguese (and later, between 1630 and 1654, also with the Dutch), stolen from the herds that developed along the rivers, or even captured as they spread on their own through the backlands, although there are no records of feral horses in north-eastern Brazil as seen in other parts of the Americas and the rest of the world.34 Historical scholarship on the conquest of the sertão within the northern captaincies shows that farms began to rapidly expand inland, and also states that free-ranging cattle often spearheaded this process, gaining ground ahead of their human companions and frequently reaching indigenous villages even before European settlers appeared.35 In this trajectory, it is reasonable to suppose that horses may have accompanied cattle in their autonomous penetration throughout the interior, and that herds of equines may also have spread to parts of the colonial Northeast. A Dutch map of the region, published by Joan Blaeu in 1647 from the original by George Markgraf of 1643 and illustrated with images by Frans Post,36 includes in its upper-right corner some examples of the fauna of this part of Brazil: to the right two rheas, to the left what seem to be peccaries. But in the center are José Alípio Goulart, O cavalo na formação do Brasil (Rio de Janeiro: Editora Letras e Artes, 1964), 2 (my translation). 34 Michelle Taylor, Feral and semi feral horses: a useful guide and overview (Scotts Valley: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016). 35 Hemming, Red gold; Luís A. Moniz Bandeira, O feudo. A Casa da Torre de Garcia d’Ávila: da conquista dos sertões à independência do Brasil (Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 2000); Marcos Galindo, O governo das almas: a expansão colonial no país dos Tapuias (1651-1798) (São Paulo: Hucitec, 2017). 36 Peter James Whitehead and Marinus Boeseman, A portrait of Dutch 17th century Brazil: animals, plants and people by the artists of Johan Maurits of Nassau (Amsterdam: NorthHolland Publishing Company/ Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen Verhandelingen Afd. Natuurkunde, Tweede Reeks, deel 87, 1989), 151-154. 33

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two animals: the one on the left very much resembles a horse (aside from its tail), while the one on the right looks like a deer (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Brasilia qua parte paret Belgis (detail), 1659 [1647]. (reproduced here with permission from Leiden University Libraries, COLLBN 004-08-025/032).

Is this a sign that feral horses existed in the Brazilian backlands, running wild with rheas and peccaries? We cannot be sure.37 But it is plausible to suggest that in addition to slaughtering the animals introduced by colonization (as the documentary evidence so abundantly shows), indigenous peoples in the sertão also adopted these Describing this same pair of animals, Whitehead and Boeseman claim they are two deer “with rather heavy legs and long heads like horses, possibly intended to be pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus), described under caguacu-ete in the Historia [Naturalis Brasiliae, by Piso and Marcgraf]” (Whitehead and Boeseman, A portrait of Dutch 17th century, 157). But why does at least one of these presumptive deer look so much like a horse? De Bruin also mentions “two deer,” suggesting that they may be red brocket deer (Mazama americana), “endemic to the whole of Brazil” (Alexander De Bruin, 2016. Frans Post: Animals in Brazil (Amsterdam: Rjksmuseum, 2016), 31, 73). In fact, the map from the University of Leiden Library contains a legend: Harten, “deer [plural]” in Dutch. What appear to be two small horns can be seen on the head of the animal on the left side. Even so, the similarity to a horse’s head still remains: can we suggest that wild horses, running free like the native ungulates, served as a model for the two “deer”? Note that not all copies of this map contain the legend: “[t]he various editions [of the map] exhibit small differences” (Bartira Barbosa, José Ruiz-Peinado, Ricardo Piqueras and Scott Allen, Afroindigenous spaces on the map Brasilia qua parte paret Belgis (Barcelona: Editora Universitária UFPE/Universitat de Barcelona, 2013), 13. Note that Wilma George has highlighted the relative accuracy of animal representations on ancient maps: Wilma George, Animals and maps (London: Secker and Warburg, 1969); see also Margriet Hoogvliet, “De ignotis quarumdam bestiarum naturis: texts and images from the bestiary on Mediaeval maps of the world,” in Animals and the symbolic in Mediaeval art and literature, edited by L. R. Houwen (Groningen: Egbert Forsten, 1997), 189-208. 37

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animals stolen from farms or and captured the cattle and horses that wandered throughout the region on their own. This is described by Ernst van den Boogaart in his description of Dutch relations with the Tarairiu after 1648: “In later years, the Tarairiu captured stray horses and sold them to Company officials, such as Persijn and Samuel Engelaer,” receiving in return axes, mirrors, knives, scissors, and other metal implements.38 Similarly, a letter from van Stetten, sent from Natal to the High Councilors in Recife in April 1645 and mentioning unrest among settlers during the revolt in Brazil, states that “thousands of animals and wild horses...” could be seen throughout the interior of Rio Grande,39 perhaps referring to animals that had become feral. The Danish soldier Peter Hajstrup, who served the Dutch West India Company in Brazil, recorded men “charged with rounding up wild horses in the Sertão” in 1652.40 We should bear in mind that the region occupied by the peoples known as Tapuya, if not exactly on the margins of Portuguese colonization (due to the importance of cattle and ranching in the colony), was in fact “ecologically and climatically poorly suited to intensive agriculture,” which according to Mitchell41 turned it into the perfect setting to develop an equestrian culture among the native peoples. Furthermore, according to the same author, the horse found human populations with technological assemblages and livelihoods similar to those of other Amerindian horse nations. The Tapuya were hunter-gatherers or mixed hunting and fishing with small-scale horticulture; their constant mobility may be the most frequently mentioned characteristic of these societies in the historical sources, Ernst van den Boogaart, “Infernal allies: The Dutch West India Company and the Tarairiu, 1631-1654,” in Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen: a humanist prince in Europe and Brazil. Essays on the occasion of the tercentenary of his death, ed. Ernst van den Boogaart, H. R. Hoetnik and J.P.J. Whitehead (The Hague: The Johan Maurits van Nassau Stichting, 1979), 531, emphasis added. 39 Quoted in Benjamin Teensma, “O diretorado do Predicante Jodocus van Stetten no ano 1645, sobre uma suposta mina de prata nas margens do Rio Sucuru na Paraíba,” in Brazilië in de Nederlandse archieven (1624–1654): Oude West Indische Compagnie: correspondentie van de Heren XIX en Notulen van de Hoge en Secrete Raad van Brazilië / O Brasil em arquivos neerlandeses (1624–1654): Companhia das Índias Ocidentais velha: Cartas enviadas pelos Diretores XIX Atas diárias do Alto e Secreto Conselho do Brasil, ed. Marianne Wiesebron (Leiden: Leiden University Press, 2011), 39. 40 Peter Hansen Hajstrup, Viagem ao Brasil (1644-1654) (Recife: Cepe Editora, 2016), 93. 41 Mitchell, Horse nations, 4. 38

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which may have also favored adoption of this animal by these groups42 and their subsequent conversion into something like “equestrian nomads.”43 III. Janduí’s horses The Dutch occupation of Pernambuco and surrounding captaincies in Northeastern Brazil (1630-1654) produced some of the main accounts of both the animals they encountered there and the Tapuya groups they met in the vast hinterland of the sertão. On this first point, it is well known that the Dutch seem to have marveled not only at the neotropical species they encountered, but also at the domesticated animals from Europe or Africa which were already present in Brazil thanks to earlier Portuguese settlers. However, Peter James Whitehead44 notes that domestic animals (especially those from the Old World) aroused little interest among observers in the lands discovered after the fifteenth century, with the important exception of Dutch artists and naturalists in occupied Brazil: Of great importance are the paintings of domestic animals, so frequently forgotten by artists recording an exotic fauna […]. In volume 3 of the Theatri are seven very fine paintings of breeds of sheep, a dog and a splendid white cat called Jochim.45 Nevertheless, so far there has been almost no analytical attention to these texts and engravings which depict beings already familiar to Europeans, almost as if this domestic fauna were of less interest to contemporary scholars than to their counterparts in the early modern period. Dutch artists in Brazil painted and drew many animals that were not among tropical South America’s native wildlife, but rather were brought from the Old World and lived alongside indigenous and non-indigenous human groups. Yet while the wealth and strangeness of Ibidem, 4. Ibidem, 344-345. 44 Peter James Whitehead, “Georg Markgraf and Brazilian zoology,” in Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen: a humanist prince in Europe and Brazil. Essays on the occasion of the tercentenary of his death, ed. Ernst van den Boogaart, H. R. Hoetnik and J.P.J. Whitehead (The Hague: Johan Maurits van Nassau Stichting, 1979), 424-471. 45 Whitehead, “Georg Markgraf,” 468. 42 43

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neotropical animals led these artists who recorded local species to often forget about the presence of domestic animals, this same fascination with the exotic seems to have contaminated the scholarship on the work of these artists with respect to its historical or scientific value: in fact, despite multiple investigations of zoological knowledge of Brazilian fauna associated with these texts and images from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,46 so far no research has questioned the presence, history, or condition of those taxa, which were just as foreign as the conquistadors that landed in the Americas from 1492 onward. As a matter of fact, the Dutch were captivated by the qualities of the animals they found in Brazil, as were the Portuguese several decades earlier. In the words of Gaspar Barléu, Not only these and other wild animals are found in Brazil, but also herds of small cattle and horses that were brought by the Portuguese and reproduce with notable fecundity.47 In the same spirit as the comments on the productivity and fertility of Brazilian lands which were common to many early observers, the Dutch praised the fertility, strength, and beauty of these animals, particularly horses. The Libri Principis,48 for example, contains a beautiful watercolor of a horse accompanied by a text praising the horses of Brazil, probably written by Johan Maurits of Nassau himself, according to Whitehead and Boeseman.49 Leaving the coastal zone in search of allies in the hinterland, the Dutch were surprised that certain Tapuya groups used horses, which 46 Whitehead, “Georg Markgraf”; Hendrik E. van Gelder, “Twee Braziliaanse schildpadden door Albert Eckhout,” Oud Holland – Journal for Art of the Low Countries 75:1 (1960): 5-29; Dante M. Teixeira, “A imagem do paraíso: uma iconografia do Brasil Holandês (1624-1654) sobre a fauna e a flora do Novo Mundo,” in Miscelânia Cleyeri (Rio de Janeiro: Index, 1995); Rebecca P. Brienen, “From Brazil to Europe: The zoological drawings of Albert Eckhout and George Marcgraf,” in Early modern zoology. The construction of animals in science, literature and the visual arts, ed. Karl Enenkel and Paul Smith (Leiden: Brill, 2007): 273-314. 47 Gaspar Barléu, História dos feitos recentemente praticados durante oito anos no Brasil e noutras partes sob o governodo ilustríssimo João Maurício, Conde de Nassau etc., ora governador de Wesel, Tenente-General da Cavalaria das Províncias-Unidas sob o Príncipe de Orange (Rio de Janeiro: Serviço Gráfico do Ministério da Educação, 1940), 139, my translation. 48 Libri Principis, volume I (Rio de Janeiro: Editora Index, 1993), 10. 49 Whitehead and Boeseman, A portrait of Dutch 17th century, 41.

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may have been acquired before they arrived or which they themselves may have introduced, as subsequent Portuguese documents would claim. Dutch sources mention the horses incorporated by the Tarairiu, with whom they forged alliances, especially the group known as Janduí (Nhanduí or Ianduí), which were named after their main leader who was a great ally of the Dutch. These alliances, however, were always very unstable and marked by intercultural disagreements.50 Horses appear to have been very useful in rustling and killing the European cattle that spread through the sertão, and of course, in war. Cristina Pompa states that the Tapuya (Janduí) groups of semiarid north-eastern Brazil “made use of the horse. This made their assaults more successful.”51 One of the best-known passages from the Dutch documentary evidence is the account by Roulox Baro, who when traveling in the “tapuya lands” (in the Rio Grande captaincy) in 1647 mentions the appearance of “four men on horseback, whom Jandui had dispatched to meet me”: Le vingt-deuxieme May arrivant nous marchames entre le Midy et le Couchat parmy des marets, bois, roches, et espines, sans trouver aucun sentier jusques à la riviere Itaquerra. Là je rencontray quatre hommes à cheval que Jandhuy envoyoit à ma rencontre, j’en renvoiay un aussitot, pour l’advertir de ma venuë.52 See van den Boogaart, “Infernal allies”; Pedro Puntoni, A guerra dos bárbaros: povos indígenas e colonização do sertão Nordeste do Brasil, 1650-1720 (São Paulo: Hucitec/Edusp, 2002); Mark Meuwese, Brother in arms, partners in trade: Dutch-indigenous alliances in the Atlantic world, 1595-1674 (Leiden: Brill, 2012), 125-190; Carlos Henrique A. Cruz, “Tapuias e mestiços nas aldeias e sertões do Norte: conflitos, contatos e práticas ‘religiosas’ nas fronteiras coloniais” (PhD diss., Universidade Federal Fluminense, 2018). 51 Pompa, “Religião como tradução,” 281, my translation. 52 “On May 22 we marched from noon to sundown among swamps, woods, stones, and thorns without finding any way to reach the Itaquerra River. There I found four men on horseback that Jandhuy had sent to meet me. I immediately sent one off to announce my arrival” (Roulox Baro, “Relation du voyage de Roulox Baro. Interprete et Ambassadeur ordinaire de la Compagnie des Indes d’Occident de la part des illustrissimes seigneurs des Provinces Unies au pays des Tapuies dans las terres fermes du Brasil. Commencé le troisiesme Avril 1647. Et fini le quatorsiesme Juillet de la mesme anné,” in Relations veritables et curieuses de l’isle de Madagascar et du Bresil ave l’histoire de la derniere guerre faite au Bresil, entre les Portugais et les Hollandois, ed. Pierre Moreau (Paris: Chez Augustin Courbé, 1651), 215. 50

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When he returned to Recife, Roulox Baro borrowed a horse again from a Tapuya leader, Vavajapu, so that he could travel faster.53 The fact that the Tarairiu owned horses is interesting, because it contradicts Ernst van den Boogaart’s claim that the Dutch stopped asking their Tapuya allies to work in the sugar industry, grow crops, or raise cattle after 1641 because they did not consider them “suitable for such tasks.”54 We know nothing of the existence of herds of horses, other equines, or other animals in the indigenous villages in the backlands, but some of these animals were known to exist there, acquired through looting, exchanges with Europeans, or by capturing stray or even feral animals. Two of the gouache or oil-on-paper engravings found in the Theatrum Rerum Naturalium Brasiliae55 attributed to Albert Eckhout, which depict “Tapuyas,” are particularly striking. In Fig. 2, the individual depicted seems to wear boots or riding leggings and wears across his back what looks to be the hide of a large animal, perhaps a deer, although the fur seems slightly denser in the painting; it may be a cowhide or even horsehide, but it is hard to say. It is also difficult to identify the sketched objects below and behind the man in the foreground, but what appears to be a feathered hat in the lower-right corner may refer to one of the first gifts sent to Janduí by the Dutch commander Georg Gartsman.56 In this case, we would be looking at a portrait of the great Tarairiu leader from the period of Dutch occupation in Brazil. Fig. 3 depicts a “Tapuya hunter or warrior” (Tapuyarum alius venatur aut miles). According to Ehrenreich, this Tapuya man also carries “a fur cloak that reaches to his calves and to which a handful of arrows is stuck.”57 Ehrenreich is unable to determine whether it is a quiver or part of the cloak itself rolled to contain the arrows.58 Baro, “Relation du voyage de Roulox Baro,” 245. van den Boogaart, “Infernal allies,” 528. 55 Theatrum Rerum Naturalium Brasiliae - Tomus III – Icones Animalium. BrasilHolandês/Dutch Brazil: Icones Animalium/Icones Vegetabiliium (Rio de Janeiro: Index, 1993). 56 van den Boogaart, “Infernal allies,” 523. 57 Paul Ehrenreich, “Sobre alguns retratos de índios sul-americanos,” Revista do Instituto Archeologico e Geographico Pernambucano 12:65 (1905): 29. 58 There is a third image that accompanies the two paintings analyzed here, which depicts a woman (Mulier brasiliensis) with a long cloak of skin or fur wrapped around the lower part of her body, below the waist. 53 54

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Fig. 2. Tapuyarum quidam. (Marg. in H. B., p. 270). Attributed to Albert Echkhout, c. 1640. Gouache and/or oil-onpaper. Liber picturatus A 34, The Jagiellonian Library Kraków, Special Collection Department, reproduced with permission.

Fig. 3. Tapuyarum alius venatur aut miles. Attributed to Albert Echkhout, c. 1640. Gouache and/or oil-on-paper. Liber picturatus A 34, The Jagiellonian Library Kraków, Special Collection Department, reproduced with permission.

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These paintings in the Theatrum are embroiled in a small controversy; Paul Ehrenreich59 has argued that the three drawings depict natives from the southern tip of South America (Araucanians or Puelches) who were met by the Dutch expedition to Chile in the midseventeenth century. He suggests that cloaks and leggings made of guanaco hides were commonly used among these peoples, and that even the other elements in the images (the short bow and arrows, the feather crowns, and the pipe) “agree perfectly with what we know of the original Chilean population.”60 Still, according to Ehrenreich, Christian Mentzel, the organizer of the Theatrum collection of images, confused these representations with that of the “Chilenses,” mistakenly identifying these figures as “Tapuyas.” Joppien shares the same opinion, arguing that the caption of the image Tapuyarum quidam (see Fig. 2) is incorrect, and rather a chief of “a Chilean people” (which he suggests to be the Chono)61 whom Eckhout (if this is indeed his work) met during the Dutch expedition to Chile led by Brouwer in 1643.62 The same author also notes the leggings and the cape of the character are made of guanaco skin, and that the drawings in the lower-right corner are “studies of the hat and the clothes” of the same personage. Whitehead and Boeseman also claim that the two engravings depict “Araucanian Indians.”63 It is interesting to combine these readings with later Portuguese sources presented by Fátima Lopes64 that support a comparison between the Tapuya and the Araucanians due to the military use of the horse. The mistake would thus be readily intelligible: Araucanians and Tapuya united in their bellicose nature, their resistance to the Iberian colonization, and their use of the horse in Ehrenreich, “Sobre alguns retratos,” 29-30; Paul Ehrenreich,“Über einige ältere Bildnisse südamerikanischer Indianer,” Globus: Illustrierte Zeitschrift für Länder- und Völkerkunde 66:6 (1894): 29. 60 Ehrenreich, “Sobre alguns retratos,” 29-30. 61 On the Chono in Southern Chile, see John Cooper, “The Chono,” in Handbook of South American Indians – volume 1: The marginal tribes, ed. Julian Steward (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1946), 47-54. 62 Rüdiger Joppien, “The Dutch vision of Brazil: Johan Maurits and his artists,” in Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen: a humanist prince in Europe and Brazil. Essays on the occasion of the tercentenary of his death, ed. Ernst van den Boogaart, H. R. Hoetnik and J.P.J. Whitehead (The Hague: Johan Maurits van Nassau Stichting, 1979), 304-305. 63 Whitehead and Boeseman, A portrait of Dutch 17th century, 171. 64 Fátima M. Lopes, Índios, colonos e missionários na colonização da capitania do Rio Grande do Norte (Natal: IHGRN, 1998). 59

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war.65 For this reason, we can suggest that these images do not represent “Chilenses” but instead Tapuya in north-eastern Brazil who were viewed and represented like the great adversaries of the Europeans in Chile who they resembled from the conquistadores’ point of view. Egmond and Mason therefore disagree with the identification of these characters as Chileans: “(…) Ehrenreich’s identification of these three persons as Chileans is questionable. The attributes of the men, who are labeled as ‘Tapuyarum quidam’ and ‘Tapuyarum alius venator aut miles,’ are not found among the residents of the regions visited by the expedition (…).” They argue that several of Eckhout’s paintings are “montages” that blend physical attributes, body decorations, artifacts and natural species from different parts of the world. These combinations, moreover, “(…) do not mean that the figures depicted here are native Chileans.”66 The question is: why was bovine or equine leather (if that indeed is depicted in the figures above) the material chosen to equip and clothe these three Tapuya individuals?67 Was there any reason — prestige, distinction, power, magic — related to the use of leather, and especially leather made from animals brought by the Europeans into the backlands? IV. Portuguese sources and the Jê-Tapuya controversy After the Dutch were driven out of north-eastern Brazil, references to the use of horses by the Tapuya groups (which the Portuguese apparently attributed to the Dutch invaders) continued through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as the acts of these nomads (some now equestrian) continued to worry the colonial authorities. The Janduí were said to “retain the hatred of the Lusitanians” and also to It is true that Natives in Chile (Araucanians or Chono) fighting on horseback and with large flocks and herds strongly impressed the Dutch who were in the region in 1642–1643 (see Henry Brouwer, “Relación del viaje de Hendrick Brouwer a Valdivia en 1643,” in Opusculos varios de J.T. Medina, ed. Guillermo Felliú Cruz (Santiago: Imprenta Universitaria, 1928 [1646]), 81-127. 66 Florike Egmond and Peter Mason, “Albert E(e)ckhout, court painter,” in Albert Eckhout: a Dutch artist in Brazil, ed. Quentin Buvelot (Den Haag: Royal Cabinet of Paintings Mauritshuis/Waanders Publishers, 2001), 120. 67 Susanna Harris and André Veldmeijer, eds., Why leather? The material and cultural dimensions of leather (Leiden: Sidestone Press, 2014). 65

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“herd horses and cattle.”68 In the 1660s, Mathias Albuquerque Maranhão, capitão-mor of Paraíba, warned the Portuguese Crown about Tapuya attacks in the sertão which were largely “because they already have great numbers of horses, which they use according to ways they learned from the Dutch.”69 The documents repeatedly compare the Jandui with the Araucanians in the “Castilian Indies,” who waged a relentless war against Spanish colonization in Chile, and were one of the most developed horse nations in South America.70 The documents also emphasized the prowess of the Tarairiu warriors who shot from horseback with great precision: In addition to the weapons, the Tarairiú also adopted horses, which caused great terror and fear among the Portuguese (...) it was therefore expedient to make war against them ‘...because they have large herds of mares, and with discipline they can do us much harm...’. The fear was borne out, because the war of rapid assaults, with which the tapuyas were accustomed, became even more sudden and harmful, with the innovations brought by the Europeans, who made the tapuyas ‘…more empowered in the hinterland, where they have now become dominant, using saddled horses, with pistols and rifles fitted with silver and a lot of gunpowder and ammunition.’”71 Beyond these clashes, the sources suggest that Tapuya groups accumulated animals: in 1694, for example, João de Miranda and Teodósio de Oliveira Ledo set out to meet the “brave heathens who infested” the captaincies of northern Brazil, looting “all the cattle and horses with much damage to said heathens.”72 Some years earlier, in 1676-1677, the Capuchin friar Martin de Nantes, who traveled along with a war expedition to the “sertão Indians” of the São Francisco River, narrated how Tapuya “spies” encountered the horse.73 In these Cruz, “Tapuias e mestiços,” 49. Letter to the Governor of Pernambuco, 01/09/1662, quoted in Lopes, Índios, colonos e missionários, 480, my translation. 70 Mitchell, Horse nations, 257-272. 71 Lopes, Índios, colonos e missionários, 283-284, italics in the original, my translation. 72 Quoted in Cruz, “Tapuias e mestiços,” 73. See also Lopes, Índios, colonos e missionários, 267. 73 Padre Martinho de Nantes, Relação de uma missão no rio São Francisco (São Paulo: Editora Nacional; Brasília: INL, 1979 [1706]). 68 69

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villages, a pastoral lifestyle was gradually taking shape: according to the eighteenth-century document quoted by Cruz,74 the Pega Indians in Paraíba argued that “they lacked land for their crops and to raise their cattle,” which probably also included horses. In 1665, it was noted that the Indians who settled in the Guairaru mountains (in Bahia) requested “some horses” as well as “cattle for corrals.”75 There are many records of Portuguese-Brazilian cowboys living among Tapuya groups in the northeast of the country; they certainly transferred their technical knowledge to the Indians and sometimes even provided animals, as in the case of the Janduís, who in the late seventeenth century lived off of “some cattle that the cowboys give them, and that they steal.”76 There is little doubt, therefore, that horses became part of the lives of various Tapuya peoples in the backlands of Brazil. It may consequently be necessary to nuance the assertion that “horses were little used” even “by the Portuguese military, because in the semiarid backlands where juremas [Mimosa hostilis] and other prickly shrubs” hindered the advance of animals, “the use of the horse was even more inconvenient and practically made it impossible to pursue the tapuyas, who were skillful at hiding in the caatinga.”77 The fact is that the sources mention the adaptation of the horse to the environment and to the practices of native peoples in this area. And, as is well known, the rustic vegetation of the caatinga did not prevent the formation of a civilization of cowboys (vaqueiros) who were and are skilled in the arts of riding and adept at dealing with cattle in the rugged landscapes in the northeastern sertão. This reflection on the Tapuya equestrian culture also touches on another long-standing ethnohistorical issue, one that refers to the linguistic/ethnocultural identity of the indigenous groups known as

Cruz, “Tapuias e mestiços,” 152. Quoted in Solon A. Santos, Os Payayá no sertão das Jacobinas (1651-1706) (Curitiba: Editora Prismas, 2017), 239. 76 Helder M. de Macedo, “Relações entre índios e colonos nos sertões do Seridó, Capitania do Rio Grande, no século XVIII,” Clio. Série Arqueológica 28 (2013): 1-17. 77 Valdeci dos Santos Junior, Os índios Tapuias do Rio Grande do Norte – Antepassados esquecidos (Mossoró: Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte/Grupo de Pesquisa História da Região Oeste do Rio Grande do Norte - Coleção Mossoroense, volume 1532as, 2008). See also Puntoni, A guerra dos bárbaros. 74 75

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Tapuya.78 Indeed, the adoption of horses by the Tarairiu (and other groups) has been identified as a criterion for denying that these groups were speakers of Jê languages, widely distributed across central-eastern Brazil. For example, Cristina Pompa points out that “the use of the horse has been one of the elements used in ethnology to support the theory that the Tapuya Tarairiú were not Jê.”79 Apparently, this hypothesis was first raised by Schuller,80 who suggested that the difference between the Tapuya and the Jê was determined by the use of horses: the Tapuya adopted them while the Jê did not, even though they had secular contact with whites. Maybury-Lewis, while arguing for other reasons that the Tapuya were not Jê-speaking, did not agree with the use of the horse as a criterion for this conclusion: in his opinion, even if the Jê peoples ignored horses and in certain cases were very frightened of these animals, “such ignorance or fear can be overcome in a very short space of time by a group to whom horses become available.” 81 In fact, according to Curt Nimuendajú, this seems to have been the case with the Eastern Timbira peoples in Maranhão: At present all steppe Timbira breed pigs and fowls, even though only in small numbers - especially our Canella, whose village harbored some forty pigs (1933) and twelve horses, to boot. They like very much to handle horses and rapidly learn to become good riders.82 Other Jê-speaking peoples also adapted to an equestrian life and became herders, as seems to have occurred with the Akroá in northern Goiás and western Piauí around the 1740s.83 78 David Mead, “Caiapó do Sul, an ethnohistory (1610–1920)” (PhD diss., University of Florida, 2010), 87, note 1. 79 Pompa, “Religião como tradução,”, 281, note 66, my translation. 80 Rudolf Schuller, “Zur Affinität der Tapúya-Indianer des ‘Theatrum Rerum Naturalium Brasiliae’,” Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie 21 (1912): 84. 81 David Maybury-Lewis, “Some crucial distinctions in Central Brazilian ethnology,” Anthropos, bd. 60, h. 1/6 (1965): 341-342. 82 Curt Nimuendajú, The eastern Timbira (Berkeley: University of California Press/University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology no. 41, 1946), 75, emphasis added. 83 Juciene R. Apolinário, Os Akroá e outros povos indígenas nas fronteiras do sertão (Goiânia: Editora Kelps, 2006).

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In this way, certain Jê groups adopted the horse at some point, which does not allow us to definitively determine whether the Tapuya did or did not speak Jê languages because they used horses. The conditions needed for this (for Jê speakers to incorporate horses) appear to have been present: while Peter Mitchell is correct in pointing out that “[f]ree-ranging cattle may have been the prerequisite for Guaykurú to become equestrian nomads,”84 these were certainly present in the savannas of central and eastern Brazil, with cattle slowly colonizing territories before their human owners arrived. One example was the Krahó people, as noted by Melatti.85 This debate certainly invites us to further investigate the history and ethnography of the Jêspeaking peoples in central Brazil, especially in those areas where they were directly affected by “pastoral expansion.”86 V. Concluding remarks: cowboy Indians today This chapter is designed to combine and confirm some information related to the adoption of the horse and the formation of an indigenous equestrian culture in the sertão regions of colonial northeastern Brazil, offering some insights that I hope will encourage new research on this topic, particularly in the documentary sources. It thus seems correct to state (as mentioned earlier) that horses became part of the life of several Tapuya peoples in the backlands of Brazil. But various questions still remain: to what extent did the Tapuya encounter and learn about horses and equestrian culture from Europeans? What kind of experiences did they have as workers or slaves on ranches? Did some Tapuya who were exposed to horses and ranching run away? Did they acquire horses at ranches, missions, or other European settlements and then run off with them? Or did they catch and tame wild horses? How did the relationships, connections, or interpenetrations between independent Tapuya and settlers or missionaries take place? Given the broad region covered here and the diversity of the indigenous peoples who are generically classified as Tapuya, one could imagine that the various Tapuya groups had different experiences, and that the answers Mitchell, Horse nations, 238. Júlio César Melatti, Índios e criadores: a situação dos Krahó na área pastoral do Tocantins (Rio de Janeiro: I.C.S/UFRJ, 1967), 122-137. 86 Ribeiro, Os índios e a civilização. 84 85

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to these questions might vary; some groups seem to have raised horses in significant quantities in their villages, while others may have simply stolen animals sporadically or even only attacked or killed these animals. But there is additional evidence that horses (and exotic domesticated animals in general) were incorporated into the indigenous socio-cosmologies of the Brazilian Northeast, which is revealed in the long term through contemporary practices. There are a few records of the words for horses in the native languages once spoken in the sertão. The novelty and strangeness of these great herbivores can be seen in these names: the Kariri along the banks of the São Francisco River called them cabarú in the Kipeá language, as registered by the Jesuit Luiz Mamiani in the seventeenth century, borrowed from the Portuguese and possibly through the Tupinambá cavarú.87 Von Martius, traveling through the region in the nineteenth century, recorded caborro in the Massacará language (Bahia) and cöböning in Pimenteira (Piauí), in addition to two terms in Cariri, cavarru and cabarrú.88 Note that all these languages incorporated the Portuguese word for this new creature (cavalo). These terms show a process that is common to many Amerindian languages when faced with a strange, foreign creature, which is then named from the original European lexicon. According to Brown,89 this took place (in the case of horses) in 52% of the terms he researched: “it was usual for the Indians to use Spanish or Portuguese words for both horses and cattle,” wrote Nordenskiöld.90 But 59% of the lexical items for “horse” discussed by Brown originated in native vocabularies. The term for the same animal in the Fulni-ô language, for example, attests to the value of the mobility achieved by these equestrian societies: thayô or thaithô, “the one who carries us.”91 And recalling the previous discussion about deer/horses in Blaeu’s 1647 map (see above), we note that some Amerindian 87 Eduardo Rivail Ribeiro, “Tapuya connections: language contact in Eastern Brazil,” Liames 9 (2009): 67-68. 88 Erland Nordenskiöld, Deductions suggested by the geographical distribution of some postcolumbian words used by the Indians of South America (Göteborg: Elanders Boktryckeri Aktiebolag, 1922), 58-62. 89 Cecil Brown, Lexical acculturation in Native American languages (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 76. 90 Nordenskiöld, Deductions, 52. 91 Estevão Pinto, Etnologia Brasileira (Fulniô – Os últimos Tapuias) (São Paulo: Companhia Editora Nacional, 1956), 267.

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languages name the exotic horse after native deer, which seems to be the case for the Wayuu, who denoted the horse (ama) after the deer (irama), and even have a myth explaining how the latter transformed into the former.92 The fact is that horses, cattle, and all the material and symbolic paraphernalia associated with raising and coexisting with these beings became part of the identity of the inhabitants of north-eastern Brazil, including several of the indigenous populations that currently inhabit the region. Some time ago, I had the opportunity to spend time among the Xukuru do Ororubá Indians in Pernambuco.93 Although they have few farm animals today, many Xukuru men grew up on horseback, working with livestock on the surrounding farms. There is great respect for vaqueiros — men on horseback who work with cattle — which is reflected in the extreme care given to horses and in the widespread success of various mounted sports involving herding, such as pegas de boi and vaquejadas, and horse racing. This appreciation for the horse and for the cowboy way of life is corroborated by Olivia Ellis, for example, who describes the Xukuru as “fascinated by the hierarchy of the horse and cow; they are more valuable than agriculture.”94 She continues: many Xukuru are drawn to “the myth of the vaqueiro (cowboy).” Because their territory has been occupied by fazendeiros since the colonization of Brazil, the Xukuru “have been observing the vaqueiro profession, and they dream of their horses, cattle, their animals.”95 The formation of the sertanejo society (or societies) thus also involved indigenous peoples in the region and their historical experiences with horses, oxen, and other domesticated animals. Many of the sociocultural practices and techniques related to animal husbandry in the Americas are known to have originated in the ways native people received the adventitious horse and the techniques used

92 François-René Picon, Pasteurs du Nouveau Monde. Adoption de l’élevage chez les indiens Guajiros (Paris: Éditions de la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, 1983), 154. 93 See Clarissa M. Lima, “Deus no céu e os índios na Terra: morte e vida numa aldeia Xukuru do Ororubá” (PhD diss., Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2019). 94 Olivia Ellis, “Organizing indigeneity among the Xukuru do Ororubá of Brazil” (Master’s thesis, University of Texas, 2010), 34. 95 Ellis, “Organizing indigeneity,” 32.

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to capture, control, maintain, train, and use this animal.96 Ian Dyck suggests that the American ranching culture (especially rodeo) was shaped by large contributions from native Plains Indians cultures, perhaps because of the interactions between native and Anglo cowboys in the American West.97 It is therefore fair to suppose that the sertanejo cattle ranching culture that emerged in the north-eastern Brazilian backlands also owes many of its characteristics to the adoption of the horse (and other livestock) by the Tapuya who formerly occupied the region; this culture may also have been born from the colonial cattle ranches where many of these native people worked alongside cowboys of European origin.98 Another founding element may have been the north-eastern horse, called pé duro (“hard foot”), casco de burro (“donkey hoof”) or cavalo crioulo nordestino (“north-eastern creole horse”), a small ecotype developed in the hinterland from animals introduced by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century. According to Goulart: These animals helped in the process of inland settlement of the region, serving as mounts and the main means of transport (...). The Nordestino horse is suitable for work with cattle and flocks of goats and sheep that are raised in the caatinga, which consists of thorny vegetation and twisted branches. In this extremely rugged environment where little food or water is available, this breed became greatly adapted to semi-desert regions and the hard work of cowboys under these conditions.99 Perhaps the process in north-eastern Brazil resembled what took place in California, where adopting horses and riding equipment guaranteed the native peoples continuity because of the need for labor 96 Mitchell, Horse nations; Frédéric Saumade, “Ganadería, tauromaquia y subversión ritual: el retorno del mexicano y del indígena en el rodeo americano,” in Comprender los rituales ganaderos en los Andes y más allá, ed. Juan Javier Rivera Andía, 365-400. (Bonn/Aachen: Shaker Verlag, 2014); Marília F. Kosby, Daniel Vaz Lima and Flávia Rieth, “Centauros de motocicleta: o cavalo como testemunha do ‘processo domesticatório’ do gaúcho,” Horizontes Antropológicos 23:48 (2017): 197-223. 97 Ian Dyck, “Does rodeo have roots in ancient Indian traditions?” Plains Anthropology 41: 157 (1996): 205-219. See also Peter Iverson, When Indians became cowboys: Native peoples and cattle ranching in the American West (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994). 98 Mott, “Os índios e a pecuária.” 99 Goulart, O cavalo na formação do Brasil, 3, my translation.

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on cattle ranches: throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this workforce was (and in many cases, still is) essentially indigenous.100 Returning to Pernambuco, many Xukuru men still long for the time when they could work as cowboys for the surrounding farmers: in a sense, it was their association with cattle ranches as employees, and their skills with cattle and horses, that guaranteed the survival of many families over generations in the Ororubá Range, a region traditionally occupied by the Xukuru. This possible historical continuity, which extends from the adoption of the first horses (through theft, capture, donation, or trade) by the Tapuya in the sertão to the development of cowboy Indians in the Brazilian Northeast, suggests that ranching in the New World may not have been restricted to the Wayuu (Guajiro) on the ColombiaVenezuela border.101 It also indicates that if Philippe Descola102 is correct about the lack of animal domestication in the South American lowlands before the conquest, this did not stop animal raising and the accompanying technology introduced by the Europeans (or at least part of it, and certainly after various native adaptations) from being adopted. In this sense, horses may not have been considered to be in the same category as the native pets so common in South American indigenous villages (and widely recorded among many Amerindian peoples),103 which could eventually turn them into prey and food, something that almost never occurs with the familiarized native species living in close company with humans. But unfortunately, we know very little about how horses were adopted by the various Tapuya sociocosmological systems, although comparative investigations about the Dyck, “Does rodeo have roots in ancient Indian traditions?”; Iverson, When Indians became cowboys; see also Lee Panich, “Indigenous vaqueros in colonial California: labor, identity, and autonomy,” in Foreign objects: rethinking Indigenous consumption in American archaeology, ed. Craig Cipolla (Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 2017), 187-203. 101 Picon, Pasteurs du Nouveau Monde. 102 Philippe Descola, “Pourquoi les indiens d’Amazonie n’ont-il pas domestiqué le pecari?” in De la préhistoire aux missiles balistiques. L’intelligence sociale des techniques, ed. Bruno Latour and Pierre Lemmonier (Paris: La Découverte, 1994), 329-344. 103 See, among many others, Philippe Erikso, “The social significance of pet keeping among Amazonian Indians,” in Companion animals and us, ed. Anthony Podbersceck, Elizabeth S. Paul and James Serpell (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000): 726; Felipe Vander Velden, Inquietas companhias: sobre os animais de criação entre os Karitiana (São Paulo: Alameda, 2012); Luiz Costa, The owners of kinship: asymmetrical relations in Indigenous Amazonia (Chicago: HAU Books, 2017). 100

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presence of equines among Amerindian peoples can provide some clues from the meager documentary evidence which is available. Further historical and ethnographic studies are needed to elucidate this multicultural formation of sertanejo society and the emergence of indigenous “equestrian cultures” in semiarid Brazil in order to provincialize, to a certain degree, the famous idea of the regional “cattle and leather civilization.” It is a fact that the various indigenous peoples who occupy the same zone were active participants in this formation, and many proudly define themselves as vaqueiros: In fact, some colonial records of the region feature a certain lack of distinction between Indians and non-Indians with regard to outward identifiers, such as when Father Miguel de Carvalho described the cowboys in the Piauí sertão in 1697 as “these wretches wearing cowhides and looking like tapuias.”104 There is also one further question: if the native societies of the Brazilian sertão already used horses in the pursuit of their objectives in the seventeenth century, why are the adoption of horse riding and cattle ranching today still seen as signs of the loss of identity and acculturation of these peoples? This group of equestrian technologies (including garments) which were probably developed or adapted by Tapuya groups, as suggested in the analysis of the two Dutch images above, and according to ample documentation for other horse nations in North America105 and South America106 as well as the occurrence of equine archaeological remains, indicate the material dimension of the phenomenon, which demands further archaeological research on the grounds that it might substantiate the emergence of these “Tapuya equestrian nations.” In this way, zooarchaeological surveys concentrated in the former indigenous villages in the sertão should be attentive to remains of horses and other exotic animals in post-contact era sites. Another good place to look for evidence of the association between natives and horses would be the old Jesuit farms, identified by Santos in the north-eastern 104 Padre Miguel de Carvalho, 1938. “Descrição do sertão do Piauí remetida ao Ilm o. e Rmo. Sr. Frei Francisco de Lima, Bispo de Pernambuco,” in As guerras dos Palmares: subsídios para sua história, ed. Ernesto Ennes (São Paulo: Companhia Editora Nacional), 373, emphasis added. 105 John Ewers, The horse in Blackfoot Indian culture (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985). 106 Cooper, “The Patagonian and Pampean hunters”; Herberts, “Os Mbayá-Guaicurú.”

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Brazilian state of Paraíba,107 several which occur in what is considered to have been the original territory of the Tarairiu. In this way, it is known that in “colonial sites domesticated animals predominate, especially those of economic importance such as cattle (Bos taurus), swine (Sus scrofa), sheep (Ovis aries), goats (Capra hircus), and equines,” but that “there is still little information about the archaeofauna from archaeological sites during the four hundred years of the colonial period (the sixteenth century to the nineteenth century).”108 The references discussed here are fragmentary, but suggest that the relationship between certain Tapuya peoples and the horses introduced by the conquest extended beyond widespread myth in the interior of Brazil109 of the indigenous female ancestor — the cabocla brava, a savage and untamed Indian woman, since it is invariably a woman — living “in the wild” who is captured and tamed with the horse’s lasso or by the hooves of a horse. This is one of the most common narratives that explains both the presence of indigenous blood in the formation of Brazilian society as well as the violent extinction of this same population through the masculine practices of war and sexual domination.110 This relationship also went beyond the mere use of indigenous workhands on the cattle farms of colonial Brazil.111 The horse did not appear in this region as only a tool for war and domination exclusively in the hands of the Europeans. It seems that the animal was also appropriated by native groups who utilized it in war and subsistence, and we can speculate that significant transformations also took place in their daily and ritual practices and in their technologies and cosmologies. Unfortunately, we have no Juvandi de S. Santos, As fazendas de gado dos jesuítas na Paraíba colonial (João Pessoa: Eduepb/CNPq, 2015). 108 Albérico Nogueira de Queiroz, Olivia de Carvalho, Suely Martinelli, Márcia Guimarães and Cristiana Santana, “Distinctive archaeofauna occurrences recovered in Brazil: Iberian contribution in archaeological sites during the colonial period,” in Book of Abstracts of the Encontro de Zooarqueologia Ibérica 2017 (EZI2017) and 5ª Reunião Científica de Arqueomalacologia da Península Ibérica (5RCAPI). 26-29 April 2017, Faro – Portugal, eds. Maria João Valente, Cláudia Costa and Cleia Detry (Faro: Universidade do Algarve, 2017), 14. 109 John Manuel Monteiro, “Review of Oliveira, João Pacheco de. 1999. Ensaios de antropologia histórica. Rio de Janeiro: Editora UFRJ,” Mana 8:1 (2002): 238. 110 Julie Cavignac, “A índia roubada: estudo comparativo da história e das representações das populações indígenas do Rio Grande do Norte,” Caderno de História 2:2 (1995): 83-92. 111 Mott, “Os índios e a pecuária.” 107

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information about this putative “indigenous leather civilization,” and it is unlikely to ever be revealed. For this reason, perhaps the most that can be said of the “Tapuya equestrian culture” emerging in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is that “horses could find no more than a sporadic, tightly demarcated role.”112 It is possible, as this same author maintains, that only time was lacking to develop a genuine native “horse nation” in north-eastern Brazil, since the other conditions (large spaces which were poorly suited to cash crops, sufficient pasture and water, lack of disease, and the presence of conflicting colonial powers, namely Portugal and Holland) seem to have been present. Nevertheless, if we consider that today’s cowboy Indians express the continuity of this “Tapuya (or sertanejo) equestrian culture,” then we must rectify Mitchell’s claim that horse nations did not emerge in the “cerrado savannahs of Brazil,” and that diseases and attacks directed at enslaving the natives “have inhibited the acquisition and consolidation of horse-keeping in the cerrado, notwithstanding the suitability of its grassland for horses.”113 If the question of the horse’s adoption by the Jê-speaking peoples still remains open, depending on ethnographic information, the data collected here show that potentially related groups living in a similar biome seem to have adapted to equines with ease, at least during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Acknowledgments This research is part of the ERC project BRASILIAE. Indigenous Knowledge in the Making of Science, directed by Dr. Mariana Françozo at Leiden University (The Netherlands) and funded by the European Research Council Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Agreement No. 715423). I wish to thank Mariana Françozo, Carolina Monteiro, and Peter Mitchell for their critical appraisal of this article, Edwin Reesink and Albérico Nogueira de Queiroz for additional bibliographical suggestions, and Izabella Korczyńska (Biblioteka Jagiellońska, Poland) and Martij Storms (Leiden University Libraries, The Netherlands) for permission to use the images reproduced here. All translations are mine unless otherwise stated. 112 113

Mitchell, Horse nations, 230. Ibidem, 355-356. 98

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References Almeida Serra, Ricardo Franco de. “Parecer sobre o aldeamento dos índios Uaicurus e Guanás com a descripção dos seus usos, religião, estabilidade e costumes (1803).” Revista do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro 7 (1845): 204-218. Andrade, Manuel Correia de. A Terra e o Homem no Nordeste. São Paulo: Brasiliense, 1963. Apolinário, Juciene. Os Akroá e outros povos indígenas nas fronteiras do sertão. Goiânia: Editora Kelps, 2006. Bandeira, Luís A. Moniz. O feudo. A Casa da Torre de Garcia d’Ávila: da conquista dos sertões à independência do Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 2000. Barbosa, Bartira, José Ruiz-Peinado, Ricardo Piqueras, and Scott Allen. Afroindigenous spaces on the map Brasilia qua parte paret Belgis. Barcelona: Editora Universitária UFPE/Universitat de Barcelona, 2013. Barléu, Gaspar. História dos feitos recentemente praticados durante oito anos no Brasil e noutras partes sob o governodo ilustríssimo João Maurício, Conde de Nassau etc., ora governador de Wesel, Tenente-General da Cavalaria das Províncias-Unidas sob o Príncipe de Orange. Rio de Janeiro: Serviço Gráfico do Ministério da Educação, 1940. Baro, Roulox. “Relation du voyage de Roulox Baro. Interprete et Ambassadeur ordinaire de la Compagnie des Indes d’Occident de la part des illustrissimes seigneurs des Provinces Unies au pays des Tapuies dans las terres fermes du Brasil. Commencé le troisiesme Avril 1647. Et fini le quatorsiesme Juillet de la mesme anné.” In Relations veritables et curieuses de l’isle de Madagascar et du Bresil ave l’histoire de la derniere guerre faite au Bresil, entre les Portugais et les Hollandois, ed. Pierre Moreau, 197-246. Paris: Chez Augustin Courbé, 1651. Barroso, Gustavo. Terra de sol. Fortaleza: Editora ABC, 2006. Bertelli, Antonio de Pádua. Os fatos e os acontecidos com a poderosa e soberana Nação dos Índios Cavaleiros Guaycurús no Pantanal do Mato Grosso, entre os anos de 1526 até o ano de 1986. São Paulo: Uyara, 1987. Boeseman, Marinus, L. B. Holthuis, M. S. Hoogmoed, and C. Smeenk. “Seventeenth century drawings of Brazilian animals in Leningrad.” Zoologische Verhandelingen Leiden 267:12 (1990): 1-189. Bolinder, Gustav. Indians on horseback. London: Dennis Dobson, 1957.

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Brienen, Rebecca Parker. “From Brazil to Europe: The zoological drawings of Albert Eckhout and George Marcgraf.” In Early modern zoology. The construction of animals in science, literature and the visual arts, ed. Karl Enenkel and Paul Smith, 273-314. Leiden: Brill, 2007. Brown, Cecil. Lexical acculturation in Native American languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. Brouwer, Henry. “Relación del viaje de Hendrick Brouwer a Valdivia en 1643”. In Opusculos varios de J.T. Medina, ed. Guillermo Felliú Cruz, 81-127. Santiago: Imprenta Universitaria, 1928[1646]. Camphora, Ana Lúcia. Animais e sociedade no Brasil dos séculos XVI a XIX. Rio de Janeiro: ABRAMVET, 2017. Capistrano de Abreu, João. Capítulos de história colonial: 1500-1800. Brasília: Conselho Editorial do Senado Federal, 1998. Carvalho, Padre Miguel de. “Descrição do sertão do Piauí remetida ao Ilmo. e Rmo. Sr. Frei Francisco de Lima, Bispo de Pernambuco.” In As guerras dos Palmares: subsídios para sua história, ed. Ernesto Ennes, 370-389. São Paulo: Companhia Editora Nacional, 1938. Cascudo, Luís da Câmara. Vaqueiros e cantadores. São Paulo: Global, 2004. Cavignac, Julie. “A índia roubada: estudo comparativo da história e das representações das populações indígenas do Rio Grande do Norte.” Caderno de História 2:2 (1995): 83-92. Cooper, John. “The Patagonian and Pampean hunters.” In Handbook of South American Indians – volume 1: The marginal tribes, ed. Julian Steward, 127-168. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1946. –––. “The Chono.” In Handbook of South American Indians – volume 1: The marginal tribes, ed. Julian Steward, 47-54. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1946. Costa, Luiz. The owners of kinship: asymmetrical relations in Indigenous Amazonia. Chicago: HAU Books, 2017. Cruz, Carlos Henrique Alves. “Tapuias e mestiços nas aldeias e sertões do Norte: conflitos, contatos e práticas ‘religiosas’ nas fronteiras coloniais.” PhD diss., Universidade Federal Fluminense, 2018. Cunha, Euclides da. Os sertões. Rio de Janeiro: Ediouro, 1967. De Bruin, Alexander. Frans Post: Animals in Brazil. Amsterdam: Rjksmuseum, 2016. Descola, Philippe. “Pourquoi les indiens d’Amazonie n’ont-il pas domestiqué le pecari?” In De la préhistoire aux missiles balistiques.

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L’intelligence sociale des techniques, ed. Bruno Latour and Pierre Lemmonier, 329-344. Paris: La Découverte, 1994. Dyck, Ian. “Does rodeo have roots in ancient Indian traditions?” Plains Anthropology 4:157 (1996): 205-219. Egmond, Florike and Peter Mason. “Albert E(e)ckhout, court painter.” In Albert Eckhout: a Dutch artist in Brazil, ed. Quentin Buvelot, 108127. Den Haag: Royal Cabinet of Paintings Mauritshuis/Waanders Publishers, 2004. Ehrenreich, Paul.“Über einige ältere Bildnisse südamerikanischer Indianer.” Globus: Illustrierte Zeitschrift für Länder- und Völkerkunde 66: 6 (1894): 81-90 (plus 3 pages with plates). –––. “Sobre alguns retratos de índios sul-americanos.” Revista do Instituto Archeologico e Geographico Pernambucano 12:65 (1905): 18-46. Ellis, Olivia. Organizing indigeneity among the Xukuru do Ororubá of Brazil. Master’s thesis, University of Texas, 2010. Erikson, Philippe. “The social significance of pet keeping among Amazonian Indians.” In Companion animals and us, ed. Anthony Podbersceck, Elizabeth S. Paul and James Serpell, 7-26. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Ewers, John. The horse in Blackfoot Indian culture. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985. Ferret, Carole. Une civilisation du cheval: les usages de l’équide de la steppe à la taïga. Paris: Éditions Belin/IFEAC, 2009. Galindo, Marcos. O governo das almas: a expansão colonial no país dos Tapuias (1651-1798). São Paulo: Hucitec, 2017. Galvão, Eduardo. “O cavalo na América indígena: nota prévia a um estudo de mudança cultural.” Revista do Museu Paulista (nova Série) 14 (1963): 221-232. George, Wilma. Animals and maps. London: Secker and Warburg, 1969. Graham, Robert Cunninghame. The horses of the conquest: a study of the steeds of the Spanish Conquistadors. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1949. Gregson, Ronald. “The influence of horse on Indian cultures of Lowland South America.” Ethnohistory 16:1 (1969): 33-50. Goulart, José Alípio. O cavalo na formação do Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Letras e Artes, 1964. Hajstrup, Peter Hansen. Viagem ao Brasil (1644-1654). Recife: Cepe Editora, 2016. 101

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Harris, Susanna and André Veldmeijer, eds. Why leather? The material and cultural dimensions of leather. Leiden: Sidestone Press, 2014. Hemming, John. Red gold: The conquest of the Brazilian Indians. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1978. Henfrey, Thomas. Wapishana ethnoecology: a case study from the South Rupununi, Guyana. Lethem: The Wapishana Wadauniinao Ati’o, 2017. Herberts, Ana Lucia. “Os Mbayá-Guaicurú: área, assentamento, subsistência e cultura material.” Master’s thesis, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, 1998. Hoogvliet, Margriet. “De ignotis quarumdam bestiarum naturis: texts and images from the bestiary on Mediaeval maps of the world.” In Animals and the symbolic in Mediaeval art and literature, ed. L. R. Houwen, 189-208. Groningen: Egbert Forsten, 1997. IBGE (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística). Geografia do Brasil: grandes regiões Meio-Norte e Nordeste. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE (Biblioteca Geográfica Brasileira, série A, v. 3, n. 17), 1962. Iverson, Peter. When Indians became cowboys: Native peoples and cattle ranching in the American West. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994. Johnson, John. “The introduction of the horse into the Western Hemisphere.” The Hispanic American Historical Review 23:4 (1943): 587-610. Joppien, Rüdiger. “The Dutch vision of Brazil: Johan Maurits and his artists.” In Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen: a humanist prince in Europe and Brazil. Essays on the occasion of the tercentenary of his death, ed. Ernst van den Boogaart, H. R. Hoetnik, and J.P.J. Whitehead, 297-376. The Hague: Johan Maurits van Nassau Stichting, 1979. Kosby, Marília, Daniel Vaz Lima and Flávia Rieth. “Centauros de motocicleta: o cavalo como testemunha do ‘processo domesticatório’ do gaúcho.” Horizontes Antropológicos 23:48 (2017): 197-223. Levine, Marsha. “Domestication and early history of the horse.” In The domestic horse: the origins, development and management of its behavior, ed. D. S. Mills and S. M. McDonnell, 5-22. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Libri Principis, volume I. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Index, 1993. Clarissa M. Lima, “Deus no céu e os índios na Terra: morte e vida numa aldeia Xukuru do Ororubá.” PhD diss., Universidade Federal de São Carlos, 2019. 102

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Lopes, Fátima Martins. Índios, colonos e missionários na colonização da capitania do Rio Grande do Norte. Natal: IHGRN, 1998. Lowie, Robert. “The ‘Tapuya’.” In Handbook of South American Indians, vol. 1: The Marginal Tribes, ed. Julian H. Steward, 553-556. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1946. Macedo, Helder Medeiros de. “Relações entre índios e colonos nos sertões do Seridó, Capitania do Rio Grande, no século XVIII.” Clio. Série Arqueológica 28 (2013): 1-17. Mariante, Arthur, and Neusa Cavalcante. Animais do descobrimento: raças domésticas da história do Brasil. Brasília: Embrapa, 2006. Maybury-Lewis, David. “Some crucial distinctions in Central Brazilian ethnology.” Anthropos, bd. 60, h. 1/6 (1965): 340-358. Mead, David. “Caiapó do Sul, an ethnohistory (1610–1920).” PhD diss., University of Florida, 2010. Melatti, Júlio César. Índios e criadores: a situação dos Krahó na área pastoral do Tocantins. Rio de Janeiro: I.C.S/UFRJ, 1967. Meuwese, Mark. Brother in arms, partners in trade: Dutch-indigenous alliances in the Atlantic world, 1595-1674. Leiden: Brill, 2012. Mitchell, Peter. Horse nations: the worldwide impact of the horse on Indigenous societies post-1492. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015. Monteiro, John Manuel. “The crises and transformations of invaded societies: coastal Brazil in the sixteenth century.” In The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas, ed. Frank Salomon and Stuart B. Schwartz, 973-1023. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. –––. “Review of Oliveira, João Pacheco de. 1999. Ensaios de antropologia histórica. Rio de Janeiro: Editora UFRJ.” Mana 8:1 (2002): 234-238. Mott, Luiz. “Os índios e a pecuária nas fazendas de gado do Piauí colonial.” Revista de Antropologia XXII (1979): 61-78. Nacuzzi, Lidia. Identidades impuestas: Tehuelches, Aucas y Pampas en el Norte de la Patagonia. Buenos Aires: Sociedad Argentina de Antropología, 1998. –––. “Los grupos nómades de la Patagonia y el Chaco en el siglo XVIII: identidades, espacios, movimientos y recursos económicos ante la situación de contacto. Una reflexión comparativa.” Chungara: Revista de Antropología Chilena 30:2 (2007): 221-234. Nantes, Padre Martinho de. Relação de uma missão no rio São Francisco. São Paulo: Editora Nacional; Brasília: INL, 1979 [1706]. 103

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Nimuendajú, Curt. The eastern Timbira. Berkeley: University of California Press (University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, no. 41), 1946. Nogueira de Queiroz, Albérico, Olivia de Carvalho, Suely Martinelli, Márcia Guimarães, and Cristiana Santana. “Distinctive archaeofauna occurrences recovered in Brazil: Iberian contribution in archaeological sites during the colonial period.” In Book of Abstracts of the Encontro de Zooarqueologia Ibérica 2017 (EZI2017) and 5ª Reunião Científica de Arqueomalacologia da Península Ibérica (5RCAPI). 26-29 April 2017, Faro – Portugal, ed. Maria João Valente, Cláudia Costa and Cleia Detry, 14. Faro: Universidade do Algarve, 2017. Nordenskiöld, Erland. Deductions suggested by the geographical distribution of some post-columbian words used by the Indians of South America. Göteborg: Elanders Boktryckeri Aktiebolag, 1922. Palermo, Miguel A. “Reflexiones sobre el llamado ‘complejo ecuestre’ en la Argentina.” Runa 16 (1986): 157-178. –––. “La innovación agropecuaria entre los indígenas PampeanoPatagonicos: genesis y procesos.” Anuario del IEHS 3 (1988): 43-90. Panich, Lee. “Indigenous vaqueros in colonial California: labor, identity, and autonomy.” In Foreign objects: rethinking Indigenous consumption in American archaeology, ed. Craig Cipolla, 187-203. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 2017. Picon, François-René. Pasteurs du Nouveau Monde. Adoption de l’élevage chez les indiens Guajiros. Paris: Éditions de la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, 1983. –––. “Le cheval dans le Noveau Monde: histoires culturelles.” Études Rurales 151-152 (1999): 51-75. Pinto, Estevão. Etnologia Brasileira (Fulniô – Os últimos Tapuias). São Paulo: Companhia Editora Nacional, 1956. Pompa, Cristina. “Religião como tradução: missionários, Tupi e “Tapuia” no Brasil colonial.” PhD diss., Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 2001. Puntoni, Pedro. A guerra dos bárbaros: povos indígenas e colonização do sertão Nordeste do Brasil, 1650-1720. São Paulo: Hucitec/Edusp, 2002. Restall, Matthew. Sete mitos da conquista espanhola. Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 2006. Ribeiro, Darcy. Os índios e a civilização. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 1996. 104

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Ribeiro, Eduardo Rivail. “Macro-Jê.” In Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, vol. 7, ed. Keith Brown, 422-426. Oxford: Elsevier, 2006. –––. “Tapuya connections: language contact in Eastern Brazil.” Liames 9 (2009): 61-79. Roller, Heather. “On the verge of total extinction? From Guaykurú to Kadiwéu in nineteenth-century Brazil.” Ethnohistory 65:4 (2018): 647-670. Saeger, James. The Chaco mission frontier: the Guaycuruan experience. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 2000. Saignes, Thierry. “La guerra ‘salvaje’ en los confines de los Andes y del Chaco: la resistencia chiriguana a la colonización europea.” Quinto Centenario 8 (1985): 103-123. Santos Junior, Valdeci dos. Os índios Tapuias do Rio Grande do Norte – Antepassados esquecidos. Mossoró: Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte/Grupo de Pesquisa História da Região Oeste do Rio Grande do Norte (Coleção Mossoroense, volume 1532as), 2008. Santos, Juvandi de S. As fazendas de gado dos jesuítas na Paraíba colonial. João Pessoa: Uepb/CNPq (Série Arqueologia/Paleontologia, v. 5). 2015. Santos, Solon Araújo. Os Payayá no sertão das Jacobinas (1651-1706). Curitiba: Editora Prismas, 2017. Saumade, Frédéric. “Ganadería, tauromaquia y subversión ritual: el retorno del mexicano y del indígena en el rodeo americano.” In Comprender los rituales ganaderos en los Andes y más allá, ed. Juan Javier Rivera Andía, 365-400. Bonn/Aachen: Shaker Verlag, 2014. Schindler, Helmut. “Equestrian and Non-Equestrian Indians of the Gran Chaco during the Colonial Period.” Indiana 10 (1985): 451-464. Schuller, Rudolf. “Zur Affinität der Tapúya-Indianer des ‘Theatrum Rerum Naturalium Brasiliae’.” Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie 21 (1912): 78-98. Souza, Gabriel Soares de. Tratado descritivo do Brasil em 1587. São Paulo: Companhia Editora Nacional, 1938 [1587]. Taylor, Michelle. Feral and semi feral horses: a useful guide and overview. Scotts Valley: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016. Teensma, Benjamin. “O diretorado do Predicante Jodocus van Stetten no ano 1645, sobre uma suposta mina de prata nas margens do Rio Sucuru na Paraíba.” In Brazilië in de Nederlandse archieven (1624–1654): Oude West Indische Compagnie: correspondentie van de Heren XIX en Notulen van de Hoge en Secrete Raad van Brazilië / O Brasil em arquivos 105

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neerlandeses (1624–1654): Companhia das Índias Ocidentais velha: Cartas enviadas pelos Diretores XIX Atas diárias do Alto e Secreto Conselho do Brasil, ed. Marianne Wiesebron, 25-47. Leiden: Leiden University Press, 2011. Teixeira, Dante Martins. “A imagem do paraíso: uma iconografia do Brasil Holandês (1624-1654) sobre a fauna e a flora do Novo Mundo.” In Miscelânia Cleyeri. Rio de Janeiro: Index (Coleção Brasil Holandês), 1995. Theatrum Rerum Naturalium Brasiliae - Tomus III – Icones Animalium. BrasilHolandês/Dutch Brazil: Icones Animalium/Icones Vegetabiliium. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Index, 1993. van den Boogaart, Ernst. “Infernal allies: The Dutch West India Company and the Tarairiu, 1631-1654.” In Johan Maurits van NassauSiegen: a humanist prince in Europe and Brazil. Essays on the occasion of the tercentenary of his death, ed. Ernst van den Boogaart, H. R. Hoetnik, and J. P. J. Whitehead, 519-538. The Hague: The Johan Maurits van Nassau Stichting, 1979. van Gelder, Hendrik E. “Twee Braziliaanse schildpadden door Albert Eckhout.” Oud Holland – Journal for Art of the Low Countries 75:1 (1960): 5-29. Vander Velden, Felipe. Inquietas companhias: sobre os animais de criação entre os Karitiana. São Paulo: Alameda, 2012. Vangelista, Chiara. Confini e frontiere: alleanze e conflitti inter-etnici in America Meridionale, sec. XVIII. Torino: Il Segnalibro, 2001. Whitehead, Peter James. “Georg Markgraf and Brazilian zoology.” In Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen: a humanist prince in Europe and Brazil. Essays on the occasion of the tercentenary of his death, ed. Ernst van den Boogaart, H. R. Hoetnik, and J. P. J. Whitehead, 424-471. The Hague: Johan Maurits van Nassau Stichting, 1979. Whitehead, Peter James and Marinus Boeseman. A portrait of Dutch 17th century Brazil: animals, plants and people by the artists of Johan Maurits of Nassau. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Company (Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen Verhandelingen Afd. Natuurkunde, Tweede Reeks, deel 87), 1989.

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Counting Your Blessings in Froissart’s “Debate of the Horse and the Greyhound”1 Anastasija Ropa

I. Introduction. Voicing animal experience At the beginning of Beyond Words. What Animals Think and Feel, ecologist Carl Safina muses on the dolphins playing in the water, whose feelings, thoughts, motives, and language appear unintelligible to the human being: Another big group of dolphins has just surfaced alongside our moving vessel – leaping and calling mysteriously back and forth in their squeally, whistly way, with many babies swift alongside their mothers. And this time, confined to just the surface of such deep and lovely lives, I was becoming unsatisfied. I wanted to know what they were experiencing, and why to us they feel so compelling and so – close. This time I allowed myself to ask them the question that is forbidden: Who are you?2 Indeed, objectively it is impossible to fully comprehend what other animals genuinely feel and think. Nevertheless, as David Lodge points out in his novel Thinks, speaking through one of his characters, a novelist who retorts to a skeptical scientist, writers have long been doing exactly that: saying what other animals feel, think, and say:

This paper was first presented at the International Medieval Congress 2019, Leeds, in session “Counting Animals and Animals that Count” organized by the Medieval Animal Data Network. I would like to thank the session organizers for offering me this opportunity to present my research, as well as the moderator, other speakers and the audience for their patience and their helpful feedback on the paper. 2 Carl Safina, Beyond Words. What Animals Feel and Think (New York: Picador, 2016), 1. 1

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“That’s the problem of consciousness in a nutshell […] How to give an objective, third-person account of a subjective, first-person phenomenon.” “Oh, but novelists have been doing that for the last two hundred years.”3 Even before the birth of the modern novel, the literary tradition of speaking animals goes back at least as far as Aesop’s fables, and, in the Middle Ages, the genre of the fable, in which animals spoke and acted like humans, flourished with the Roman de Renart cycle. In this cycle, the most ancient branches of which date to the second half of the twelfth century, the protagonist is the fox Renart.4 The episodes are based on tales of Oriental origin, collected and translated in Picardy or the Paris area. Like Aesop’s fables, the Roman de Renart depicts animals that disguise different types of humans and parody human behavior. In fact, Dominique Boutet compares the representation of animals in the Roman de Renart to La Fontane’s Fables, arguing for their similarity in depicting the dynamics of power at court.5 The Roman de Renart cycle, however, is very different in both its form and its underlying message from the “Debate,” which belongs to the genre of literary debate. The closer analogy to Froissart’s “Debate”

David Lodge’s novel features a cognitive scientist, Ralph, and a creative writer, Helen. For Ralph, consciousness is ineffable, whereas Helen believes that the experiences of human and non-human animals can be described in a novel. To prove her point, and as a response to the scientific article in which the scientist has argued that it is impossible to assess a bet’s experience, Helen assigns her students the task of writing “a short piece on ‘What is it Like to be a Bat?’ in the style of a well-known modern novelist” (David Lodge, Thinks… (London: Penguin, 2002), 62. 4 There are different narratives and traditions of the Renart romance, which consists of numerous tales. For a critical edition of one tradition, see Le Roman de Renart: édité d'après le manuscrit O (f. fr. 12583), ed. Aurélie Barre (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2010). For an edition and translation of the entire cycle into modern French, see Le Roman de Renart, ed. and trans. Jean Dufournet Laurence Harf-Lancner, Marie-Thérèse de Medeiros and Jean Subrenat, 2 vols (Paris: Honoré Champion, 2013-2015). An English translation is available in The Romance of Reynard the Fox, trans. D. D. R. Owen (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994). 5 Dominique Boutet, “Les figures animalières de la cour et du pouvoir, du Roman de Renart aux Fables de La Fontaine,” Le fablier 10 (1998): 29-37. Also see Jean Batany, “Le lion et sa cour: autour du Pantchatantra et du jugement Renart,” Marche romane 28 (1978): 17-25. 3

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is the thirteenth-century English The Owl and the Nightingale,6 which, like Froissart’s poem, is written in the form of a dialogue between two animals, who boast of their merits and bemoan the drawbacks of their position. The difference, obviously, is that the anonymous English poet casts two wild birds, which are nocturnal and therefore rare to see,7 as his protagonists, whereas Froissart’s principal characters are companion animals, which are the poet’s intimates. It is certainly possible to see Froissart’s “Debate” as an exercise in rhetoric, showcasing the author’s virtuosity in poeticizing the commonplace. It is equally justifiable to see the poem as an expression of genuine interest in the behavior of non-human animals, while simultaneously relating animal behaviors to those of their fellow humans. Indeed, as the author of the monograph Medieval Pets justly contests, people in the Middle Ages, just as today, could be very fond of their animal companions, as well as being fascinated by the world of wild animals surrounding them. This interest in wild animals and pets would go beyond viewing all animals, pragmatically, as the source of food, valuable working assets, or potentially dangerous savage beasts. The “Debate” is also fascinating in that it is the source of vernacular knowledge about horse and dog care, knowledge which was not specialized but commonplace, which did not always make it into books of hunting and hippiatric treatises because it was obvious to the owners of dogs and horses. Indeed, when reading hunting and hippiatric treatises, it is not always clear which of the recipes and practices mentioned in these texts were actually used by the owners and keepers of horses and dogs in the Middle Ages. In the poem, Froissart refers to the practices of dog and horse keeping that were obvious to his Neil Cartlidge discusses the bird-debate tradition in English poetry, which includes Geoffrey Chaucer’s Parlement of Foules, in the introduction to Neil Cartlidge, ed., The Owl and the Nightingale. Text and Translation (Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 2001), XIII et passim. 7 Owls are often represented in a negative way in medieval European discourse. Moreover, the visual representations of owls in bestiaries and marginalia are often unrealistic, possibly because the illuminators had few opportunities for detailed observation of these birds, which are at once familiar (living in or near human dwellings) and mysterious, known better by their sound than by their appearance. A discussion of owls and their portrayal in medieval texts and illumination took place at the round table dedicated to “Owls,” organized by the Medieval Animal Data Network, at the International Medieval Congress, Leeds, July 2018. 6

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audience and that his audience would recognize as such, without the need for additional commentary. This way, the “Debate” provides a unique testimony to the fact that certain methods described in detail or noted in passing in specialized literature were indeed used by a certain group of medieval people in a specific time and place, late-fourteenthcentury France. II. The Context of Froissart’s “Debate”: fourteenth-century sources on canine and equine care While veterinary treatises may not have been on every medieval reader’s list, people in the Middle Ages were involved in working with both horses and dogs on day-to-day basis, so they shared some understanding of the fundamentals of equine and canine care. Much of this knowledge was passed on by word of mouth and is largely lost to historians. However, in the fourteenth century, veterinarian treatises and books of hunt were produced, and these sources, taken with due caution, can help us see what the lives of medieval dogs and horses could have been like and how their (well-off) human owners would treat their working animals and pets. For the discussion of canine and equine care in the context of Froissart’s “Debate,” two sources are particularly relevant: Gaston de Phebus’s Le Livre de Chasse [The Book of the Hunt] and Jordanus Rufus’s hippiatric treatise. Information about canine care is preserved in hunting manuals, the most famous of which is Gaston Phebus’s treatise, Le Livre de Chasse, dated 1387-1389. A variety of other hunt books have survived, but Le Livre de Chasse is most relevant for this study, as Phébus was not only Froissart’s contemporary but also his acquaintance.8 Another popular fourteenth-century hunting books are Les livres du roi Modus et de la reine Ratio [The Book of King Method and Queen Theory], attributed to Henri de Ferrieres and dated 1354-1376, which was relatively popular, surviving in twenty-one copies. While a variety of sources for hippiatric medicine was known in the Middle Ages, arguably the most important for discussing the “Debate” and the most influential source is the treatise compiled in the thirteenth century by Jordanus Rufus (began c. 1250 and completed c. 1256), which was translated into French under For a modern English edition, see The Hunting Book of Gaston Phebus, ed. Ian Mon Christian de Longevialle and Claude d’Athenaise (Hackberry Press, 2002).

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the title La mareschaucie des chevax and transmitted in copies up to the end of the Middle Ages.9 It is through these kinds of text that we can have an understanding what the basic diet for equines and canines was in the Middle Ages and what kind of general hygiene and medical care they were provided. At the same time, veterinary knowledge and the basics of training horses and hunting dogs would have been passed on by word of mouth. In this way, even dedicated treatises could be compiled to serve as a compliment to and reminder of recipes that were already known to the practitioners, rather than as comprehensive step-by-step textbooks.10 III. Froissart’s “Debate”: its realism and the animals’ arguments Jean Froissart, who is best known for his Chronicles, was also a keen observer of the natural world, with an eye for detail and an interest in depicting daily life creatively yet realistically. His literary legacy includes some autobiographic writings as well as miscellaneous other pieces, some of them grounded in events in which he has participated, while others can be described best as a “fictionalized” biography, narrating events that may have had basis in his experience in an imaginative way. These shorter narratives in poetic form of dits11 and debats [debates], include a curious poem, entitled “Le Debat du Cheval et du Levrier” [The Debate Between the Horse and

Rufus’s treatise was also translated into Italian, German, Sicilian, Catalan, and Provençal. An edition of Rufus’s treatise in French, based on the oldest surviving manuscript, BNF, Français 25341, has been prepared by Brigitte Prévot, La science du cheval au Moyen Âge: le traité d’hippiatrie de Jordanus Rufus (Paris: Collège Sapience/Klincksieck, 1992); for a discussion of French hippiatric medicine, see also Brigitte Prévot and Bernard Ribémont, Le cheval en France au moyen âge. Sa place dans le monde médiéval; sa médicine; l’exemple d’un traité véterinaire du XIVe siècle: la «Cirurgie des chevaux» (Caen: Paradigme, 1994). An English translation of the French version of Rufus’s treatise is currently in preparation by Jennifer Jobst. I would like to thank her for sharing an early draft of her work and discussing it. 10 For an analysis of the different ways of presenting information in English hippiatric treatises and their possible audiences, see the study of Elina Cotterill, “How to Make a White Mark on a Black Horse: Middle English Hippiatric Medicine, Common Disease, and Their Remedies,” in The Horse in Premodern European Culture, ed. Anastasija Ropa and Timothy Dawson (Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter), 147-160. 11 Dits are short poems on varied subjects, from amorous discussions to historical events. 9

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the Greyhound].12 The poem survives in a single manuscript, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Français 830 (on fols. 42r-43r), dated 1393.13 This is a beautifully executed manuscript, with ornamental initials and border decorations in the form of foliated leaves. The first letters of each line are carefully written out in a separate column, showing that an amount care and planning went into the writing of the manuscript.

Fig. 1. Opening lines of the poem, beginning with the explicit “Ci sensient le debat dou cheval et dou levirer” [Here follows The Debate of the Horse and the Greyhound] written in a different ink and showing an illuminated initial “F.” BNF, fr. 830, fol. 42r. 12 Jean Froissart, “Le Debat dou Cheval et dou Levrier,” in An Anthology of Narrative and Lyric Poetry, ed. and trans. Kristen M. Figg and R. Barton Palmer (New York and London: Routledge, 2001), 488-490. All references to the original and translated text are given parenthetically to this edition. 13 It is thus absent from a related manuscript, with which it shares a number of poems: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Français 831, began in 1362 and completed on 12 May 1394, as stated on fol. 1c and fol. 200c. For a discussion of the manuscripts and the poems therein, see Anthime Fourrier, “Introduction,” in Jean Froissart, “Dits” et “Débats” (Genève: Droz, 1979), 7-et passim, and Froissart, L’Espinette amoureuse, ed. Anthime Fourrier (Paris: Klincksieck, 1972), 9-14.

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The poem begins with Froissart traveling from Scotland on the back of his grey horse, Grisel, with a greyhound on the leash: “Froissars descoce revenoit / Sus un cheval qui gris estoit / Un blanc levrier menoit en lasse” [Froissart was coming back from Scotland / On a horse that was gray; / He was leading a white greyhound on a leash.] (ll. 1-3). The third line is longer than the previous two, and, being written alongside the initial, it is written more densely than the preceding and following lines in order the fit the ruled-out column. The visual effect of the first three lines is that of a progressive unfurling of the narrative, as Froissart (introduced in the first line) is shown in the company of his grey horse (appearing in the second line) and a greyhound (joining the travelers in the third line). Because the third line does not fit the column but is rather packed, the greyhound appears as a somewhat later addition, which is not in perfect harmony with the rider and his horse, but is somewhat apart, held on a leash at a certain distance from the former two characters. This impression is sustained when the audience hears the greyhound moaning in the very next line, while the greyhound’s lack of familiarity with the author is suggested by both the poem’s internal evidence (the greyhound does not know yet its master’s habits) and by reference to Froissart’s biography. It is noteworthy that, as mentioned further down below, compared to the horse, the greyhound is also far more talkative. Indeed, the poem’s first lines set the action in a specific place and time, Froissart’s visit to Scotland in 1365, also described in the Chronicles.14 It is also known that Froissart had brought a white greyhound from Scotland, so that the occasion which gave rise to the poem is genuine.15 Against this realistic backdrop, the audience is suddenly introduced to the greyhound’s complaints. Apparently, it is tired and wants to know when they are going to stop have a meal: “Las See Bernard Ribemont, “Le cheval et le poète. Hippiatrie et écriture: L’exemple de Guillaume de Machaut, de Jean Froissart du Dit du hardi cheval,” in Le cheval dans le monde médiéval (Aix-en-Provence: Presses universitaires de Provence, 1992), np. DOI: 10.4000/books.pup.3345. The date is also noted by Fourrier, “Introduction,” 10. 15 On the greyhound, see John M. Gilbert, Hunting and Hunting Reserves in Medieval Scotland (Edinburgh: John Donald, 1979), 64-65, discussed in Kristen M. Figg, Froissart’s ‘Debate on the Horse and the Greyhound’: Companion Animals and Signs of Social Status in the Fourteenth Century,” in Monsters, Marvels and Miracles. Studies in the Medieval and Early Modern Imagination, ed. Timothy S. Jones and David A. Sprunger (Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publications, 2002), 85-107, at 89. 14

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dist li levriers je me lasse / Grisel quant nous reposerons / Il est heure que nous mengons” [“Alas!” said the greyhound, “I’m tired! / Grisel, when are we going to rest? / It’s time for us to eat] (ll. 4-6). The question is addressed not to the author, as one might expect, but to Froissart’s other non-human companion, Grisel. It is remarkable that, while the horse’s name is given at the very beginning, the greyhound remains anonymous throughout the poem. Knowing that dogs were often kept as pets in the Middle Ages, while horses were anything but pets, even if their owners may often entertain an affection for their favorite mount, one would have expected the situation to be the other way around. However, if this greyhound is meant to represent the one Froissart brought from Scotland, it would be a newcomer, possibly as yet nameless. Also, being new to his master, the greyhound addresses the horse, who presumably is more familiar with his master’s habits. On the other hand, the horse’s name, Grisel, is a generic one, indicating the animal’s color, which is noted by the author himself. However, as Bernard Ribemont notes, the name is attested in yet another of Froissart’s text, his Chronicles, thus creating the effect of realism.16 The familiarity of the dog’s address may explain the horse’s irritated retort that the greyhound has no reason to be tired, compared to the horse, who has to carry not only his own weight, but also his master and the baggage. There follows an argument, with the horse and the greyhound taking turns to complain about their own duties and enumerate each other’s blessings. It is noteworthy that the greyhound is the more talkative of the two, as it speaks nearly almost twice as much as the horse does. Indeed, the horse’s snappish remark “Tu me comptes bien mes morseaus / Mes je ne compte point les tiens” [You really count my bits / But I do not count yours] (ll. 32-33, translation mine) seems more than justified. The word “morseaus” may be translated as “morcels” or “bits,” although it can also be translated figuratively, as a “piece” or “fragment” of something.17 The word is entirely congruous with the emphasis on nutrition that appears early in the poem, when the greyhound expresses its anxiety about the fact they may miss a meal. Food is one of the paramount issues discussed by the Ribemont, “Le cheval et le poète.” Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330-1500), s.v. “morceau.” www.atilf.fr/dmf/. Accessed 22 March 2020; hereinafter DMF.

16 17

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animals, but it is not the only one. The issues debated by the horse and the greyhound fall under several categories: work duties and punishments, nutrition, general care and specialized care and veterinary treatment. These issues are discussed one by one, with reference to medieval hunting and hippiatric treatises as well as other sources that contain glimpses of medieval practices and challenges in keeping horses and dogs. A. That which is ordained: duties of horses and hounds The debate begins with the animals invoking their duties, which are described in line with the medieval philosophy that non-human animal species are all created to serve a certain purpose in relation to the human species. First, the greyhound complains of being tired, to which the horse replies that the greyhound’s duties are light compared to those of the horse. The greyhound, held on the leash by the rider, only needs to carry itself, whereas the horse bears their master and his belongings. In response, the dog outlines the difference between the purpose of the two animals: the horse is a working animal, but the greyhound is first and foremost a companion, if not a pet. The words used by the greyhound, “ordonné et fait” [ordained and made] (l. 21) invoke divine vocation for the two species, justifying the fact that the horse’s duties are harder. The idea of domestication was not known in medieval thought; instead, the notion that the division between domestic and wild animals was “pre-ordained” or existed from the beginning was used to justify the differences in behavior and conformation between related animal species, such as the wild and the domestic horse or the donkey and the wild ass. Thus, in medieval miniatures showing the Genesis, the scene of Adam naming the animals often demonstrates a delineation of domestic and wild species. The heavier work expected from the horse is counterbalanced by the horse’s more robust frame, whereas, according to the greyhound, it is built more lightly and has less stamina than the horse. The greyhound twice stresses the fact that the horse is big and strong, saying “tu es grans gros et quarres” [you are big and heavy and square built] (l. 13) and again “Asses plus grans mes li travails / Qua toi qui es et grans et fors / Car je nai que bien petit corps” [The suffering is much greater for me / Than for you, who are both big and strong, / For I only have 115

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a little body] (ll. 16-18). Indeed, dogs enjoyed a dual status in medieval culture: while certain breeds were “lapdogs,” whose sole purpose was to entertain their master and keep him or her company, hunting dogs also were expected to provide some practical services, and other breeds would act as bodyguards to the master. Still, with hunting being a leisure activity, it is entirely understandable why the greyhound insists that it is made “for pleasure”: “En ne mappelle on un levrier / Fait pour les gens esbanoiier” [Am I not called a hare-dog, / Made for amusement and sport?] (ll. 19-20).18 The greyhound’s dual position, being made for pleasure yet having to perform certain duties and suffer relative hardships while on the move, is further highlighted when it complains how it gets no rest by night or by day. Certainly, the horse has to work hard during the day, yet it enjoys care and food in the evening and undisturbed rest by night. By contrast, the dog is expected to guard the master’s sleep: “Car on me met derriere un huis / Et souvent devant un pertruis / Et dist on or garde lostel” [people put me behind a door, / And often in front of an entryway, and say “Now you guard the house.”] (ll. 65-68). It appears that in the Middle Ages, much like today, certain spoiled pet dogs were allowed to sleep in their master’s chamber and even in his or her bed, but greyhounds were probably not as well off. Of course, greyhounds were not guard dogs, but they could raise noise as well as any other representative of the species, and this complaint testifies that they could be put to other uses than those associated with “sport and amusement.” B. Spurs and whips: punishments for equines and canines Both horses and dogs were perceived as servants to humans, and they were expected to carry out certain duties in a way that would satisfy the master’s requirements. If an animal failed to perform its duties or did mischief, punishment was due, and both the horse and the greyhound bewail what they perceive as human injustice. The extent of the It has been argued that “From all available evidence, … artistic and literary critiques of dogs as cosseted domestic companions that are dependent on humans reflect an ongoing reality.” See John Block Friedman, “Dogs in the Identity Formation and Moral Teaching Offered in Some Fifteenth-Century Flemish Manuscript Miniatures,” in Laura D. Gelfand, Our Dogs, Our Selves: Dogs in Medieval and Early Modern Art, Literature, and Society, 325-363 (Leiden: Brill, 2006), 331.

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punishment and the manner in which it was administered depended on the animal’s position in the household. The horse believes that the dog’s special status as a companion entitles it to certain privileges, such as being free to run and play wherever it wants: “Et si te poes par tout esbatre / Nul ne tose ferir ne batre” [you get to play around everywhere: / No one dares to hit you or beat you] (ll. 41-42]. By contrast, the horse is expected to obey the master and carry him at a certain speed. If it fails to do so, the punishment is sure and quick: “Mes quant je ne vois un bon trot / Ja nen parlera a moi mot / Ains dou debout de ses talons / Me frera de ses esperons / Si qua la fois me fait hanir” [when I don’t go at a good trot, / He won’t say a word to me about it, / But rather he just gives me a kick / Of his heels with his spurs, / Hard enough to make me whinny] (ll. 43-47). Today, those concerned with animal welfare would cringe at this evidence of cruelty to horses in medieval culture, yet it seems that Froissart’s horse slightly exaggerates his master’s resolute spurring. Certainly, romances regularly refer to knights starting their horses to a gallop with a hard kick, to the extent of drawing blood from the animal’s flanks. On the other hand, regular and violent spurring is likely to render a horse less, and not more responsive to leg aids, and large flank wounds might get infected. Both outcomes are undesirable, and there is little reason to think that medieval riders were fond of wanton and counter-productive violence. In the illustrations of jousting or charging knights, which usually show knights with their legs extended, the long spurs a good distance from the horse’s belly. There are very few depictions of knights actually applying spurs to horses’ flanks, and even fewer showing blood drawn by spurs. Of course, there is no direct reason to think Froissart’s Grisel was ever wounded by spurs, yet whinnying could be an indication of the animal’s pain, as well as general distress. The word Froissart uses, “hanir” is a term used specifically for the sounds made by a horse, although it can be used, metaphorically, to denote the cries of a person.19 In respect of horses, the word has attested in a number of medieval French texts from the period contemporary with or close to Froissart’s. In the Chronicles, Froissart 19

DMF, s.v. “hanir.” 117

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uses the word “hannir” to indicate sounds made by horses, in the same sentence when he makes a note of people speaking: “.ilz oyrent l'effroy et le buschier et gens parler et chevaulx hannir” [they heard the fray, and the wood trader and people speaking and horses whinnying].20 In this context, it seems that “hannir,” “to whinny” or, more likely, “to neigh” is, in horses, the equivalent of humans speaking, and there is nothing to indicate that the horses are in pain, although the animals are probably distressed or nervous. The word is also often associated with the battlefield, where horses may be wounded, but where they can also be simply excited, as in the example from Jean d’Arras’s Melusine romance: “La veissiez bannieres, pennons et estendars sur les vaisseaux au vent, et sonner trompetes et instrumens, et ces chevaux hennir et braidier, que c’estoit grant beauté a veoir” [There you will see banners, pennants and standards on the ships with the wind, and trumpets and instruments resounding, and the horses whinnying and neighing, which is beautiful to see].21 In this case, the horses are mostly excited, and, although a certain level of emotional distress is implied, the sight is, for the writer, glorious to behold. In fact, the two words used to describe the sounds made by horses, “hennier” and “braidier” are used as if they were synonyms, both of them implying the more neutral term that is rendered into modern English as “neighing.” Hence, one should beware of applying modern categories of animal (and human) welfare when reading medieval sources. In this case, pain can be distressing, but it can also be exciting and glorious, and it is not always associated with cruelty. The discourse of punishment is associated with discipline, something which was important for both humans and horses,22 though not always applied to pets, as can be seen in discussing the nourishment of dogs further down below. Although Jean Froissart, Chroniques. Troisième livre, ed. Albert Mirot, vol. 14:1386 (1325) - 1388 (Paris: C. Klincksieck, 1966), 126. Translation mine. 21 Jean d’Arras, Mélusine, roman du XIVe siècle, publié pour la première fois d'après le manuscrit de la Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal avec les variantes des manuscrits de la Bibliothèque Nationale par Louis Stouff (Dijon: Bernigaud et Privat, 1932), 84. 22 Punishment and discipline are discussed in medieval books of nurture, which are concerned with raising and educating children of noble and gentle birth. This issue, however, is beyond the scope of this paper. For a general introduction to the education of children and youth in the Middle Ages, see Barbara A. Hanawalt, Growing Up in Medieval London. The Experience of Childhood in History (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), especially 69-78. 20

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little is known about the training of horses in pre-modern Europe, and there are no texts concerned with horse training prior to the sixteenth century,23 the horse’s remarks in the “Debate” show that horses were expected to be obedient. This is perhaps an obvious point, but one that is overlooked by modern scholars: thus, Ann Hyland supposes that a certain amount of disobedience was tolerated by medieval riders, at least those working with warhorses: “Certainly today’s premium on civility and good temper was absent.”24 At least Froissart certainly tolerated no disrespect from his horse, and it may be likewise doubted whether “viciousness was tolerated to a marked degree,” as Hyland claims.25 Remarkably, Rufus in the part of his treatise discussing the training of young horses highlights that the trainer must always work through patience and kindness to win the horses trust, avoiding hitting or scaring the animal. This, however, applied to the process of habituating or “taming” two-year-olds, and was unlikely to be applicable in the same way to ridden horses. Moreover, in medieval religious discourse, the Christian was often compared to a rider, with the horse representing the body and the rider the human soul. The irrational “horse,” the body, was meant to be corrected by its “rider” through the use of spurs and directed by reins and the bit. This example shows that, far from being a cruel punishment, as it may appear from Grisel’s words, spurring was considered a necessary corrective, akin to the action of prayer, fasting, and mortification of the flesh necessary to facilitate the salvation of the human soul. Thus, Grisel’s words should not be taken at face value, neither should the modern views on animal welfare and cruelty to animal be superimposed onto medieval models 23 The first medieval European treatise on horsemanship, by Dom Duarte, is concerned with the qualities a rider needs to develop, rather than with the qualities to be trained in a horse: see Duarte I of Portugal. The Book of Horsemanship by Duarte I of Portugal, trans. Jeffrey L. Forgeng (Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, 2016). Sixteenth-century treatises do discuss horse training, but this training, delivered for performance in the manege, reflects a different context and distinct training methods, where the maximum of obedience and concentration was required from a horse. Apparently, the manege riders were sanctioned to be relatively harsh in correcting obstinate horses, although correction was not considered cruelty and certainly was not to be conducted in front of spectators: 24 Ann Hyland, The Horse in the Middle Ages (Stroud: Sutton, 1999), 23. 25 Ibid.

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of discipline and government: after all, as the greyhound wisely notes in the passage discussed above, the world is constructed according to a God-given model, with the animals being subject to man and serving his needs. C. Seeing to the horse’s fodder and feeding the dog from the table As one may expect, in counting one’s blessings, food is paramount for both the horse and the dog, beginning with the greyhound’s question in ll. 4-6 that starts the dialogue to the greyhound’s concluding remark that they all, including their master, are likely to have some food as soon as they reach the town they see in the distance (ll. 84-86). Anyone who had any contact with real animals, whether pets or working animals, would know that food and special treats are sure to arouse the animal’s interest. On the other hand, food may have been foremost on the mind of Froissart himself during his journey, as the greyhound notes that “Nos mestres y vodra mengier” [Our master will want to eat there (in the town they see)] (l. 84). Indeed, in medieval romance, where food often has symbolic meaning, the knight and his mount’s feasting and fasting are often parallel.26 Albeit Froissart is not a knight, Ribemont argues that Froissart at least suggests some affinity between his own situation and that of the knight errant: “Froissart sur son cheval, compagnon d’aventure et de voyage, c’est peut-être le tableau de l’écrivain de la chevalerie, c’est, dans l’inconscient de l’auteur, le pendant littéraire du chevalier errant” [Froissart on his horse, the latter a companion in adventure and in travel, may portray the writer of chivalry and, in the author’s subconscious, it is the literary adjunct of the errant knight].27 Meanwhile, the differences between the author and a knight of medieval romance are manifest. His horse is grey, whereas a chivalric hero would usually ride a white horse, and Froissart, who is travelling through Scotland – a perilous and somewhat exotic land – does not have a mission or deed to accomplish.

For the instances when the knight and his horse are enjoying good food and abstaining from food or eating little in romance, see Anastasija Ropa, Practical Horsemanship in Medieval Arthurian Romance (Budapest: Trivent, 2019), chapter 2, “Feeding the Horse of an Errant Knight: Practical and Symbolic Aspects of Horse Care,” 38-64. 27 Ribemont, “Le cheval et le poète." 26

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Moreover, after the reference to Froissart in the opening lines, his name is never mentioned until the last lines of the poem: throughout the debate, the author remains passive and silent, apparently not paying attention to the conversation between the two animals. It appears that the master is to an extent at the mercy of his two subservient animals, who may not always obey the master perfectly and may on occasion take their own initiative. The debate ends abruptly when the greyhound sees a town and advises Grisel to speed on, luring him with the prospect of having oats once there. This is an instance of the animals acting on their own will, although the traveler would probably welcome an opportunity of entering the town and finding lodgings as quickly as possible. The predominance of food on the mind of the animals is entirely realistic, though one can imagine that food would have been equally important for Froissart himself. Otherwise, the range of foods offered to the greyhound contrasts to the less varied, but, judging by the number of mentions, more opulent diet provided to the horse. As the greyhound highlights, the master would ensure the provision of adequate fodder to the horse every evening, presumably because the horse’s welfare is essential for Froissart’s progress through Scotland. The dog, on the other hand, is treated to a gourmet diet of rich, probably meat-based soup, as well as bread and butter. Remarkably, the foods offered to the dog are all human foods, coming from the master’s table. This has the effect of stressing the greyhound’s elite status, and also makes him closer to human, almost his master’s intimate and companion. Indeed, medieval moralists criticized the practice of feeding dogs, especially lapdogs, which were perceived as useless, choice foods, while the poor went hungry.28 Thus, Chaucer, describing the Prioress in the Prologue, ironically describes her kindness to her pet dogs: “Of smale houndes hadde she that she fedde / With rosted flesh, or milk and wastel-breed.”29 Discussing these lines, Walker-Meikle notes that “Wastel bread was of the highest quality, made of very fine flour and baked in a hot oven.”30 Feeding pet See, in particular, Richard Rex, “The Sins of Madame Eglentyne” and Other Essays on Chaucer (Newark: University of Delaware Press; London: Associated University Press, 1995), 95-169. 29 Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, ll. 146-147. 30 Walker-Meikle, Medieval Pets, 41. 28

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dogs bread, milk, and porridge or soup seems to have been common in both England and France, and Walker-Meikle notes several other examples of these elite foods being purchased specifically for elite canines’ consumption.31 For hunting dogs, which lived outside, the diet could be less gourmet, but it is also recommended to feed them heated soup, especially after strenuous activities or when they were ill – Gaston Phébus even provides recipes for these occasions.32 D. Caring for domestic animals Ribemont notes that Froissart largely avoids technical vocabulary and specialized knowledge in the debate: the information would be easily recognized by the audience as usual practice.33 Indeed, the facts of horse and dog care mentioned in the debate can be confirmed by reference to contemporary hippiatric treatises and hunting manuals. The only specific hippiatric term used by Froissart is “la morille,” in the lines describing care given to the horse: “On te frote, grate et estrille, / Et te cuevre on pour la morille / Et si te nettie les piés” [They rub you, scratch and curry you, / And cover you to protect against illness, / And they clean your feet too] (ll. 53-55). The actions referred to in lines 53 and 55 are well-known not only from medieval hippiatric manuals, but, indeed, would be learned by any member of the riding club in the very first lessons. A horse is to be cleaned, its coat scrubbed and brushed, its tail and mane combed, and its feet picked out before, and, often, after riding. The tools with which these activities were performed survive rarely in archaeological contexts – and, anyway, they are not always easy to identify as being equine-

Ibid., 41-42. Thus, “If a dog was very skinny and refused food during a whole day and night, one should isolate it and offer some soup or meat.” See Hannele Klemettilä, Animals and Hunters in the Late Middle Ages: Evidence from the BnF MS fr. 616 pf the Livre de chasse by Gaston Fébus (New York, London: Routledge, 2015), 123. 33 Ribemont, “Le cheval”: “Si l’on ne peut à proprement parler de termes techniques, Froissart toutefois emploie un vocabulaire précis, bien que très courant, pour décrire chaque étape de la journée du cheval” [If one cannot properly speak of techincal terms, Froissart employs precise, although very widely used vocabulary, to describe each stage of the horse’s journey]. 31 32

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related, as John Clark points in his study of equestrian equipment finds in medieval London.34 Another basic necessity for a horse traveling on medieval roads is shoeing: as the greyhound notes at the beginning of the dialogue, the horse is less likely to be left sore-footed, because it is shod on all four feet, literally having “tes quatre pies ferres” [four feet shod with iron] (l. 14). However, a horse which was left unshod or lost a shoe and was not reshod would soon go lame, as confirmed by the episode of a lady mistreated by her knight, l’Orgeilleux de la Lande, in Chrétien de Troyes’s Perceval.35 Today, a horse is also covered with a rug after strenuous exercise, while traveling, or when it would, in the opinion of the carer, suffer from cold if it was not covered. Apparently, rugs for horses were also known at least from the twelfth century. Jordanus Rufus in his hippiatric treatise refers to linen fly sheets, to be put on young horses when they go out during the summer: “Apres ces choses, li chevaux doit estre covers en yver pour le froit, et ou temps d’este doit estre covers d’aucun drap linge por les mouches et autres choses semblables” [After these things, the horse must be covered in winter for the cold, and in times of summer they must be covered with a linen drape against the flies and other similar things].36 Rugs were also used for covering horses after they have been ridden in the rain, or if a horse which got hot from riding was to be left in a stable on a cold night, etc. Froissart’s “morille” seems to be a certain disease that an equine would catch if it was not covered, but the precise nature of this illness is a matter of debate. According to A. Fourrier, “morille” could denote a colic, which would result from the sudden contrast of temperature, if a hot horse John Clark, ed. The Medieval Horse and Its Equipment c. 1150 - c. 1450 (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2004). 35 On shoes and the practice of shoeing in medieval Europe, see Clark, “Horseshoes,” 75-123. For a discussion of the episode with a horse which is mistreated in Chrétien’s Perceval, see Ropa, Practical Horsemanship, 31-33. For the treatment of the same episode in Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival, see the article by Anna-Lena Lange, “Horses as Status Indicators in Wolfram’s Parzival,” in Horses Across the Medieval World, ed. Anastasija Ropa and Timothy Dawson (Brill, forthcoming). 36 Brigitte Prévot, La science du cheval au Moyen âge: le Traité d'hippiatrie (Paris: Klincksieck, 1991), 37. The translation is courtesy of Jennifer Jobst, who is currently preparing a translation of the treatise. For a discussion of Rufus’s recommendations in light of modern horsemanship, see Jennifer Jobst’s article in the present volume. 34

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was left in a cold environment.37 In this case, apart from a possible colic, the horse is very likely to catch a cold and develop respiratory problems as well as back pains.

Fig. 2. The treatment of dogs. BNF, Français 616, fol. 40v, 1387-89, illustrated 1405-10.

Apart from these instances of special care, the basic necessities for a horse was the provision of food, water, and stabling for the night. According to the greyhound, the master would oversee the provision of food and litter himself, which is hardly surprising, given that Froissart’s progress through Scotland would depend on the horse’s soundness. It is remarkable that the litter in the stable would include not only straw but also ferns. The provision of ferns in the stabling environment is also mentioned by Jordanus Rufus, Wolfram von Eschenbach, and the author of the anonymous thirteenth-century French romance La Queste 37 A. Fourrier, Dits et Débats de Jean Froissart, 222-224. For a discussion of other possible meanings of the term, see Ribemont, “Le cheval.”

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del Saint Greal. Today, it is known that fern is poisonous for the horse, and, in fact, many horses would not eat it, although certain breeds, such as the New Forest pony, are reported to have developed some resistance to it.38 It is noteworthy that care for the horse is described in more detail than care for the greyhound. In fact, there are no examples of care provided to the greyhound, even though it is known from hunting books, such as the treatise composed by Froissart’s contemporary and friend Gaston de Phebus’s Livre de chasse, that hunting dogs were subject to care and veterinary attention to no lesser extent than horses. One of the illuminations in the lavishly illustrated copy of Gaston de Phebus’s treatise, BNF, Français 616, fol. 40v, dated to the first decade of the fifteenth century and thus relatively close to the time of Froissart writing the “Debate,” shows the treatment of the dogs by the masters of game, most of whom are providing some sort of care for the dog’s paws (see Fig. 2). It is worth noting that Froissart’s dog might be implying it could also benefit from this kind of care when it complains of the hardships it has to endure in traveling, saying “je men vois trestous deschaus” [I’m always going around barefoot] (l. 15). Perhaps the circumstances in which the greyhound was traveling did not necessitate any treatment or special care, as the dog did not hunt and would only run alongside the master. As has already been mentioned, when they arrived at their lodgings, the dog would be fed, but then it would stay outside the chamber to guard the master’s sleep – and, perhaps, try its luck and steal some tasty bits left by a careless servant within its reach. III. Reading issues of status and human-animal relations in the “Debate” The Debate is a relatively straightforward poem, structured as an argument between two domestic animals, yet it raises a number of questions as to its message and purpose. Is it simply an exercise in rhetoric, an example of Froissart’s skills in poeticizing the commonplace? Is it a subtle portrayal of the author, where he indicates On the New Forest ponies, see Gail Brownrigg’s article in the present volume. For Wolfram von Eschenbach’s reference to fern, possibly as horse feed, see Lange, “Horses as Status Indicators.” 38

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his social status and his ethical character by reference to the animals he owns? Or is it an attempt at exploring the animals’ psyche, of thinking the ways animals do? After all, he human being is also an animal, albeit, as medieval theologians would be quick to add, a human being is also more than animal, for it is the only animal made after the image of God and possessing an immortal soul. Indeed, it is not impossible that Froissart’s Debate is all of the above. It is didactic, although purpose is not to inform the audience about the finer points of animal care. Instead, it allows the audience to see the world through the eyes of two domestic animals that are the human’s closest companions, for no animal was as intimate for a medieval nobleman as the horse he would ride and the dog he would keep for pleasure or hunting. These two animals are part of their owner’s public persona, but also mirror the owner’s personality: a spoilt dog or a disobedient horse reflect badly on their master, while well-trained, groomed, and good-looking animals add to their owner’s prestige. Froissart’s greyhound and his grey horse give some indication about the author’s social standing, that of a person who is well-off and cultured enough to keep an expensive and fashionable dog for pleasure (albeit the greyhound also serves as a watchdog while they are travelling). The horse’s status is more complicated. Apparently, it is the rider’s long-term companion, and, in a sense, his alter ego, as the knight’s horse is part of its rider’s chivalric persona. In Froissart’s case, too, the literal closeness of Grisel to his master, reminds of Cohen’s posthumanist definition of the knight as a composite unit, whose identity is constructed by reference to his mount and armor as much as the man riding on horseback and wearing the armor.39 At the same time, Grisel the horse departs from the stereotype of an ideal chivalric steed. Its very color, grey, confirms its ambiguous status. Indeed, horse colors were ranked in the Middle Ages, and certain colors, such as “white” (silver grey) were ranked very high. Although color rankings varied, depending on the region and time period, grey was not among

See Jeffrey Cohen, Medieval Identity Machines (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2003), Ch. 2: “Chevalerie.” 36-77. See also Susan Crane, “Chivalry and the Pre/Postmodern,” postmedieval 2 (2011): 69-87. 39

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the top colors in any of the lists.40 The familiar name, Grisel, thus, suggests the horse’s relatively modest standing, as does its occasional resistance to its rider, hinted by the fact that it has to be spurred now and then to make it go faster. In the case of Froissart the author as he appears in the “Debate,” the author’s identity is constructed by reference to his animals. Both the horse and the greyhound are important in building the author’s public person, as well as in characterizing him through his relations with his animals. He comes through as an exacting, yet responsible master, who takes care to treat each animal according to its merit. While he makes Grisel work hard, carrying the master and the master’s belongings, the horse is also rewarded at the time of rest. The greyhound, in turn, is somewhat spoiled by its master, who feeds it some tasty bits at mealtime, yet this preferential treatment is entirely justified by the greyhound’s status as a companion animal. Meanwhile, the greyhound is made into a watchdog while they travel, so, arguably, it still needs to earn its bread and butter. Conceivably, the “Debate” represents the identity of Froissart the court author in the process of being redefined through his companionship with his newly acquired pet, the greyhound. Unsurprisingly, the “Debate,” which is written from the animals’ perspective, places considerable emphasis on food. Indeed, the horse even complains about the greyhound counting the “morsels” (“morceaux”) that the horse receives, understanding by these morsels the blessings or advantages Grisel enjoys. The important place of food in the dialogue between the two animals shows that Froissart has an interest in seeing the world from the animals’ point of view, yet it also reminds the audience that, for a traveler, be this traveler a human or a non-human animal, food is one of the primary concerns. At the end of the day, Froissart the traveler is not so much different from the animals with which he travels, because, like his horse and greyhound, he appears to be eager to reach the next town, where he will be able to eat and rest. Thus, by presenting a dialogue between the horse and the greyhound, Froissart attempts to provide a glimpse of what these two animals may feel and think while also suggesting that a traveling man, preoccupied with practical concerns, may not be so fundamentally See the discussion of horse colors in Anastasija Ropa, “The Price and Value of the Warhorse in Late Medieval England,” in Ropa and Dawson, The Horse in Premodern European Culture, 219-233. 40

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different from his animals. In the process of traveling together, the horse and the greyhound seem to become humanized through contact with their master, yet some traces of animality rub off onto their owner, too, who, like his animal companions, is subject to bodily needs. The “Debate,” thus, shows a junction in the life of a traveling poet and chronicler where human and animal characters merge, creating a new composite persona, analogous to Cohen’s knight, but consisting of different components: instead of a warhorse, Froissart has Grisel, and, instead of armor, he is accompanied by a fun-loving, playful greyhound. References Manuscripts London, British Library, Additional 15229. London, British Library, Royal 12 F XIII, www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=95& CollID=16&NStart=120613. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Français 616. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Français 830. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Français 831. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Français 1581. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Français 25341. Primary sources d’Arras, Jean. Mélusine, roman du XIVe siècle, publié pour la première fois d'après le manuscrit de la Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal avec les variantes des manuscrits de la Bibliothèque Nationale par Louis Stouff. Dijon: Bernigaud et Privat, 1932. Cartlidge, Neil, ed. The Owl and the Nightingale. Text and Translation. Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 2001 Chaucer, Geoffrey. Canterbury Tales. In The Riverside Chaucer, ed. Larry D. Benson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Duarte I of Portugal. The Book of Horsemanship by Duarte I of Portugal, trans. Jeffrey L. Forgeng. Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, 2016. Froissart, Jean. The Chronicle of Froissart, trans. Sir John Bourchier, Lord Berners. The Tudor Translations, vols. XXVII-XXXII. London: David Nutt, 1901-1903, 1st edn 1523-1525.

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Froissart, Jean. Chroniques. Troisième livre, ed. Albert Mirot, vol. 14: 1386 (1325) – 1388. Paris: C. Klincksieck, 1966. –––. Chroniques: Livre III (du Voyage en Béarn à la campagne de Gascogne) et Livre IV (années 1389-1400), ed. Peter Ainsworth and Alberto Varvaro. Paris: Livre de Poche, 2004. –––. “Le Debat dou Cheval et dou Levrier.” In An Anthology of Narrative and Lyric Poetry, ed. and trans. Kristen M. Figg and R. Barton Palmer, 488-490. New York and London: Routledge, 2001. –––. ‘Dits’ et ‘Débats,’ ed. Anthime Fourrier. Genève: Droz, 1979. –––. L’Espinette amoureuse, ed. Anthime Fourrier. Paris: Klincksieck, 1972. Lodge, David. Thinks… London: Penguin, 2002. Mémoires et poésies de Jeanne d’Albret, ed. Alphonse de Ruble. Paris: E. Paul, Huart et Guillemin, 1893. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5747778b.texteImage. Prévot, Brigitte. La science du cheval au Moyen Âge: le traité d’hippiatrie de Jordanus Rufus. Paris: Collège Sapience/Klincksieck, 1992 Le Roman de Renart: édité d'après le manuscrit O (f. fr. 12583), ed. Aurélie Barre. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2010. Le roman de Renart, ed. and trans. Jean Dufournet Laurence HarfLancner, Marie-Thérèse de Medeiros and Jean Subrenat, 2 vols. Paris: Honoré Champion, 2013-2015. The Romance of Reynard the Fox, trans. D. D. R. Owen. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. Safina, Carl. Beyond Words. What Animals Feel and Think. New York: Picador, 2016. de Voragine, Jacobus. “Historia de sancta Anastasia,” in Legenda Aurea www.thelatinlibrary.com/voragine/anast.shtml. Dictionaries Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330-1500), s.v. “morceau.” http://www.atilf.fr/dmf/. Accessed 22 March 2020. Secondary sources Batany, Jean. “Le lion et sa cour: autour du Pantchatantra et du jugement Renart.” Marche romane 28 (1978): 17-25.

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Boniface, Katrin. “Bread for My Horses.” In The Horse in Premodern European Culture, ed. Anastasija Ropa and Timothy Dawson, 161174. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter. Boutet, Dominique. “Les figures animalières de la cour et du pouvoir, du Roman de Renart aux Fables de La Fontaine.” Le fablier 10 (1998): 29-37. Campbell, Karen. “Reading Horses and Writing Chivalry.” In The Horse in Premodern European Culture, ed. Anastasija Ropa and Timothy Dawson, 107-122. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter. Clark, John, ed. The Medieval Horse and Its Equipment c. 1150 - c. 1450. Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer, 2004. Cohen, Jeffrey. Medieval Identity Machines. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2003. Ch. 2: “Chevalerie.” 36-77. Cotterill, Elina. “How to Make a White Mark on a Black Horse: Middle English Hippiatric Medicine, Common Disease, and Their Remedies.” In The Horse in Premodern European Culture, ed. Anastasija Ropa and Timothy Dawson, 147-160. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter. Crane, Susan. “Chivalry and the Pre/Postmodern.” postmedieval 2 (2011): 69-87. Deane-Drummond, Celia and David L. Clough, eds. Creaturely Theology: On God, Humans, and Other Animals. London: SCM Press, 2009. Fallows, Noel. Jousting in Medieval and Renaissance Iberia. Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer, 2010. Fourrier, Anthime. “Introduction.” In Jean Froissart, ‘Dits’ et ‘Débats,’ 7et passim. Genève: Droz, 1979. Franklin, Alfred. La Vie privée d’autrefois: arts et métiers, modes, mœurs, usages des Parisiens du XII au XVIII siècle d’après des documents originaux ou inédits. Paris: Plon, 1899. Friedman, John Block. “Dogs in the Identity Formation and Moral Teaching Offered in Some Fifteenth-Century Flemish Manuscript Miniatures.” In Our Dogs, Our Selves: Dogs in Medieval and Early Modern Art, Literature, and Society, ed. Laura D. Gelfand, 325-363. Leiden: Brill, 2006. Gathercole, Patricia M. “Illustrations of the ‘Roman de Renart’: Manuscripts BN fr. 1581 and BN fr. 12584,” Gesta 10:1 (1971): 39-44. Hanawalt, Barbara A. Growing Up in Medieval London. The Experience of Childhood in History. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. 130

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Hyland, Ann. The Horse in the Middle Ages. Stroud: Sutton, 1999. Klemettilä, Hannele. Animals and Hunters in the Late Middle Ages: Evidence from the BnF MS fr. 616 pf the Livre de chasse by Gaston Fébus. New York, London: Routledge, 2015. Lange, Anna-Lena. “Horses as Status Indicators in Wolfram’s Parzival.” In Horses Across the Medieval World, ed. Anastasija Ropa and Timothy Dawson. Brill, forthcoming. Prévot, Brigitte and Bernard Ribémont. Le cheval en France au moyen âge. Sa place dans le monde médiéval; sa médicine; l’exemple d’un traité véterinaire du XIVe siècle: la «Cirurgie des chevaux». Caen: Paradigme, 1994. Rex, Richard. “The Sins of Madame Eglentyne” and Other Essays on Chaucer. Newark: University of Delaware Press; London: Associated University Press, 1995. Ribemont, Bernard. “Le cheval et le poète. Hippiatrie et écriture: L’exemple de Guillaume de Machaut, de Jean Froissart du Dit du hardi cheval.” In Le cheval dans le monde médiéval, np. Aix-en-Provence: Presses universitaires de Provence, 1992. DOI: 10.4000/books.pup.3345. Ropa, Anastasija. Practical Horsemanship in Medieval Arthurian Romance. Budapest: Trivent, 2019. –––. “The Price and Value of the Warhorse in Late Medieval England.” In The Horse in Premodern European Culture, ed. Anastasija Ropa and Timothy Dawson, 219-233. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2020. Rudy, Kathryn M. Postcards on Parchment. The Social Lives of Medieval Books. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2015. Stamouli, Alexia Foteini. “Information of Middle Byzantine Hagiographical Texts about Horses.” In Horses Across the Medieval World, ed. Anastasija Ropa and Timothy Dawson. Brill, forthcoming. Walker-Meikle, Kathleen. Medieval Pets. Woodbridge: Boydel, 2012.

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Equids in Late Byzantine Hagiographies: A Comparison with the Middle Byzantine Period Alexia-Foteini Stamouli

In this study, references on equids contained in late Byzantine hagiographical texts are discussed and compared with corresponding texts of the middle Byzantine period.1 The present study is based on about 170 texts.2 I. The main sources Several texts are of particular interest with regard to the equestrian activities of saints. In the late Byzantine period, the most important texts are those dedicated to Saint Eugenios (+ 290) by John (Joseph) Lazaropoulos (+ post 1367), Metropolitan of Trebizond, a Speech about the birthday of Saint Eugenios and a Synopsis of the miracles,3 while in the middle period, the most valuable text is the Life of Saint Philaretos.4 Philaretos lived in Paphlagonia. He was exceedingly The information about the hagiographical texts dating from the eighth to the tenth centuries was presented at the International Medieval Congress in Leeds 2018 and can be read in Alexia-Foteini Stamouli, “Information About Horses in Middle Byzantine Hagiographical Texts,” in Horses Across the Medieval World, ed. Anastasija Ropa and Timothy Dawson (Leiden: Brill, forthcoming). The texts, about ninety, can be found in the Dumbarton Oaks Hagiography Database, www.doaks.org/research/byzantine/ resources/hagiography (last accessed August 28, 2019). 2 On Late Byzantine hagiography see Alice-Mary Talbot, “Hagiography in Late Byzantium (1204-1453),” in The Ashgate Research Companion to Byzantine Hagiography, vol. I Periods and Places, ed. Stephanos Efthymiadis (Surrey and Burlington: Ashgate, 2011), 173-198. 3 Jan Olof Rosenqvist, The hagiographic Dossier of St Eugenios of Trebizond in Codex Athous Dionysiou 154. A Critical Edition with Introduction, Translation, Commentary and Indexes [Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis 5] (Uppsala: Uppsala University, 1996) (henceforth: Eugenios, 204-359 (BHG: 611). 4 Philaretos the Merciful (702-792). Author: monk Niketas of Amnia, grandson of Philaretos. (BHG: 1511z). Vita start / end year: 821 / 822, ed. Marie-Henriette Fourmy and Maurice Leroy, Byzantion 9 (1934): 113-167. See Michel Kaplan and Eleonora 1

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wealthy, owning a large number of breeding horses that were put out to pasture, as well as saddle horses and mules. His charity became known throughout the East and the neighboring countries. So, if anyone was in need of an animal for any reason, they could go and take any animal they needed – horses as well – as if it was their own herd. Because this practice was during the time of Arab raids, meaning people often had heavy losses, as well as for other reasons, Philaretos became poor but even so he still donated his last horse and donkey. When his granddaughter Maria was married to Emperor Constantine VI, the family moved to Constantinople, where Philaretos continued his practice of almsgiving.5 Saint Eugenios was martyred under Diocletian (284-305), and a cult devoted to him developed in Trebizond, his feast day being 21 January. A monastery dedicated to him existed in Trebizond at least as early as the ninth century. The Komnenian rulers of the Empire of Trebizond adopted the saint as the patron of their country, and his miracles include assisting Trebizond to repel a siege of the city by the Seljuk Turks in 1224. As an ideal of pious bravery, the mounted saint enjoyed great popularity. Perhaps this is reflected in the change in the imagery of the Trapezuntine aspers which took place in the reign of Alexios II. From his time on, these coins show the reigning emperor and Saint Eugenios on horseback, and this new type remained in use until the fall of the Trapezuntine Empire.6 In the texts mentioned above, Saint Eugenios appears on horseback once to enemies and twice to priests. He intervenes to save his monastery’s crops from grazing horses and twice to prevent horses from straying into it. The saint also appears when the monks discover that some horses carrying the harvest are threatened by wild beasts. Moreover, a perjurer giving false testimony about a horse sale is punished in the saint’s church. However, most cases concern the use of horses in war. Byzantine emperors and enemies are also described on Kountoura-Galaki, “Economy and Society in Byzantine Hagiography: Realia and Methodological Questions,” in The Ashgate Research Companion to Byzantine Hagiography, vol. II Genres and Contexts, ed. S. Efthymiadis (Surrey and Burlington: Ashgate, 2014), 396. 5 Dumbarton Oaks Hagiography Database, “Introduction,” 86. 6 Rosenqvist, Eugenios, 79. See also Helen Evans (ed.), Byzantium: Faith and Power (12611557) (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004), 428, Fig. 256F (a coin dated 1297-1330) and Fig. 256G (a coin dated 1349-1390). 134

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horseback for other reasons, including setting out against a dragon and making a tour around Trebizond. Finally, horses are taken as booty from the enemy’s camp. The saint’s involvement in these episodes shows the importance of horses as economic, logistic, and military assets in Byzantine society. According to the Speech on the saint’s birth, in a story from the author’s day, the emperor, after praying in the church of Saint Eugenios and speaking to the rulers, armed himself, mounted his horse and set out against the dragon that occupied the Dragon’s Fountain.7 The saint helped him to kill the dragon. Some of the horse-keepers of Trebizond’s governor Dionysios brought his horses to graze close to the monastery, so that they caused damage to the crops. The monks rushed out to the horses and drove them away, but suffered losses when attacked by the governor’s men. The following night, the Saint appeared to Dionysios and chastised him.8 In the reign of Constantine Monomachos (1042-1055), Methodios, assessing all Asia Minor, rode up to the doors of the monastery and threatened to punish the monks if all his company could not stay in it.9 According to the Synopsis, he was taught a lesson by the saint because of the shameless behavior which the horse-keepers in his service showed to the monks.10 Saint Eugenios’s hagiography also contains a very vivid description of the single horseback combat between the Byzantine general Bardas Skleros11 and the general Bardas Phokas12 the Younger (24 March 979). During their single combat, Skleros was the first to attack Phokas and with his sword cut off an ear of Phokas’s horse. When Phokas struck back on his opponent’s helmet, Skleros fell headlong against his horse’s mane. The horse was struck with terror and ran away from the man who held it, bolting towards the camp. Phokas and his own men charged at the troops of Skleros, trampling many of his men under their horses.13 Saint Eugenios was seen rushing forth on horseback to the generals of Persarmenia who marched on Trebizond obeying Phokas.14 Rosenqvist, Eugenios, 222, 344-224, 346. Ibid., 234, 4, 559-236, 576. 9 Ibid., 238, 5, 618-621. 10 Ibid., 350, 29, 1869-1871. 11 He led a rebellion against Emperor Basil II in 976-979. 12 Basil recalled him from exile. 13 Rosenqvist, Eugenios, 250, 1, 67-78. 14 Ibid., 252, 1, 124-126. 7 8

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When the forces of the Emperor Basil and Phokas were readied for battle, Phokas believed he could take possession of the imperial power by dealing a well-aimed blow at the emperor. He is described on his horse in full armor. “ὁ Φωκᾶς κατὰ μέτωπον ἔφιππος ὅλος κατάφρακτος ἐφεστώς” [Phokas, who stood at the front-line, mounted his horse in full armor]15 He rushed at full gallop towards Emperor Basil. Before they could come to blows, Phokas’s horse stumbled, throwing him to the ground, killing him (13 April 989).16 In another war-related episode, Emperor Basil the Bulgar-slayer (958-1025), while preparing for war, noticed near to the top of his spear the figure of a beautiful man, who told him to spur his horse, as the Iberians would flee even if they were not pursued. The emperor reached the opponents who, terrified, dismounted their horses and fell at his feet, praying for mercy.17 The author also refers to the saint’s help in finding stray horses. When Ephraim, abbot of the monastery of Saint Eugenios, was at Kakoues with his company, they unyoked the animals that carried the crops and sent them out to pasture. That night various beasts, such as wolves and bears, drove their animals away into the inaccessible and wild mountains. However, through the saint’s help they were saved from any harm. At sunrise, the grooms were asked about the animals. After wandering around searching all day but finding nothing, neither the animals nor the pack saddles, they returned to Paipert and asked around in the neighborhood. As they were once again unable to find the horses there, the servants went back to the abbot, who was very worried. When he fell asleep, he seemed to see Saint Eugenios approaching and telling him that the animals were in the mountain of Katounion, at the church of Saint Zacharias. The wild beasts were running around the horses and roaring at them, but they were held back and silenced by Christ. The saint told the abbot that the servants would bring back the horses unhurt and healthy. Indeed, the servants found the wild beasts walking around the church, while their animals were safe inside. The monks took the animals and went to the abbot overjoyed.18 All translations, unless otherwise indicated, are my own. Rosenqvist, Eugenios, 254, 1, 143-150. 17 Ibid., 258, 1, 227-233. 18 Ibid., 270, 6, 448-272, 485. In yet another episode involving the use of horses for transport purposes, Saint Eugenios arrived on horseback before the gate of priest 15 16

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Emperor Andronikos Gidos (son-in-law of Alexios I Grand Komnenos, second emperor of Trebizond, 1222-1235), who was experienced in many wars and very shrewd, brought a cavalry troop of five hundred brave men along, armed only with spears and shields, against the sultan Melik.19 Although Andronikos Gidos was asked to leave, he waited until the Eucharist service in the church of Saint Theodore at Dikaisimon was over and then mounted a swift horse along with his five hundred horsemen and rode off.20 The emperor, the commanders, and all the cavalry then launched an attack against some of their enemies who were close by the church of Saint Eugenios. It is noted that their swift horses had been trained for races.21 As the mass of the enemy approached, Andronikos Gidos gathered all his cavalry in one place and ordered them to ride to the church of Saint Prokopios. Some of their opponents also arrived on horseback. There was a skirmish with a few casualties on both sides.22 The archers of Trebizond shot arrows at the enemy while the whole cavalry rode out behind, killing and capturing many.23 The emperor offered some men from the enemy side, whom he had invited for lunch, an after-lunch tour on horseback around the city of Trebizond. They looked at the troops, the beasts, the food, the wheat, the wine, the butchers’ shops, and the water supplies. When they returned, they reported everything they had seen to the Sultan, who was distressed. The Chaldians and the people in Matzouka learnt about the Trapezuntines’ resistance and attempted to steal horses from the enemy’s camp at night. The sultan entered the church of Saint Eugenios. He commanded all the elite soldiers in his company to lie down beside him near the saint’s casket. It was decided that the horses should be left outside the holy precinct.24 Nicholas’s house to comfort him, because the carriage Nicholas had handed over to his servants was damaged during the journey. The priest was unable to look at the saint and asked him to dismount from his horse so that he could look at the saint. The saint dismounted and revealed himself to the priest (Ibid., 278, 9, 590-598). Saint Eugenios also appeared on horseback to a priest near Paipert (Ibid., 280, 9, 635-637). 19 Ibid., 312, 23, 1211-1213. The siege of Trebizond took place in 1222-1223. This text is the only source giving details of the event. 20 Ibid., 314, 23, 1227-1230. 21 Ibid., 318, 23, 1288-1292. 22 Ibid., 318, 23, 1300-1303. 23 Ibid., 320, 23, 1334-1336. 24 Ibid., 322, 23, 1379-324, 1397. 137

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When the saint appeared, Melik quickly gathered his forces and they followed Eugenios on horseback, letting their horses have a free rein so as to catch up with him.25 The barbarians were scattered. Some charged on horseback over a mountain precipice, misjudging it for a plain suitable for riding horses, and died.26 The people of Trebizond and the emperor took, among other items, horses as booty from the enemy’s camp.27 Because the emperor was magnanimous, the sultan was able to ride around the shore-district on horseback, followed by the people, and enter through the main gate of the city to be accompanied to the imperial palace.28 When the sultan arrived back at Ikonion, after getting permission to return, not only did he fulfill the agreement, but he also sent Arab horses to Emperor Andronikos Gidos every year.29 Other episodes in Saint Eugenios’s hagiography tell of horses acting as instruments of divine punishment, chastising sinners, and those who committed crimes and offences involving horses. Thus, a eunuch archon, who called Saint Eugenios an abbot, wanted to sit on his own mule, but as soon as he put his foot in the stirrup, a sudden frenzy overtook the animal. It kicked and ran away, contrary to its habit, so that the rider fell and broke both legs badly.30 This episode can be interpreted as presenting the drawing down of divine punishment for the eunuch’s impertinence in insulting the saint.31 Another episode describes an attempt to cheat a customer buying a horse, where Saint Eugenios helped to reveal the deception. When Emperor Basil was in the land called Kalanoma, Eugenios, deacon of the Chrysokephalos church, had made friends with a man in the Ibid., 326, 23, 1450-1452. Ibid., 326, 23, 1465-328, 1470. 27 Ibid., 328, 23, 1494. 28 Ibid., 328, 23, 1501-330, 1505. 29 Ibid., 334, 23, 1582-1585. 30 Ibid., 348, 28, 1855-1859. 31 Interestingly, European bestiary texts, which often follow ancient sources in their descriptions, state that a horse (presumably a warhorse) would not tolerate anyone but its rider on its back. See: Terence Hanbury White, The Book of Beasts: Being a Translation from a Latin Bestiary of the Twelfth Century (Madison: Parallel Press, 2002). This bestiary provides the examples of Alexander the Great and Caesar, as well as other ancient figures, King Nicomedes and Antiochus. The latter fell victim of the horse that used to bear the Galatae general: according to the bestiary, the horse “spurned the bridle to such an extent that, falling down on purpose, it dashed to bits both itself and its rider, by the fall.” 25 26

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imperial army, who sold a horse to him, paying only half the money owed. After buying the horse, the deacon took good care of it thus it began to prance in a lively fashion. When the soldier saw this, he changed his mind and reclaimed the horse. The deacon readily returned the horse whereas the soldier refused to return that part of the payment that he had received. The deacon demanded his money, taking the soldier to Saint Eugenios to testify under oath that the soldier had received the horse back. But, standing in the church of Saint Eugenios, the soldier swore convincingly that he had not received any payment for the horse from the deacon. He took the horse and went away to his camp, boasting of deceiving and making fun of deacon Eugenios by making a false oath to reclaim his horse. However, the soldier became possessed by a demon and died in about a week.32 II. Praise of a saint’s homeland Praise of a saint’s homeland is often made implicitly, by praising its good horses and riding plains. Joseph Kalothetos (+ 1355/1356) uses this type of praise in all three of his hagiographical texts. As an introduction to the homeland of Saint Gregory of Nicomedia (+ 1240), he observes that generally the beauty of towns and villages depends, among other things, on the availability of plains suitable for riding. Moreover, towns or villages may consider that their glory is also due to the fact that they have good horses. The adjective “εὔιππος” [having good horses] is used. It is worth noting that this element is repeated emphatically, thus stressing its importance.33 In particular, this adjective is used, among other things, to praise of the homeland of Saint Andrew (+ 740), Damascus.34 Finally, Saint Athanasius (+1323) regrets, among other things, having to leave the hippodromes of his homeland Adrianople when he leaves for Thessaloniki.35 Rosenqvist, Eugenios, 352, 31, 1932-354, 1937. DimitriosG. Tsamis, Iosif Kalothetou Syngrammata [Thessalonikeis Vyzantinoi Syngrafeis 1] (Thessaloniki: Kentron Byzantinon Ereunon, 1980) (henceforth: Kalothetou), 504, 2, 35-39 (BHG: 709). 34 Ibid., 437, 2, 52-53 (BHG: 114c). 35 Ibid., 458, 5, 145-148 (BHG: 194c). Middle Byzantine hagiographers viewed hippodromes with distrust, associating them with paganism/devilish activities. See also Helen G. Saradi, “The City in Byzantine Hagiography,” in The Ashgate Research Companion to Byzantine Hagiography, vol. II Genres and Contexts, ed. S. Efthymiadis (Surrey 32 33

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Antonios Larisis (probably born at the end of the thirteenth century) uses the same adjective in the praise of the province of Cappadocia, the homeland of Saint George (+ 23.04.303), a land famous for its good horses.36 However, according to Philotheos Kokkinos (+ 06.1377/1379, Constantinople), in the Speech dedicated to Archbishop Gregory Palamas (+ 1360), a city must also have the true faith before it can receive full praise. An Encomium of Constantinople is given on the occasion of Barlaam’s arrival in the city. Barlaam was accused of heresy when Palamas defended Hesychasm (the Eastern Orthodox Church’s mystical teaching on prayer).37 The Encomium of the city is given before Saint Gregory’s actions against Barlaam are mentioned. Kokkinos could praise the city because of its size, beauty, wealth, wisdom, and other relevant qualities, but he could not praise the city for one reason. The city does not show the proper respect to divinity, as too much time is spent on gambling, gaming, horse riding and in theatres.38 III. Avoiding horses or refusing to ride them Just as in hagiographies produced in the middle period, the hagiographers of the later period show saints avoiding (refusing to ride) horses for various reasons. According to Thomas Magistros (about 1275–1347), in his childhood, Saint Gregory Nazianzus (+ 390) was distinguished from his peers by, amongst other things, not participating

and Burlington: Ashgate, 2014), 436: the twelfth-century court poet, Prodromos, in his Life of St Meletios (d. ca. 1110) “mocks the high-class hagiographers who take pride in their heroes’ birthplace by praising the excellent construction of cities’ walls and towers, the width of the streets, the height of the porticoes, the beauty of the theatres, horse track and gymnasia.” Consequently, the beauty of horse track is one of the distinguishing features of Byzantine cities, however, the evidence can be negative. 36 Vasileios Pseftogkas, Antoniou Archiepiskopou Larissis Logoi Theomitorikoi – Despotikoi – Agiologikoi (Thessaloniki: Kyromanos, 2002) (henceforth: Antoniou), 291, 3, 26 (BHG: 684b). 37 Barlaam of Calabria (about 1290-1348) was an Italian Scholar and clergyman. Three Orthodox synods ruled against him and in Palamas’ favor. 38 D. G. Tsamis, Filotheou tou Konstantinoupoleos tou Kokkinou agiologika erga A’ Thessalonikeis Agioi [Thessalonikeis Vyzantinoi Syngrafeis 4] (Thessaloniki: Kentro Vyzantinōn Ereunōn, 1985), (henceforth: Kokkinou) 488, 56, 4-10 (BHG: 718). 140

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in horse races.39 Similarly, Makarios Makris (Thessaloniki 1382/1383January 1431) relates that, as a child, Saint David (+ 535/541) avoided horse races, leaving this pursuit to more foolish children.40 Moreover, according to Theoktistos Stoudites (1300-1350), Saint Athanasius’s (+ 1310) life was pure, devoid of every pleasure and luxury, as he never rode a horse either when he was a patriarch or when he made long trips in summer or in winter.41 The saint also adopted the ordinance of Saint Theodore of Stoudios not to ride horses and mules, but to walk, imitating Christ. The fact that he did not mount horses or ride mules is mentioned among the ‘pleasant things of life’ which the saint had renounced.42 Similarly, Saint Germanus Maroules (+ 1336) once asked Job, who had taken over the protection of the Lavra of Saint Athanasius on Mount Athos, why he was travelling in a simple and casual way, not mounted on horseback and without any forerunners or followers, as was usual for officials of this level of power and office. Job replied that those were the attributes of the contemporary rulers of his time, who sought secular, human glory.43 Saint Germanus’s brother, Andronikos, gave him a horse to mount for the rough and difficult journey from the monastery of Martyr Eleftherios to Karakalou monastery in order to meet his nephew, John, who was ill. But the saint did not care for worldly pursuits, including horse riding, any longer. He urged his disciple to mount the horse and ride with his brother. He, however, caught up with the riders and overtook them on the way, showing that he had no need of a horse to travel fast.44 In a Speech dedicated to Saint Demetrius (+ 306), Symeon of Thessaloniki (+ 09.1429) mentions horses among the material goods that most people Jacques Paul Migne, Patrologiae Cursus Completus. Series Graeca (henceforth: Patrologia Graeca), 145, 229, 15, D-232, A (BHG: 724). 40 Asterios Argyriou, Makariou tou Makri Syngrammata, [Works by Makarios Makris] [Vyzantina keimena kai meletai 25] (Thessaloniki: Kentro Vyzantinōn Ereunōn, 1996) (henceforth: Makri), 87, 3, 64-69 (BHG: 493m). 41 Life of Saint Athanasius: Αthanasios Papadopoulos-Keramefs, “Žitija dvuh’ vselenskih’ patriarhov’ XIV v., sw. Afanasija I i Isidora I,” [Lives of two ‘universal’ patriarchs of the 14th century, st. Athanasius I and Isidore i] Zapiski Istoriko-filologičeskago Fakulteta Imperatorskago S. Peterburgskago Universiteta 76 (1905): 5, 3, 15-18 (BHG: 194). 42 Praise of Saint Athanasius: Roberto Fusco, “L’ encomio di Teoctisto Studita per Atanasio di Costantinopoli,” Rivista di studi bizantini e neoellenici 34 (1997): 83-153 at 125, XVII, 28-29 (BHG: 194a-b). 43 Tsamis, Kokkinou, 126, 23, 1-127, 16, 126, 23, 1-127, 16 (BHG: 2164). 44 Ibid., 137, 31, 47-55. 39

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care for, causing them to neglect spiritual treasures.45 Finally, according to Constantine Akropolites (Constantinople, 1250/1255 – Constantinople, at the latest from May to August 1324), Saint John of Damascus (+ 749) entered the monastery of Saint Sabas in Jerusalem, where he was assigned the task of selling expensive baskets to support the monastery. The hagiographer compares the saint’s new lifestyle with that of his past, when he was accompanied by many knights on his journey, whereas after entering the monastery the saint would leave Damascus alone to return to the monastery.46 A related testimony, this time involving not an equid but a camel, is recorded by Philotheos Kokkinos about Saint Sabas the New (+ 1348) in Sion, who asked a pious man to hire an animal for him to go to Sinai. A camel was hired from an Ishmaelite. Shortly after leaving Jerusalem, the saint descended from the animal and walked for twenty days persuading the Ishmaelite to ride the camel instead. The saint considered it to be a great injustice to rest himself, riding on the camel’s back, and to see the other walk.47 However, the Ishamaelite urged him to mount the animal again.48 However, the use of equids is dependent upon a certain level of economic security. According to Thomas Magistros, on resigning from the patriarchal throne, Saint Gregory left Constantinople as a poor man, not taking any mules or horses with him.49 A horse is also definitely useful for travelling. According to Macarius Manuel Chrysocephalus (about 1300 – August 1382), Saint Meletios (+ 1286) walked in January, at the height of winter, without any preparation or coverings, supplies or companions. He led no pack animal and took no horse nor any other beast to provide support on his journey. The author comments that having a pack animal would have been an adequate consolation for the man.50 David Balfour, Politico-historical works of Symeon Archbishop of Thessalonica (1416/17 to 1429). Critical Greek text with introduction and commentary [Wiener byzantinistische Studien 13] (Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 1979) (henceforth: Symeon), 56, 8, 1, 3-8 (BHG Auct.: 532s). 46 Patrologia Graeca 140, 864, Α-Β (BHG: 885). 47 Tsamis, Kokkinou, 218, 31, 13-32 (BHG: 1606). 48 Ibid., 219, 31, 47-50. 49 Patrologia Graeca 145, 317, 99, Α. 50 Spyridon Lavriotis, “Vios kai politeia kai meriki thavmaton diigisis tou osiou patros imon Meletiou tou Omologitou,” [Life and state and narration of some miracles of our holy father Meletios the Confessor] Grigorios Palamas 5 (1921): 610 (BHG: 1246a). 45

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IV. Horses as transport A theme related to saints’ refusal to ride horses is that of using horses and other equids as means of transport, which is prominent in hagiographies of the middle Byzantine period. Although less information about the use of horses as transport is given in the late period than in the middle period, horses do appear regularly in texts related to the lives of saints, where horses and other equids may be ridden by saints as well as by other people from all social backgrounds. Thus, according to Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos (1263-1335), when the servants of Leo VI (19.09.866-11.05.912) discovered the new accommodation of Saint Euphrosyne (+ 921/923), Leo VI gladly mounted his horse and was quickly led there.51 According to Philotheos Kokkinos, Saint Germanus’s brother, Andronikos, travelled with his ailing son John from Thessaloniki to meet the saint, on Mount Athos, on horseback.52 After John’s fever became worse, Andronikos mounted his horse, and his servant followed on horseback, riding with all possible speed to Lavra (literally dropping the reins).53 Eventually, John was healed by his uncle and soon was able to mount his horse and to return home with his father.54 Moreover, according to the same writer, in Cyprus, Saint Sabas met a noble and rich, arrogant Latin sitting on a great, and proud horse, accompanied by a guard.55 Of course, the pride attributed to the Latin’s horse probably primarily relates to its owner, and in this case the horse is a vehicle of status as well as a means of transport. Although some saints refused point-blank to ride horses, others regularly travelled on horseback. According to George of Cyprus (about 1241-1290), Saint Euthymius (+ 989/996), was once heading on horseback on his own towards the bishopric. He was tired of walking because of his great age. An Armenian who had entered the Roman phalanx met him and insolently ordered the saint to give him the animal. Τhe saint obeyed. When he arrived at Madytos and was asked what had happened to his horse and why he did not return on horseback, rather than reveal the incident with the soldier, he said that Acta Sanctorum, Nov. III, 1910, 872, 29, Α (BHG: 627). Tsamis, Kokkinou, 136, 31, 10-11. 53 Ibid., 136, 31, 33-38. 54 Ibid., 138, 32, 44-48. 55 Ibid., 198, 21, 1-8. 51 52

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the horse had been kicking out disobediently.56 The same saint also offered miraculous help to another soldier in finding his lost horse. In the reign of Basil during the war against the European Mysoi, a soldier was given a horse that beat the other horses during a race by a great distance. However, being on his own, the soldier was trapped and imprisoned. The saint appeared to the soldier in a dream, told him that the horse he had lost was outside and opened the cell. When he woke up, the horse was there, and the soldier bravely mounted it and escaped.57 Another noteworthy episode is Saint Gregory’s miraculous crossing of the sea on horseback. According to Joseph Kalothetos, the archpriest of Nicomedia sent servants to summon the saint when a part of the clergy was speaking against him. The saint told them to leave as soon as possible, stating that he would arrive before them. He mounted a horse and crossed the frozen sea. This is considered to be comparable to the crossing of the Erythraean Sea by Moses, Peter’s walking on the waves, and the crossing of the Jordan by Elisha.58 The difference here is that Saint Gregory did this on horseback, showing that not all saints rejected horse riding as a luxurious, worldly activity. V. Horses in war While references to horses as means of transport are comparatively rarer in the late Byzantine than in the middle Byzantine hagiographic sources, there are more testimonies of horses being employed in wartime. According to an anonymous fifteenth-century hagiographer, Constantine, the grandfather of the Holy Emperor John Doukas Vatatzes (+1254), was in Lydia preparing for war against the Turks. He was leading the Lydian cavalry alongside other commanders, and a cavalry battle was imminent.59 Later we learn that Constantine chased

Vasileios Antoniadis, “Georgiou Kypriou Egkomion eis ton megan Efthymion episkopon Madyton,” [The praise on Great Euthymius, bishop of Madytos by George of Cyprus] Deltio Istorikis kai Ethnologikis Etaireias Ellados 4 (1892), 409, 13, 10-410, 13 (BHG: 654). 57 Ibid., 420, 24, 35-424, 2. 58 Tsamis, Kalothetou, 514, 13, 363 – 515, 372. 59 August Heisenberg, “Kaiser Johannes Batatzes der Barmherzige. Eine mittelgriechische Legende,” Byzantinische Zeitschrift 14 (1905): 201, 9, 15-18 (BHG: 934b). 56

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the army of Andronikos Komnenos (1118-12.09.1185) away so that his men left their horses behind them.60 Regarding earlier events, Nicephorus Gregoras (about 1292/1295– 1358/1361) in his Speech dedicated to Saint Mercurius (+ 250), mentioned that Mesopotamia, which Julian the Apostate crossed, had lands suitable for horse riding at the junction of large rivers, such as the Tigris and the Euphrates.61 Julian then appeared to be in a hostile desert region, in which he could not guarantee the security of his large troop of cavalry. He advanced and deployed the army, his favorite troops being on the right wing, which had the best cavalry. On the left were the horsemen from Campania and selected horsemen from the Celtiberians. Three thousand cavalry and the infantry were placed as guards of the royal flag and as reserves.62 The military details of this text, particularly those relating to the formation of the army, are remarkable, as are the comments on the quality of horsemen from different regions of Byzantium. Further military details emerge from a description of the lives of Saints Theophanes (+ 845) and Theodorus (+ 841) by Theodora Raoulaina (+ 12.06.1300, Constantinople). In this work, the two saints remind the Emperor Theophilos that when the Scythians attacked Thrace, he and his father made sure that they were safe themselves thanks to the cavalry, and accused him that when he and his father had realised that war was imminent, they fled. After the destruction of the region and the defeat of the Roman army, they spurred their horses into a gallop, and returned to Constantinople, travelling mainly at night.63 The care of rulers for the cavalry is also mentioned. According to an anonymous writer, after the capture of Constantinople by the Latins,

Ibid., 204, 13, 32-36. Stéphane Binon, Documents grecs inédits relatifs à S. Mercure de Césarée (Louvain : Bibliothèque de l’Université, 1937), 77, ΙΙΙ, 5, 19-23 (BHG: 1277). 62 Ibid., 83, V, 1, 1-2, 27. 63 A. Papadopoulos-Keramefs, “Vios kai Politeia tou osiou patros imon Theofanous tou omologitou kai tou aftadelfou aftou Theodorou, syngrafeis para Theodoras Paoulainis Katakouzinis tis Palaiologinis,” [[Life and state of our holy father Theophanes the Confessor and his brother Theodorus, written by Theodora Raoulaina Kantakouzene Palaiologina], Analekta Ierosolymitikis Stachyologias 4 (1894): 211, 26, 27212, 7 (BHG: 1793). 60 61

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the Holy Emperor John Doukas Vatatzes rushed to strengthen the cities of Asia and to counteract the hostile cavalry.64 With reference to the earlier period, Maximianus (250-07.310) is described by Comis (born in the 1260s) in the Praise of Saint Nestor (+ 306) as a ruler who took charge of the cavalry, amongst other things.65 Moreover, according to George Akropolites (1217–1282), in the Speech dedicated to the Holy Emperor John Doukas Vatatzes, the emperor’s son, Emperor Theodore II Laskaris, was better known for his education than for his military skills. However, his ability to control horses is referenced first.66 Praising the saint for his valour in battle, the author also mentions that his was a braver warhorse than the others, livelier and higher-actioned, and quicker to engage in battle.67 From these short references, one can see that the importance of cavalry in late Byzantium was such that it is stressed even by hagiographers, who comment on cavalry performance and often praise rulers for their equestrian skills.68 Finally, the social class of the riders of Latin-occupied Cyprus is mentioned. According to an anonymous thirteenth-century author, they were also involved in a meeting of the authorities in Latin-occupied Cyprus to decide the fate of the thirteen saints who preferred to die rather than accept the conquerors’ faith (+ 1231).69

Heisenberg, “Kaiser Johannes Batatzes der Barmherzige. Eine mittelgriechische Legende,”219, 28, 30. 65 Sofia Kotzabassi, “Ein unediertes Enkomion auf den hl. Nestor (BHG 2291). Kritische Ausgabe,” Ellinika 41/2 (1990): 26-277 at 271, 7, 10-11 (BHG: 2291). 66 Α. Heisenberg, Georgii Acropolitae Opera (Stuttgart: Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum Teubneriana ΙΙ, 1903 repr. 1978) (henceforth: Acropolitae) , 27, 20, 25-31 (BHG: 934b). 67 Ibid., 18, 8, 1-2. 68 On Byzantine cavalry see T. Dawson, Byzantine Cavalryman. c.900–1204 (Osprey: Oxford, 2009); Eric McGeer, “Infantry Versus Cavalry: The Byzantine Response,” Revue des Études byzantines 46 (1988): 135-145; John Haldon (ed.), Byzantine Warfare (New York, London: Routledge, 2016); J. Haldon, Byzantium at War AD 600-1453 (New York, London: Routlegde, 2011); J. Haldon, Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World 565-1204 (New York, London: Routledge, 2014); Nick Holmes, The Byzantine World War. The Last Romans and the First Crusaders (Kibworth Beauchamp: Troubadour Publishing, 2019); Savvas Kyriakidis, Warfare in Late Byzantium, 1204-1453 (Leiden: Brill 2011); Warren Treadgold, Byzantium and its Army 284-1081 (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1995). 69 Konstantinos N. Sathas, , Mesaioniki Vivliothiki 2 [Medieval Library 2] (Venice, 1873), 37 (BHG: 1198). 64

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VI. Other saints on horseback Even in this period, Saints Theodoroi appear on horseback. The works by Constantine Akropolites and Philotheos Kokkinos are dedicated to Saint Theodore Tyron (+ 306), while that by Theodoros Pediasimos (Serres, thirteenth-fourteenth century) is dedicated to Saints Theodore Tyron and Theodore Stratelates (+ 319). These two saints are often depicted together on horseback.70 Saint Theodore rescues people from enemies, usually mounted on a horse, which is sometimes described as white. According to Constantine Akropolites, Saint Theodore appeared to a person imprisoned by the Hagarenes as a soldier on a white horse, the equipment of which was decorated with jewels, the extraordinary glow of which is emphasised by synonyms and cognates.71 The reins of the horse were bright, not with the brightness of gold-plated ones, but with a blinding flash that one could not bear to see. The saint put the captive on his horse and brought him to his mother.72 In a similar incident, according to Philotheos Kokkinos, Saint Theodore miraculously snatched a captive from the midst of the Hagarenes; the captive later appeared in the middle of the church led by the saint on a white horse, the faithful hearing the noise of its hooves.73 Moreover, See Piotr L. Grotowski, Arms and Armour of the Warrior Saints. Tradition and Innovation in Byzantine Iconography (843-1261) (Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2010). On some depictions of saints on horseback see The Glory of Byzantium. Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era A.D. 643-1261, ed. Helen C. Evans and William D. Wixom (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997), 181, item 136, a pendant with medallion of Saint Theodore, Constantinople (glass medallion dated to the twelfth century, mount dated to the thirteenth century), showing a running horse on the front side (Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C. 38.28), also 395 (Saint George on horseback and the young boy of Mytilene – the saint rescues a boy from the Saracens on Crete, a 13-c. Crusader icon, possibly from Lydda. The motif of Saint George saving a captive is similar to the many cases of saints on horseback saving captives. 71 There is evidence of enameled horse equipment in use in Byzantine ceremonies. According to Priscilla Soucek, “The use of horse trappings adorned with enamels appears to have been a Byzantine specialty. The Book of Ceremonies, compiled by Constantine VII, stipulates their use in certain processions. Enamel-studded saddles and horse harnesses are also mentioned in the Byzantine epic Digens Akritas” (P. Soucek, “Byzantium and the Islamic East,” in The Glory of Byzantium., 407). Also see the photograph of enameled bridle straps produced in the fifteenth-century Nasrid, now in the British Museum, London, which are influenced by the earlier Byzantine tradition of enameled horse trappings, reproduced on 408. 72 Acta Sanctorum IV (1925), 75, 6, Α-Β (BHG: 1765n). 73 Acta Sanctorum IV (1928), 78, 4, F (BHG: 1768a). 70

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according to Theodoros Pediasimos, Saint Theodore appeared on horseback to some enemies, who had taken a child from the local village, and obscured their vision.74 Saint Theodore also appeared riding beautiful horses in the dream of the marshal of the Latins, who were besieging Ferres. That same night, a person in the church heard the noise of a horse’s hooves that were going back and forth.75 The same text mentions the existence of a stud belonging to the local church and situated on its territory. A tax collector entered the temple courtyard and ordered some of his followers to go to where the horses were fed, and to take out the noblest ones. These horses were dedicated to the saints and no one ever mounted them, but they were kept for use after they had been fed as much as they needed. The text does not specify when and in what way they would be used. The tax collector’s servants took the horses from the enclosure and mounted them. The archbishop prayed to the saints in the church, and the saints appeared to the riders; the riders could not resist the power of the saints and were forced to let go of the horses, which promptly returned to their place.76 Another saint who is consistently associated with horses is Saint Demetrius, to whom most texts are dedicated in the late Byzantine period, but who is not represented in the eighth to tenth centuries. In these texts, the saint often works wonders on horseback. The most important texts are the Speeches dedicated to the saint by John Staurakios (Constantinople 1240-1310) and Constantine Akropolites, which are quite similar. According to Staurakios, the archpriest Kyprianos from Africa was captured by a company of Sclaveni in the Theme of Hellas, and as a slave in their country he put a basket on his shoulders every single day to carry out the muck from the stable of the barbarians’ horses.77 Saint Demetrius appeared to him in a dream on horseback and led him to Thessaloniki. Kyprianos recognised his savior from the saint’s icon in his temple.78 There are numerous other accounts of Saint Demetrius rescuing captives in different foreign Max Treu, Theodori Pediasimi eiusque amicorum quae exstant (Potsdam, 1899), 19, 28-30 (BHG: 1773). 75 Ibid., 23, 3-8. 76 Ibid., 20, 19-21, 9. 77 Ioakeim Iviritis, “Ioannou Stavrakiou Logos eis ta thavmata tou agiou Dimitriou,” [Speech on Saint Demetrius’s miracles by John Staurakios], Makedonika 1 (1940): 354, 11, 19, 35-355, 5 (BHG: 532). 78 Ibid., 355, 11, 20, 16-18, 29-34. 74

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countries, appearing to some of them on horseback and lifting them onto his horse. He was also visible to enemies; he was seen riding and carrying a captive on horseback.79 Moreover, according to Akropolites, the leader of the Sthlavini, Hatzon, camped against Thessaloniki filling the land with soldiers and horsemen and covering the sea with ships (615).80 A very handsome man on horseback appeared to a captive of the Sthlavini Kyprianos: this man was Saint Demetrius. The saint frequently appeared in this form: in wars, to people in captivity, and to the sick, as when he came to Constantine Akropolites who was ill, healed him, and asked him to compose a speech dedicated to him.81 According to Staurakios, on one occasion Saint Demetrius, appearing as usual on horseback, caught up with the Bulgarian Radomir, who was hunting in the mountains at Soskos. The saint dealt Radomir a critical blow, unhorsing him. It is worth noting here that emphasis is given by the repetition of the same or synonymous terms, cognates of the word “horse,” when recording the fact that both Radomir and the saint were on horseback and that, after the saint’s blow, the Bulgarian was found lying far away from his horse.82 It is also important to mention that episodes involving hunting on horseback are more frequent in the middle Byzantine hagiographies. Yet another episode involves miraculous healing by the equestrian saint. A blind man from Adrianople was walking to Thessaloniki to be healed by Saint Demetrius. The saint accompanied him on horseback and offered him the opportunity to rest for a while by riding the saint’s horse. He lifted the blind man onto his horse and took him to his temple on the same day, which was that of the saint’s feast. The blind man believed that he had been deceived by his fellow-knight, thinking he had taken him back to Adrianople rather than Thessaloniki. However, the people simply took him for a madman who was imagining that a knight had misled him.83 Akropolites verifies the story, Ibid., 356, 11, 21, 27-31, 38-357, 1. A. Papadopoulos-Keramefs, “Logos eis ton megalomartyra kai myronlytin Dimitrion,” [Speech on the Great-Martyr and Myroblyte Demetrius], Analekta Ierosolymitikis Stachyologias I (Saint Petersburg, 1891, repr. Brussels 1963), 190, 34, 9-13 (BHG: 542). 81 Ibid., 195, 41, 6-19. 82 Iviritis, “Ioannou Stavrakiou Logos eis ta thavmata tou agiou Dimitriou,” 361, 14, 25, 8-11. 83 Ibid., 364, 17, 29, 37-365, 16. 79 80

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saying that the blind man who was heading for Thessaloniki believed that the saint would heal him. The saint, disguised as a traveller, suggested that he should mount his own horse for a while, to take his ease. In this version, as the man mounted the horse, the saint disappeared, leaving him in the middle of his temple.84 According to Staurakios, Saint Demetrius appeared on horseback to a farmer in the village of Drakontiana in Cappadocia and prevented him from plowing the place where the foundations of his temple were.85 What is more, according to Akropolites, someone who was trying to turn a field with stones into a threshing floor encountered the church foundations. The saint, who appeared to the farmer, is described as a handsome young man on a horse with a proudly arched neck, equipped with tack set with brilliant jewels.86 Again, according to Staurakios, some Italians who were walking on pilgrimage to Thessaloniki – then conquered by the Hagarenes – were advised by Saint Demetrius, again appearing on horseback, that the city had been overcome, thus saving them from the barbarians.87 Lagada is described as a place capable of supporting innumerable cavalry with its abundant water and grass. When the Bulgarian Ioannitzis campaigned against Thessaloniki, the earth was shaken by the horses’ hooves, and the air resonated with their movement.88 Allegedly, it was Saint Demetrius who rode to save Thessaloniki. At this point and in many later parts of the text, there are numerous cognates for ‘horse’, resulting in the emphasis given by the assonance: “ἱππασίαν ἱππάσατο τῇ πόλει σωτήριον” [(Saint Demetrius) spurred on his horse on a ride to save the city]. Saint Demetrius appeared on a white horse to the sleeping Ioannitzis and struck him. Waking from his sleep, Ioannitzis thought that he saw his commander in chief Manastras on a noble horse: “Δημήτριος, ἔφιππος ἐφ’ ἵππου λευκοῦ” [Demetrius on horseback on a white horse], “τοῦτον γὰρ ἐδόκει ὁρᾶν ἱππαζόμενον, ᾧπερ εὐγενεῖ καὶ Papadopoulos-Keramefs, “Logos eis ton megalomartyra kai myronlytin Dimitrion,” 205, 54, 24-27. 85 Iviritis, “Ioannou Stavrakiou Logos eis ta thavmata tou agiou Dimitriou,” 366, 18b, 31, 18-22. 86 Papadopoulos-Keramefs, “Logos eis ton megalomartyra kai myronlytin Dimitrion,” 206, 57, 32-207, 3. 87 Iviritis, “Ioannou Stavrakiou Logos eis ta thavmata tou agiou Dimitriou,” 367, 19, 32, 13-17. 88 Ibid., 370, 21, 34, 12-13, 17-20. 84

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λευκῷ ἵππῳ ἱππάζετο” [(Ioannitzis) thought he saw him (Manastras) riding, as he actually rode a noble and white horse], “σύ … πρὸ βραχέος ἔφιππος τῷ λευκῷ σου ἵππῳ γενόμενος ἐνταῦθα” [you came here sometime before on horseback on your white horse].89 According to Akropolites, Saint Demetrius appeared in the middle of the night as an armed rider in front of the bed of Johannes Krum (Skyloioannis, Tsar of Bulgaria, 1197-1207), who had camped near Thessaloniki, struck him, and then disappeared. His screaming awakened Manastras, whom Johannes accused of striking the blow, as Manastras’s white horse90 resembled that of his assailant. Manastras mounted his horse and promptly fled.91 Τhe testimonies of other writers are also relevant. According to Symeon, during the siege of Thessaloniki, Saint Demetrius appeared to outsiders as a soldier riding on horseback on the city walls.92 The Turkish military commander Pazarlis (+ 10.1426) deserted the monastery of Hortaitis in Thessaloniki. Amongst other things, it is reported that, during the fighting, horses were standing in the narthexes of the monastery, which constituted an insult to God.93 Moreover, Saint Demetrius appeared to a captive as a knight, released him and lifted him onto his own horse, then took him in the course of a single night from a distant place to Thessaloniki.94 According to the Speech allegedly composed by Theodotus of Ankyra, but dating to the fifteenth century, when Kalogian was about to capture of Thessaloniki in 1207, he saw a warrior on a white horse wandering on the walls of the city. The warrior moved against him and cleaved him with his sword from the crown of his head while Kalogian was sitting on his horse.95 The rider was presumed to be Saint Demetrius. Some verses by Nikolaos Kavasilas (1322/1323–Constantinople, post 1391, probably 1397/1398) refer to the miraculous crossing of the Ibid., 371, 21, 34, 15-17, 33 – 372, 4. Papadopoulos-Keramefs, “Logos eis ton megalomartyra kai myronlytin Dimitrion,” 212, 63, 6-17. 91 Ibid., 212, 64, 23-25. 92 Balfour, Symeon, 61, 10, 6, 30-32. 93 Ibid., 66, 12, 6, 15-18. 94 Ibid., 67, 12, 8, 19-23. 95 Vasilika Tăpkova-Zaimova, Tou osiou Theodotou episkopou Agkyras Logos eis ton agion megalomartyra Dimitrion [Speech on the Great-Martyr Demetrius by the holy Theodotus bishop of Ankyra], Vyzantina 13Α (1985): 715, 106-716, 115 (BHG: 547m). 89 90

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river Istros (Danube) in winter by Leontius, the lord of the Illyrians, who carried Saint Demetrius’s bloody greatcoat. Riding in a horsedrawn chariot, he was returning to his homeland, Sirmion, where he later built a temple dedicated to the saint.96 VII. Accidents Constantine Akropolites wrote an account of the miracles by which the eighth-century martyr Saint Theodosia healed him and his son-in-law from horse-related injuries. Constantine’s son-in-law often rode for pleasure, although the people around him tried to dissuade him, saying it was not the right time for it. He said he only wanted to chase away the boars, three of which were grazing nearby. The young man spurred his horse on, riding at the boars, which got under the horse’s legs, tripping the animal. It reared and fell, unable to get up, and its rider was thrown from his saddle and was found lying prone near the horse. This happened near the palace of Girolimni, and the rumor spread that Constantine’s son-in-law had died while he was riding. News reached Constantine that his son in law had suffered a horse-riding accident.97 Constantine’s son-in-law said, after his injuries had been healed by the saint, that he had witnessed a tall, black, wild-looking man holding the boars tightly with ropes dragging them towards the feet of his horse. The boars were struggling to break free, and the wild man forced them along until the young man’s horse became entangled with them, and fell. Constantine Akropolites too was injured on the right leg when a horse kicked him, damaging the tibia. Four days later, the pain was unbearable throughout his ankle, his toes, the heel, and the sole. Akropolites was limping badly and could not lean on that leg because of the pain. The pain returned two years later, then for a while it would return every year, and later two or three times a year. Akropolites was healed of his pain by Saint Theodosia and Saints Demetrius, Nicholas, and Euplus. No similar healing is attested in the middle period.98 96 V. Pseftogkas, Nikolaou Kavasila Logoi [Speeches by Nikolaos Kavasilas] (Thessaloniki: Kyromanos, 2006), 155, 196-201 (BHG: 547k). 97 S. Kotzabassi, Das hagiographische Dossier der heiligen Theodosia von Konstantinopel, [Byzantinisches Archiv 21] (Berlin and New York: DeGruyter, 2009) (henceforth: Theodosia), 137, 36, 491-37, 514 (BHG: 1774). 98 Ibid., 138, 41, 559 – 139, 42, 589.

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Another noteworthy healing, reported by Philotheos Kokkinos,99 was administered by Saint Gregory Palamas, who healed a doctor, so that the man, who had been very ill, could easily mount a horse. The reference to the sick man’s ability to ride highlights both the severity of the disease and the miraculous nature of the healing, as the ability to ride a horse is here a sign of complete recuperation and synonymous with health and fitness. VIII. Hippodromes References to hippodromes are fewer in this period than in middle Byzantine hagiographies. The existence of hippodromes in Adrianople has already been mentioned, and according to Comis, Maximian made a theatre for horse racing or other races, as everyone thought.100 In the description of Saint Anna's garden, Theodoros Hyrtakenos (beginning of the fourteenth century) discusses the layout of the trees, comparing it to that of seats in hippodromes. Αὐτίκα μετὰ τὸν κυπαρίττινον πλείους ἦσαν ἄλλοι χοροὶ παντοίων δένδρων ἀμοιβαδὸν περιελιττόμενοι, ... κοσμίως δὲ καὶ κατ’ εἶδος καὶ γένος ἕκαστος διωρίζοντο, τούτῳ μόνῳ διαφέρειν ἀλλήλων εἰδότες, τῷ τὸν μὲν ὀπίσθιον ἐφυψοῦσθαι, ὑφεῖσθαι δέ πως ἀεὶ τὸν ἐνδοτέρω, ὡς ὁρᾶσθαι μὲν τὴν καλλονὴν ἐκείνου παρέχεσθαι, ὁρᾷν δὲ τὸν ζωογόνον ἥλιον ἅπαντας, ᾗγε δὴ κἀν τοῖς ἱπποδρόμοις θεάτροις τελούμενον ἔστιν ἰδεῖν, συνεδριαζόντων τῶν θεωμένων κλιμακηδόν, ἀπηργμένων μὲν τῆς ἀνωτάτω καθέδρας, ὑποκαθημένων δ’ ἀεὶ τῇ κατωτέρω βαθμίδι, μέχρις ἂν ἐς τὴν ἐσχάτην κατίωσιν, ὥσθ’ ὁρᾷν τοὺς ἁμιλλωμένους ἐξεῖναι.”101 [Immediately after the chorus of cypresses there were several other choruses of all kinds of trees, winding around in turns, … But each was neatly arranged according to its kind and species, and knew how to differ from the others in Tsamis, Kokkinou, 571, 121, 32-38. Kotzabassi, “Ein unediertes Enkomion auf den hl. Nestor (BHG 2291). Kritische Ausgabe,” 272, 8, 9-11. 101 Jean François Boissonade, Anecdota Graeca, III (Paris, 1831, repr. Hildelsheim 1962), 64 (BHG: 134). 99

100

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only one thing: further behind was more elevated, while the one on the inner side would always be somewhat lower, so that it allowed for the beauty of the outer chorus to be visible, and so that all of them could see the life-giving sun. It is possible to see something similar happening in the theaters of the hippodrome, where the spectators sit together as on a ladder, beginning with the highest seats, always sitting lower in the inferior level, until they descend to the lowest level, so that it is possible to watch the competitors.]102 IX. Praying As far as praying is concerned, there are several accounts of saints descending from horses to pray in late Byzantine hagiographies, such stories appearing in middle Byzantine lives, such as those of Saint Eustratius and Saint Ioannikios.103 According to Theodosios Goudelis (middle or second half of the twelfth century – thirteenth century), Saint Leontios (+ 1190) was at Nazareth in the middle of the day. He told those who were with him to dismount near a garden. Once they had dismounted from their horses, they called out for the owner. The saint prayed for the hostess’s husband who was ill.104 The saint gave his blessing to the ill man, mounted his horse, and took the road again towards Jerusalem.105 Moreover, the Holy Emperor John Doukas Vatatzes is compared by George Akropolites to Caesar Titus, who, in time of drought, in the presence of all the troops, descended from his horse to pray.106 There is also relevant testimony from Constantine Akropolites to an episode in the life of Emperor Leo VI, who, arriving at Pege, descended from his Translation by Mary-Lyon Dolezal and Maria Mavroudi, “Theodore Hyrtakenos’ Description of the Garden of St. Anna and the Ekphrasis of Gardens,” in Byzantine Garden Culture, ed. Antony Littlewood, Henry Maguire and Joachim WolschkeBulmahn, (Washington, Dumbarton Oaks: 2002), 118. 103 See Stamouli, “Information about Horses in Middle Byzantine Hagiographical Texts.” 104 Dimitrios Tsougarakis, The Life of Leontios Patriarch of Jerusalem. Text, Translation and Commentary (Leiden: Brill, 1993) (henceforth: Leontios), 128, 82, 7-130, 13 (BHG: 985). 105 Ibid., 130, 83, 10-14. 106 Heisenberg, Acropolitae, 23, 15, 16-21. 102

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horse and followed Saint Euphrosyne, as she was leaving, because he wanted her to pray to God that he would not die childless.107 In both cases, the emperors’ dismounting signifies their humility and their readiness to pray as simple, humble Christians, admitting that divine power is much superior to the emperor’s power on earth. The hagiographers’ references to saints descending from their horses has the same intent of stressing the saints’ humility. In the middle period, however, episodes involving a saint or one of the faithful descending from a horse to pray are more frequent. Moreover, according to Askandalis (second half of the fourteenth century), in all places where churches dedicated to Martyr Euplos can be found, one could see families or groups offering gifts, including horses, depending on their circumstances.108 X. The horse as an agent of punishment The horse is also represented as inflicting punishment on its owner both in middle and late Byzantine texts; the relevant testimonies are however fewer in the late period. Apart from the accidents to the Akropolites family already mentioned, there are other stories, such as the one recorded by Theodosios Goudelis. According to Theodosios, Triakontaphyllos, a Cypriot tax collector ordered those who followed him to take the mule on which Saint Leontios rode from one place to the next. The tax collector insisted that the mule should be untied from its manger, despite the dizziness he felt descending a staircase. Triakontaphyllos followed after Saint Leontios on his own horse. Apparently, Triakontaphyllos’ horse disapproved of its rider’s action as much as the writer did, as it rebelled against its master and threw him off, although it had never kicked out nor reared before. Triakontaphyllos fell on the ground and was blinded.

François Halkin, “Éloge de Ste Euphrosyne la Jeune par Constantin Acropolite,” Byzantion 57 (1987), 64, 10, {(BHG: 626m) [627 b]}. 108 Elissavet Chartavella, Vyzantina egkomia gia ton agio Efplo [Byzantine praises on saint Euplos], Master Dissertation (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Philosophy – School of Philology, Department of Medieval and Modern Greek Studies, Thessaloniki, 2014), http://ikee.lib.auth.gr/record/284790/files/GRI-2016-17293.pdf (henceforth: Efplo), 71, 15, 197-203 (BHG: 630m). 107

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The horse is presented as having better judgment than its master, and as being more sensitive to the saint’s needs.109 A similar account is left by the same writer; here, Ilarion, the administrator of a church in Cyprus, reported to Saint Leontios that the bishop of Amathous, Theodoulos, had fraudulently branded some of the animals belonging to the church, among them horses and mules. However, the expression used in the report, literally meaning to “put one’s seal on something” was only used locally, so it was misunderstood and gave the impression it meant “to get someone pregnant.” The saint asked the bishop why he had impregnated the animals that were the property of his church, including the donkeys. Ilarion explained about the misunderstanding that was caused by the fact that the words meaning “to brand” and “to impregnate” are pronounced in a similar way, but Theodoulos did not repent of his dishonest actions and received justice when he died as his horse was crossing a river.110 Furthermore, as delivered in a Vita composed by an anonymous writer, during the combat between Emperor John the Merciful and a barbarian leader, the horse on which the barbarian king rode was severely wounded and, being in great pain immediately unseated its rider.111 Generally speaking, accidents involving horses in various ways were not a rare occurrence. According to Gabriel of Thessaloniki (1340 – about 1416/1419) in a Homily dedicated to Saint Demetrius, ambassadors sent to foreign and distant countries struggled against myriads of dangers, among which were accidents involving horses.112 XI. The torture of saints Saints were also tortured by being dragged by equids, a motif which is not attested in the middle period. According to Constantine Akropolites, one of the tortures that Saints Aniketos and Photios (+ 305) suffered was to be tied to the tails of wild horses and dragged

Tsougarakis, Leontios, 116, 73, 20-118, 43. Ibid., 122, 76, 12-124, 77, 12. 111 Heisenberg, “Kaiser Johannes Batatzes der Barmherzige. Eine mittelgriechische Legende,” 216, 25, 31-32. 112 Vasileios Laourdas, “Gavriil Thessalonikis, Omiliai,” Athina 57 (1953): 158, 4, 13-18 (BHG: 547w). 109 110

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through the marketplace. The saints, however, remained unharmed, just as they had survived an ordeal by fire.113 Constantine Akropolites’s description of another torture inflicted on a fourth-century saint is particularly vivid. The emperor ordered “ἡμιόνους … ἀδμῆτας συζεύξαντες” [to yoke untamed mules] (a Homeric adjective)114 together, to tie Saint Zotikos to them, to whip the animals and then release them. The spectacle is described as strange, because the rational man is subjected to irrational animals. The mules dragged the man behind them over the ground, often kicking him, knocking him against stones and thorns and cutting his limbs until they arrived at the church of Saint Panteleimon, which stood on the seacoast below the hill. There the saint’s right eye was cut, and a spring of water emerged miraculously. The mules returned, climbed up the hill, reached the tents that the saint had designed for the Christians, and stopped. Although Saint Zotikos was dead, the executioners continued to whip the mules, but the animals refused to move. The mules appeared to be as lifeless as stones, standing still and seemingly insensitive to pain. The executioners did not stop hitting the mules in an attempt to make them move, using tree branches, whips, and various barbs, until the emperor's daughter, whom the saint had saved when her father had left her, spoke out against her father and the executioners. While she was speaking, the mules also, imitating Balaam’s mule, spoke in a human voice: “τί δε … ἡμᾶς, ἀσύνετοι, τύπτετε; Τῇδε τὸ ἱερὸν κατατεθῆναι σῶμα τοῦ θεοφιλοῦς ἀνδρὸς ἄνωθεν ὥρισται, ἵνα δὴ καὶ τοὺς κατὰ Θεὸν ἀδελφοὺς αὐτὸς συνηγάγετο καὶ ὡς εἰκὸς ἐπεσκέψατο.” [Why are you hitting us, fools? God has ordained us to deposit the body of this holy man here, where he gathered the Christians and supervised them as he ought to.] When the crowd, the emperor, and the rulers present heard these words, they were filled with horror.115 Maria Kalatzi, “Konstantinou Akropoliti anekdotos Logos stous Agious martyres Anikito kai Fotio,” [An unpublished speech by Constantine Akropolites on the Holy martyrs Aniketos and Photios] in Porphyrogenita. Essays on the History and Literature of Byzantium and the Latin East in Honour of Julian Chrysostomides, ed. Charalambos Dendrinos et al., Aldershot and London: Ashgate, 2003, 398, 17, 178-184 (BHG: 1544f). 114 Odysssey, 4, 636-637: “ὑπὸ δ᾽ ἡμίονοι ταλαεργοὶ ἀδμῆτες·” [untamed hardworking mules]. 115 Timothy S. Miller, “The Legend of Saint Zotikos According to Constantine Acropolites,” Analecta Bollandiana 112 (1994): 360, 13, 1-362, 15, 3 (BHG: 2480). 113

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Another saint, Saint Theodosia, was tortured by being dragged by horses. According to the Encomium composed by an anonymous author writing in the early Palaiologan period, Saint Theodosia told Leo III the Isaurian (685-18.06.741) that she would never betray her faith, whatever the emperor did to her. The ultimate torment in the list of tortures designed by the emperor was to have her dragged by horses.116 The emperor ordered that horses should be used as part of the campaign he launched against the saint, just as he would have done against an enemy. His war, however, was not to be against Scythians or barbarians but against a woman. Moreover, he himself arrived at the place of her martyrdom on horseback, as if he was leading an army to battle.117 Likewise, Cypriot saints were tortured by being dragged through the river, tied behind horses and mules. In this case, the saints are likened to harrows dragged by animals to prepare fields.118 XII. Equids carrying water Testimony to the use of equids for carrying water represents a new element in the late Byzantine period as compared with the earlier hagiographies. According to Hyrtakenos, Bishop Patrikios of Caesarea sent a mule to be used for carrying water, both because of his admiration for Saint Aninas’s (+ 488) way of life and because many people visited the saint and water was needed. The saint did not want to accept the mule, “οὐκ ἔτ’ ἀρκεῖν φάσκων δυσὶ προσπαλαίειν μερίμναις ἐπί τε λογικοῖς καὶ ἀλόγῳ” [saying that he could not fight with two concerns: the rational and the irrational]. These words constitute a pun, as “irrational” (“ἄλογος”) is the same word as “horse” (“ἄλογον”) in Greek. Eventually, the mule was untied from its manger and led out of the stable to pay a poor man’s debt. The author compares the animal to Balaam’s mule, which prevented the prophet from cursing Israel. The mule was taken to the man to whom the poor man was indebted and punished him severely. Indeed, the mule kicked the rich lender on the cheek, cutting the man’s mouth and damaging his teeth, because, obviously, the mule could not convince its master using words. In this S. Kotzabassi, Theodosia, 44, 17, 253-255 (BHG: 1773z). Ibid., 45, 19, 270-273. 118 Sathas, Mesaioniki Vivliothiki, 38-39. 116 117

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case, the mule also acts as an instrument of divine punishment on its owner. At the same time, the author of the hagiography also compares the situation to the story of Saul, who lost his father’s donkeys and, as a result of looking for them, became a king (Kings I, 9, 3 - 10, 16). The mule damaged the stall with its hooves, digging into the earth, which is comparable to the poor man looking for gold to relieve his poverty, fighting as Iolaus and Hercules did against the Hydra. Patrikios sent another pack animal, explaining the reasons for the gift in a letter and asking for it not to be used in the same way. However, another poor person appeared, and the same thing happened. Finally, a tank was built, and men were sent along with mules.119 This account mixes the motifs of a gift of an equid to a saint and to men in need, as well as the appearance of an equid as an instrument of divine punishment. Still, it is noteworthy that episodes reporting gifts of equids to poor people are more frequent in the hagiographies of the middle period. According to another account by Constantine Akropolites, the monastery of Saint Gerasimus (+ 475) was far from the Jordan, and the monks had to carry the water they needed all the way from the river. It was the duty of a certain monk, who was given a donkey to ensure the service of regular water supply for the monastery. The saint relieved the monk from this duty and instead entrusted the donkey to a lion Saint Gerasimus had healed. Every day the lion took hold of the lead rope, went from the monastery to the river with the vessels, and returned when the vessels had been filled. The lion and the donkey fulfilled the need of the monks for some time; the lion also protected the donkey from other beasts. However, one day, the lion lost the donkey. Travelers with camels carrying loads appeared and, finding the donkey on its own, left taking the donkey along with their camels. When the lion came back, it could find no sign of the donkey where it had left it. Having looked for it in vain, the lion continued to search through valleys and forests, and until eventually, failing to find it anywhere, the lion gave up the search. The lion came to the saint, appearing very upset and, not daring to lift its eyes - just like a human who has committed the worst misdemeanors and expects to be condemned for it - admitting the transgression and admitting that the one which had been entrusted to it was lost. The saint believed the lion had eaten the J. F. Boissonade, Anecdota Graeca, II (Paris, 1830, repr. Hildesheim, 1962), 430-438 (BHG: 130).

119

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donkey, and, from now on, the lion had to fulfill the duties of the donkey and carry water for the monastery. A Christian who often visited the saint even gave the monks three gold coins to buy another donkey instead of the lost one. After some time, the people who had taken the donkey returned, leading it along with the camels. They met the lion and, terrified, they left the donkey along with the camels and quickly fled. The lion left the camels, touched nothing else, and taking the donkey by the bridle, led it to the monastery and presented it to the saint. When the traders saw the lion taking the rope in its mouth and not behaving like a predator towards the donkey, but leading it as if it were taking the donkey to graze or to a stall, they considered what they saw to be exceedingly strange and followed it from a distance. They saw the lion enter the monastery, show the donkey to the saint and convey to the monks that it had not eaten the lost donkey as they had thought.120 The hagiographer attributes to divine providence the fact that the wildest of beasts, the lion, had become so tame as to serve instead in the place of a donkey. The creator of all had transformed the wildness of the lion into the patience of the donkey.121 XIII. Donkeys Other stories about donkeys appear in the hagiographies. Thus, according to Philotheos Kokkinos, Saint Sabas of the monastery of Prodromos, in the Jordan, offered to be eaten by lions in the place of donkeys, as he was sorry for the animals and those who needed them. On one occasion, the man who was entrusted with the service of the donkeys went out to transport wood, and the saint went together with him. They arrived at the marsh where they left the donkeys to graze, so that they could gather wood. Three lions appeared and moved swiftly to devour the donkeys. Their handler ran for his life. The saint saw the donkeys were scared and fell prone near the lions, asking them not to touch or harm the animals, but offering to let them eat him instead.

Kleopas M. Koikylidis, Ai para ton Iordanin Lavrai Kalamonos kai tou agiou Gerasimou kai oi Vioi tou agiou Gerasimou kai Kyriakou tou anachoritou [The lavras of Kalamon and Saint Gerasimus along Jordan, and the vitas of saints Gerasimus and Cyriacus the anchorite] (Jerusalem, 1902, repr. Fotios Dimitrakopoulos), Osios Gerasimos o Iordanitis [Saint Gerasimus the Jordanite] (Athens, 2007), 139, 5, 32-141, 5, 23 (BHG: 696). 121 Ibid., 143, 5, 22-31. 120

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The lions did not eat him, and the saint collected the donkeys and returned without harm.122 Another account of a miracle involving a donkey is narrated by George of Cyprus, according to whom the beasts that ate the donkey of the monastery were punished, as prophesied by Saint Lazarus (+ 1053). In the monastery, the saint had founded at the top of mount Galesius, he and his twelve pupils had only a small donkey. The donkey satisfied their needs to some degree. One night it wandered off, met two leopards and became their prey. The monks sought the donkey diligently, leaving virtually no place around the monastery unexamined. They tired of looking for it, and of course it was nowhere to be found. They told the saint that the animal had been lost. He pointed out to them the place where they would find what they were looking for, but not alive, as well as the beasts that had been punished. They went there quickly and saw the donkey’s bones lying there, with the leopards dead next to them, as if the donkey’s flesh they had eaten had poisoned the beasts as a punishment.123 The same writer narrates another episode involving the monks to whom the care of mules used for transporting wine had been entrusted. When they reached their lodgings, the monks would unload the mules and take care of them before settling down to eating their own meal.124 In another hagiography, Saint Germanus tells the writer, Philotheos Kokkinos, that, to teach him humility, the fathers he had as his leaders only assigned him the lowly service of a porter. He would carry the burdens needed from both near and far, as if he were a donkey.125 These episodes testify to the importance of donkeys in the daily life of Byzantine monasteries, as well as to the numerous dangers to which these animals were exposed. Being killed by wild beasts, such as lions or other predators was a real risk, and, if the animals died, it was hard to Tsamis, Kokkinou, 254, 49, 8-255, 58. Acta Sanctorum, Nov. III, 1910, 598, 26, Ε-599, Α (BHG: 980). 124 Ibid., 603, 36, Β. This shows that the mules were important to the monks, who cared about the animals’ welfare. Interestingly, in the medieval French poem by Jean Froissart, “The Debate between a Horse and a Greyhound,” it is likewise mentioned that, when the travelers arrive at their lodgings, Froissart would take care of his horse and make sure it is unsaddled and fed before going to eat himself. See A. Ropa, “Counting Your Blessings in Froissart’s ‘Debate of the Horse and the Greyhound’” in this volume. 125 Tsamis, Kokkinou, 153, 42, 33-36. 122 123

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replace them. The saints’ miracles respond to the genuine needs and concerns of the people around the saints. XIV. Historical and scriptural passages Late Byzantine hagiographers, like the hagiographers of the middle period, make references to the famous horses of ancient times. In the Speech dedicated to Saint Diomedes (martyr under Diocletian), Maximus Planudes (Nicomedia of Bithynia, about 1255-1305) relates how the saint uses the example of famous horses to prove to a soldier that the name alone is not important. “οὐδὲν ὄφελος, ὅμοιον γὰρ ὡς εἰ καὶ ἵππων τὸν μὲν Ξάνθον, τὸν δὲ Πόδαγρον λέγοις, μὴ προστιθεὶς ὡς καὶ τῆς ἵππου ἀρετῆς αὐτοῖς μέτεστι” [It is useless to refer to Xanthos and Podagros without mentioning their superiority over other horses] Xanthos and Podagros were two of Hector’s horses, to which the hero speaks in Iliad 8, 184-185: “ὣς εἰπὼν ἵπποισιν ἐκέκλετο φώνησέν τε· / Ξάνθέ τε καὶ σὺ Πόδαγρε” [He spoke this way and called his horses and told them; Xanthos and you Podagros]. Moreover, Bucephalus, Alexander the Great’s well-known horse, would still not be of humble origin and would not cease to be famous if it went by any other name or even if it had no name at all.126 Related passages from ancient writers are also cited in hagiographic texts. When praising of the two cities that are associated with Saint Agathonikos (a late-third-century martyr) – Nicomedia in which he was born and Selymbria, in which he was martyred127 – Philotheos of Selymbria (born probably 1325-1331) in his Speech dedicated to the saint refers to the literature of antiquity. Philotheos claims that “Ὅμηρος καὶ Ἡσίοδος, μόνας τὰς δύο ταύτας, δικαίως εἶπον ἀνδρῶν ἔχειν φοράν, ἀγαθῶν μὲν κοσμῆσαι ἵππους τε καὶ ἀνέρας ἀσπιδιώτας” [Homer and Hesiod would rightly say these cities alone give birth to good men, horsemen, and warriors].128 Iliad, 2, 553-554 refers to Menestheus from Athens: “Τῷ δ’ οὔ πώ τις ὁμοῖος ἐπιχθόνιος γένετ’ ἀνὴρ / κοσμῆσαι ἵππους τε καὶ ἀνέρας ἀσπιδιώτας” [No other man on earth could like him prepare horses and men armed with shields as he did]. Leendert G. Westerink, “Trois textes inédits sur saint Diomède de Nicée,” Analecta Bollandiana 84: 1-2 (1966): 213, 45 (BHG: 947). 127 Under Galerius (305–311). 128 Patrologia Graeca 154, 1233, Α’-Β’ (BHG: 43). 126

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Further, as soon as he became a teenager, Saint Dionysios (midfourteenth century) was informed that his brother Theodosius had become the abbot of Philotheou monastery. Methrophanes (fifteenth century) in his Life of the saint says that, in his intense desire to go to Athos, Dionysios “τὸν ὁμηρικὸν καὶ οὗτος ἵππον μιμεῖται, κροαίνει τε κατὰ πεδίων” [imitates the Homeric horse that strikes the plains with its feet]. 129 The Iliad, 6, 506-507 reads: “Ὡς δ’ ὅτε τις στατὸς ἵππος ἀκοστήσας ἐπὶ φάτνῃ, δεσμὸν ἀπορρήξας θείῃ πεδίοιο κροαίνων” [like the horse, which had stayed long and had been fed in its manger, breaks its reins and strikes the plains with its feet.] The same Homeric simile is found in the middle period. The author of another hagiographic text, Kallistos (+ 1363), remained on Mount Athos for a while but eventually returned to Constantinople, as he could not endure the absence of his teacher, Saint Gregory of Sinai (1260-27.11.1346), to whom the Life was dedicated. He is compared to a Homeric horse in terms of his desire and haste to be reunited with his teacher.130 In the Speech dedicated to Saint Demetrius, Constantine Akropolites writes that the countless army of the Avars, numbering over a hundred thousand soldiers, which besieged Thessaloniki, is comparable to the famous cavalry of Xerxes during his campaign against the Greeks. According to Herodotus (in the seventh book of his Histories, Polymnia, chapters 84-87), the number of Xerxes’ cavalry soldiers reached eighty thousand.131 In this period, as in the earlier one, scriptural passages mentioning equids appear as well. According to Akropolites, Emperor Leo VI often visited the underground residence of Saint Euphrosyne the New. The saint agreed to speak to him, believing that God, who in the past had spoken through a donkey, would indicate what should be done. The reference is to Balaam’s donkey from the Book of Numbers of the Old Testament.132 According to the same writer, while praying in prison, the V. Laourdas, “Mitrofanous, Vios tou osiou Dionysiou tou Athonitou,” [Life of saint Dionysios of Athos by Metrophanes] Archeion Pontou 21 (1956), 49, 15 (BHG: 559a). 130 Ivan Pomjalovskij, “Žitie iže vo svjatyh otca našego Grigorija Sinaita po rukopisi Moskovkoj Sinodal noj biblioteki,” [Life of our holy father Gregory of Sina after the manuscript of the Moscow Synodal library] Zapiski Istoriko-filologičeskago Fakulteta Imperatorskago S. Peterburgskago Universiteta 35 (1894): 38, XVI, 4-8 (BHG: 722). 131 Papadopoulos-Keramefs, “Logos eis ton megalomartyra kai myronlytin Dimitrion,” 198, 46, 12-17. 132 Halkin, “Éloge de Ste Euphrosyne la Jeune par Constantin Acropolite,” 868, 18, C. 129

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Martyr Euplos asks Jesus, among other things, to quench his thirst as He did to Manoah through the jawbone of a donkey. According to the Bible (Judges, 15, 19), it was not Manoah, but his son Samson who killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass, and God quenched his thirst by opening a hollow in the jawbone from which water sprang.133 Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos, in the text dedicated to Pege, also compares the healing miracle, which involved the future Emperor Leo and a blind man healed by the water of Pege, with Saul and the search for the donkeys.134 Antonios Larisis also compares Saint George to Kis’s son, who sought his father’s donkeys and was anointed the king of Israel by a prophet.135 Saoul, Kis’s son, sought his father’s lost donkeys and eventually became a king. (Kings, 1, 9). Likewise, Gabriel, in a Homily dedicated to Saint Demetrius, refers to the drowning of myriads of Egyptians in the Erythraean Sea, where both chariots and charioteers were defeated.136 References to this famous episode from the Old Testament incident are made by writers in both periods. Finally, it should also be pointed out that Staurakios, in the Speech dedicated to Saint Demetrius, refers to the capture of Constantinople by the Latins because of the wrath of God, quoting from the psalms (32, 17) to make a point that cavalry, despite its strength, cannot secure salvation.137 In terms of testimonies related to historical events and artefacts, a good example is the use by Saint Constantine (27/02/272–22/05/337) of nails from the Holy Cross on which Christ had been crucified to make a bit for his horse.138 Chortasmenos (about 1370-about Chartavella, Efplo (BHG: 630p), 42, 17, 245-246. Pamperis Amvrosios (ed.), Nikiforou Kallistou tou Xanthopoulou Peri systaseos tou sevasmiou oikou tis en Konstantinoupolei Zoodochou Pigis kai ton en afto yperfyos telesthenton thavmaton [About the establishment of the revered house of the Life-Giving Spring in Constantinople and the miracles that were admirably performed in it by Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos] (Leipzig, 1802) (henceforth: Zoodochou Pigis), 10, 22-25 (BHG: 1073). 135 Pseftogkas, Antoniou , 292, 3, 30-32. 136 Laourdas, “Gavriil Thessalonikis, Omiliai,” : 164, Ι, 18-20 (BHG: 547y). 137 Iviritis, “Ioannou Stavrakiou Logos eis ta thavmata tou agiou Dimitriou,” 369, 21, 34, 15-16. 138 This action has symbolic significance, as the bridle was an object that was metaphorically associated with moderation, reason, and the subjection of the body to the spirit. This is pointed in Horses Across the Medieval World, ed. A. Ropa and T. Dawson 133 134

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1436/1437) describes in the Life of the two saints how Saint Helen (246/250–327/330) inserted some of the nails by which Christ was crucified into the bridle of Saint Constantine’s horse, fulfilling Zacharias’ prophecy that the bridle of the king’s horse would be holy to the Lord.139 According to Constantine Akropolites’ testimony in the saint’s Praise, Saint Constantine adorned his helmet with some of the nails of Christ’s Cross while others were used in his bridle, because of his zeal and love for Christ, according to the prophecy: “On that day what is on the emperor’s bridle will be holy to God” (Zacharias, 14, 20).140 Another historical event is testified by Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos, in the text dedicated to Pege. He refers to the patriarch leaving Constantinople on a miserable donkey during the capture of the city by the Latins (1204).141 This is compared to Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, Constantinople being the New Jerusalem. XV. Similes, metaphors, and proverbs It is noteworthy that the similes, metaphors, and proverbs concerning horses and other equids are similar in the hagiographical material from the two periods. Nicephorus Gregoras notes in the Life of Patriarch Antony (893-901) that, after the age of twenty, desires are created in the soul and affect the senses. They resemble horses holding proudly arching their necks (one of the characteristics of the good horse according to Plato’s Phaedrus), and are very difficult to restrain, having just left a manger and seeking to be fed on various fields and grassy areas.142 According to the same text, the ascension of Saint Anthony to

(Leiden: Brill, forthcoming). Also, in the Bible, Psalm 39 reads: “I will take heed to my ways that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle.” 139 Theofilos Ioannou, Mnimeia Agiologika [Hagiographical Monuments] (Venice, 1884), 219, 50 (BHG: 362). 140 Constantine Simonides, The Panegyric of that Holy, Apostolic, and Heaven – Crowned King Constantine the Great Composed by His Head Logothetes Constantine Acropoliti (London, 1853), 33, 10-15 (BHG: 368). 141 Pamperis, Zoodochou Pigis, 63, 6-9. 142 Pietro Luigi Leone, “La Vita Antonii Cauleae di Niceforo Gregora,” Nicolaus 11 (1983): 3-50, at 30, 7, 256-262 (BHG: 139). This is interesting, and has parallels in the western tradition. Gautier de Coinci narrates in the Theophilus legend, where a young man, who has been galloping towards hell, is restrained by God taking the reins of Theophilus’s horse. Gautier explains at length that the horse is the body, the reins are 165

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the patriarchal throne was the occasion for his virtue to be shown, just as riding plains are designed for noble horses to show their worth. The wider, smoother, and more spacious the plains happen to be, the greater the horses’ willingness to move.143 The author also uses certain equestrian similes in the Life of Saint John of Pontoirakleia (+ 1328). He explains that not everyone can understand the full extent of the saint’s virtue. Similarly, only a man with the skill to drive a horse-drawn chariot can manage the animals correctly and become an unprejudiced judge of this activity.144 Gregoras also refers to his uncle’s advice on how engaging in such secular study courses as astronomy can lead one to the study of theology. He compares this activity to the course of action taken by Egyptian priests, who do not disclose their doctrines, which would be like giving gold to donkeys, but use riddles and symbols to make their secrets clear only to the wise.145 Αccording to Theoktistos Stoudites, Saint Athanasius, in order to make it clear that fasting without virtue is futile, used the example of the man who wanted to be called a soldier because of his martial qualities: not everybody who mounts an Arab warhorse is a warrior, unless he knows how to engage the enemies on horseback.146 Similarly, arguing that great and happy natures reveal themselves from an early age, Planudes, in the Speech dedicated to Saint Diomedes, uses the example of a noble horse that immediately after its birth proudly shows off its future qualities by its youthful leaps at its mother’s side.147 Moreover, Planudes compares Diocletian’s anger to a bad knight, who allows his horse (that is, his temper) to run away with him and is unable to restrain it.148 Saint David is metaphorically presented by the anonymous biographer of Makarios Makris as uniting the qualities of humility and prudence, obedience and temperance. According to the author, the saint was

our good conscience, while “Ainz est bestïauz comme beste / Hom qui n’a point de conscience” (“The man without a conscience is as bestial as a beast”). 143 Leone, “La Vita Antonii Cauleae di Niceforo Gregora,” 37, 10, 431-436. 144 Vitalien Laurent, “La vie de Jean, métropolite d’Héracleé du Pont,” Archeion Pontou 6 (1935) : 52, 11, 28-53, 1 (BHG: 2188). 145 Ibid., 60, 13, 1-6. 146 Life of Saint Athanasius, 16, 11, 8-14. 147 Westerink, “Trois textes inédits sur saint Diomède de Nicée,” 184, 7, 30 – 185, 5. 148 Ibid., 211, 43. 166

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taken to heaven as quickly as if he had been driven there by four horses.149 Finally, hagiographical texts are a source of horse-related proverbs. The most common one is “ἵππος εἰς πεδίον” [a horse on the plain], which in many cases relates to the early years of life or the training of a saint. This proverb has its origins in the fact that a horse runs easier and more quickly on an even surface. Theodosios Goudelis reports that Saint Leontios, when he was eating the bread that was given to him in a miraculous way, was like a horse running over the plains.150 As soon as she was taught the first syllables, Saint Euphrosyne the New was drawn to the reading of psalms and divine hymns. She is compared by Constantine Akropolites – among other things – to a horse left on a plain.151 Saint Michael Synkellus (ninth century) is represented by Nicephorus Gregoras as a horse on a plain when the writer refers to his appointment as ambassador to the emperor on a mission concerning the icons.152 Archbishop Gregory listened to the advice and teaching of Theoleptos of Philadelphia and other fathers and was, according to Philotheos Kokkinos, a noble horse that runs quickly across the plain.153 Moreover, according to the same writer, Saint Onouphrios was, in terms of his spiritual struggles, a noble horse that runs over the plain. The addition of the adjective “noble” by this writer to describe the proverbial horse is noteworthy, as it is a novel use.154 Makarios Makris, referring to the education of Saint Andrew of Crete (660-740), metaphorically calls the saint a horse that runs very fast across a plain, because of the saint’s natural intelligence, his willingness to take in the A. Argyriou, Macaire Makrès et la polémique contre l’Islam. Édition princeps de l’éloge de Macaire Makrès et de ses deux oeuvres anti-islamiques précédée d’une étude critique [Studi e testi 34] (Vatican: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1986), 193, 20, 18-20 (BHG: 1001). This could be a hidden reference to Elijah, who, according to the Old Testament, was driven to heaven in a horse-drawn chariot. 150 Tsougarakis, Leontios, 58, 24, 1-60, 3. 151 Halkin, “Éloge de Ste Euphrosyne la Jeune par Constantin Acropolite,” 58, 2. 152 T. N. Schmit, “Kahrie-džami,” [Kariye Camii] Ižvestija Russkago Archeologičeskago Instituta v Konstantinopolě 11 (1906), 269, 28-20 (BHG: 1297). 153 Tsamis, Kokkinou, 439, 12, 8-11. 154 D. G. Tsamis, Konstantinos Katsanis, “Filotheou Konstantinoupoleos tou Kokkinou Logos eis osion Onoufrion kai Egkomion eis agion Fokan,” [Speech on Saint Onouphrios and Praise on Saint Phokas by Philotheos Kokkinos of Constantuinople] Epistimoniki Epetirida Theologikis Scholis Aristoteleiou Panepistimiou Thessalonikis 27 (1982), 388, 12, 8-9 (BHG: 1380). 149

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excellent lessons he received and his constant desire to learn something new.155 According to the same writer, during his childhood, Saint Maximus (fourteenth century), thanks to his intelligence and memory, only needed to study a little. Because of his superior intellect, he was like a horse on a plain.156 Finally, the proverb is used by Staurakios in referring to Saint Theodosia, who, during her infancy, was like a horse on the road, as she walked on the straight track of the martyrs of God.157 Other proverbs are also used by late Byzantine hagiographers. Thus, Theoktistos Stoudites describes Bursa, the place of residence of a woman healed by Saint Athanasius. In recounting the miracle, the author uses the proverb “κέντει τὸν πῶλον περὶ τὴν νύσσαν” that literally means to spur the foal around the column where the chariots turned at the hippodrome; metaphorically, it means getting straight to the point.158 Additionally, Shapur II (309-379), the Persian tyrant, surrendered Saint Ia, who was captured after the fall of the fortress Byzantis, to the magicians, who were in control. But the saint’s judge, after her apology, is presented by Makarios the Monk (thirteenthfourteenth century) as like a donkey listening to the lyre.159 The proverb denotes a stupid man who is unable to appreciate music. It is the only proverb also encountered in a hagiographical text of the middle period, the Life of Saint John of Damascus by John, Patriarch of Jerusalem. 160 Constantine Akopolites uses, in another text, the proverb about “πρὸς τὸν καταψῶντα λακτίζων ὄνος” [the donkey kicking the one who strokes it], meaning an ungrateful person, to describe the prefect to whom Martyr Euplos confessed his faith, as the prefect does not change his

A. Argyriou, Makri, 132, 3, 55-58 (BHG: 114). Ibid., 143, 6, 88-93 (BHG: 1237f). 157 S. Kotzabassi, Theodosia, 86, 4, 74-75 (BHG: 1774a). 158 Speech dedicated to the translation of relics of Saint Athanasius: A.-M. Talbot, Faith Healing in Late Byzantium: The Posthumous Miracles of the Patriarch Athanasios I of Constantinople by Theoktistos the Stoudite [Archbishop Iakovos Library of Ecclesiastical and Historical Sources 8] (Massachusetts: Hellenic College Press, 1983), 114, 64, 13-18 (BHG: 194f). 159 Hippolyte Delehaye, Patrologia Orientalis II Actes des Martyrs Persans (Paris, 1905), 465, 19 (BHG: 762). 160 See Stamouli, “Information about Horses in Middle Byzantine Hagiographical Texts.” 155 156

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mind, but instead threatens Euplos with torture.161 Stoudites testifies, in another text, that Saint Athanasius, when trying to persuade the rich to help during the famine in Constantinople, paraphrases the proverb about “μύρμηξ ἢ κάμηλος” [an ant or a camel] that refers to the unequal distribution of wealth.162 XVI. Conclusion There are many similarities between episodes in late and middle Byzantine hagiographies referring to horses: these include saints on horseback or saints avoiding horses, horses as part of a person’s possessions, donation of horses, horses used as a means of transport or to carry goods, horses used in warfare or for hunting, horses as instruments of divine power, horses fed in monasteries or enemy horses threatening monasteries. There are also references to equids threatened by wild beasts, decorated horse tack, dismounting in order to pray, hippodromes, historical evidence, scriptural passages, similes, metaphors and proverbs related to horses. On the other hand, horses as part of the praise of the saint’s homeland, saints’ tortures related to horses, horses carrying water and healing from horse-related injuries are new elements in the late period. Setting out against a dragon on horseback, the miraculous crossing of the sea on horseback, a saint obliged to hand over his horse, a horse sale and horses as booty from the enemy’s camp are also testified in this period. It is worth noting that no woman riding equids appears in this period. Likewise, no people owning many equids are mentioned. No healing of horses or miracles made for horses are attested, either. Saints may be represented by writers as unusually denying the use of equids during their childhood, or as a sign of humiliation or the avoidance of pleasures, luxury, or greed. The only colour of horses specified is again white. It is concluded that the importance of equids remains very high in the late Byzantine hagiographies, reflecting the role of equids as useful and, in many cases, treasured, high-status animals in contemporary society.

161 162

Chartavella, Efplo (BHG: 630p), 39, 11, 143-145. Life of Saint Athanasius, 34, 25, 25-27. 169

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–––. “Žitija dvuh’ vselenskih’ patriarhov’ XIV v., sw. Afanasija I i Isidora I.” [Lives of two ‘universal’ patriarchs of the 14th century, st. Athanasius I and Isidore i] Zapiski Istoriko-filologičeskago Fakulteta Imperatorskago S. Peterburgskago Universiteta 76 (1905). Pomjalovskij, I. “Žitie iže vo svjatyh otca našego Grigorija Sinaita po rukopisi Moskovkoj Sinodal noj biblioteki.” [Life of our holy father Gregory of Sina after the manuscript of the Moscow Synodal library] Zapiski Istoriko-filologičeskago Fakulteta Imperatorskago S. Peterburgskago Universiteta 35 (1894). Pseftogkas, V. Antoniou Archiepiskopou Larissis Logoi Theomitorikoi – Despotikoi – Agiologikoi. Thessaloniki: Kyromanos, 2002. –––. Nikolaou Kavasila Logoi. Thessaloniki: Kyromanos, 2006. Ropa, A. and Dawson, T., ed. Horses Across the Medieval World. Leiden: Brill, forthcoming. Rosenqvist, J. O. The Hagiographic Dossier of St Eugenios of Trebizond in Codex Athous Dionysiou 154. A Critical Edition with Introduction, Translation, Commentary and Indexes [Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis 5]. Uppsala: Uppsala University, 1996. Sathas K. N. Mesaioniki Vivliothiki 2. [Medieval Library 2] Venice, 1873. Schmit, T. N. “Kahrie-džami.” [Kariye Camii] Ižvestija Russkago Archeologičeskago Instituta v Konstantinopolě 11 (1906). Simonides, C. The Panegyric of that Holy, Apostolic, and Heaven – Crowned King Constantine the Great Composed by His Head Logothetes Constantine Acropoliti. London, 1853. Talbot, A.-M. Faith Healing in Late Byzantium: The Posthumous Miracles of the Patriarch Athanasios I of Constantinople by Theoktistos the Stoudite, [Archbishop Iakovos Library of Ecclesiastical and Historical Sources 8]. Massachusetts: Hellenic College Press, 1983. Tăpkova-Zaimova V. “Tou osiou Theodotou episkopou Agkyras Logos eis ton agion megalomartyra Dimitrion.” [Speech on the Great-Martyr Demetrius by the holy Theodotus bishop of Ankyra], Vyzantina 13Α (1985). Treadgold W. Byzantium and its Army 284-1081. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1995. Treu, M. Theodori Pediasimi eiusque amicorum quae exstant. Potsdam, 1899. Tsamis, D. G. Filotheou tou Konstantinoupoleos tou Kokkinou agiologika erga A’ Thessalonikeis Agioi [Thessalonikeis Vyzantinoi Syngrafeis 4]. Thessaloniki: Kentro Vyzantinōn Ereunōn, 1985. 173

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–––. Iosif Kalothetou Syngrammata [Thessalonikeis Vyzantinoi Syngrafeis 1]. Thessaloniki: Kentron Byzantinon Ereunon, 1980. Tsamis, D. G., Katsanis, K. “Filotheou Konstantinoupoleos tou Kokkinou Logos eis osion Onoufrion kai Egkomion eis agion Fokan.” [Speech on Saint Onouphrios and Praise on Saint Phokas by Philotheos Kokkinos of Constantuinople] Epistimoniki Epetirida Theologikis Scholis Aristoteleiou Panepistimiou Thessalonikis 27 (1982). Tsougarakis, D. The Life of Leontios Patriarch of Jerusalem. Text, Translation and Commentary. Leiden: Brill, 1993. Westerink, L. G. “Trois textes inédits sur saint Diomède de Nicée.” Analecta Bollandiana 84:1-2 (1966): 161-227. White, T. H. The Book of Beasts: Being a Translation from a Latin Bestiary of the Twelfth Century. Madison: Parallel Press, 2002.

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I. Contextualising the equus Arabicus This chapter will examine and comment on the meaning of the phrase equum Arabicum in the Augustinian’s Account, a document which forms part of the foundation accounts of the Priory of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland.1 Originally intended to be part of Foundation Account B (the twelfth-century version of the foundation account of St Andrews), only one eighteenth-century copy of the manuscript of the Augustinian’s Account (AA) has survived2 (A. A. M. Duncan states that this 1708 edition contains “some manifest errors”3). Professor Donna Landry suggests that it may be the first record of an importation of an Arab horse not only into Scotland, but into Britain, and that the imports may have started centuries earlier.4 The use of the term equus Arabicus to describe an example of the Arabian, or Arab, breed of horse will be discussed later. In this chapter, I will present evidence for alternative interpretations of the term, placing it within the context of the St Andrews Foundation For the details of these accounts see Simon Taylor, “Appendix One, The St Andrews Foundation Account” and “Appendix Two, The Augustinian’s Account,” in Medieval St Andrews, Church, Cult, City, ed. Michael Brown and Katie Stevenson (Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, 2017), 345-379. For a Latin as well as an English version see Simon Taylor, “Appendix 1, The St Andrews Foundation Account B and The Augustinian’s Account,” The Place-names of Fife Volume Three, St Andrews and the East Neuk ed. Simon Taylor with G. Márkus (Donington: Shaun Tyas, 2009), 564-615. (Hereafter PNF3) 2 Simon Taylor, “Appendix One,” 369. 3 A. A. M. Duncan, “The Foundation of St Andrews Cathedral Priory, 1140,” The Scottish Historical Review 84:217 (2005): 1. 4 Donna Landry, “The Bloody Shouldered Arabian and Early Modern English Culture,” Criticism 46:1 (2004): 43. 1

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Accounts, which are also known as the Foundation Legends. The aim of the Accounts was to establish (or reinforce) the significance of St Andrews spiritually and temporally, as well as to express, through established ritual, the importance of its relationship with Scottish rulers. Aspects of the Accounts have been incorporated into a more general foundation account, or narrative, for the whole of Scotland. Viewed in this light, the presumed equus Arabicus may provide evidence for broader themes relating to Scottish sovereignty and nationhood. Exposing these broader themes requires an overview of the Foundation Accounts and the development of St Andrews as the centre of Scottish spirituality, as well as its significance in the wider world of the twelfth century. Following this will be an examination of the equum Arabicum reference as it clearly transmutes across the centuries, from the twelfth century to the present day. I will also engage with issues that arise from the interpretation of the term as Arab (or Arabian) horse, before concluding that it may represent another beast entirely. II. The St Andrews Foundation Account A. Foundation Accounts A and B Though much of medieval St Andrews lies in ruins, the result of destruction during the Scottish Reformation, sufficient remains to testify to the town’s former importance.5 For two centuries, from the fourteenth to the late sixteenth century, St Andrews was a bustling commercial hub dealing in hides and wool, as well as being the center of the cult of St Andrew, Scotland’s patron saint. Although its harbor was not large, St Andrews had mercantile connections with the continent, particularly Cologne and Bruges.6 Both the shorter Foundation Account (Foundation Account A, or FAA) and the longer version (Foundation Account B, or FAB) recount the origins of St Andrew’s connection to the site on the east coast of Scotland that would eventually bear his name. FAB is credited to Michael H. Brown and Katie Stevenson, “‘Ancient Magnificence’: St Andrews in the Middle Ages: An Introduction,” in Medieval St Andrews, Church, Cult, City, ed. Michael Brown and Katie Stevenson (Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, 2017), 1. 6 Elizabeth Ewan, “Living in the Late Medieval Town of St Andrews,” in Medieval St Andrews, Church, Cult, City, ed. Michael Brown and Katie Stevenson (Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, 2017), 122. 5

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Thana, son of Dubabrach, who is said to have lived in the ninth century.7 The account begins by describing how certain relics of St Andrew were saved from Patras by Bishop Regulus before the army of Constantius could seize them and carry them off to Constantinople. According to FAB, Regulus removed “three fingers of the right hand, and the arm between the elbow and the shoulder, and his kneecap, and one of his teeth” from “the blessed Andrew”8 as he lay in his sarcophagus. Simultaneously, the Pictish king Ungus son of Forso (identified as Unust I, 729 – 7619) was preparing to fight Athelstan at the mouth of the River Tyne (a Scottish Tyne, rather than the English one) when a vision of St Andrew appeared to him offering him success if he would provide a home for the saint’s bones.10 (In some versions of the story Ungus is told to follow the cross of St Andrew, which leads the Picts supernaturally into battle, a parallel with Constantine at the Battle of Milvian Bridge.11) Ungus agreed, victory inevitably ensued, and shortly afterwards Regulus arrived on the east coast of Scotland with the relics, having been directed north by an angel of God.12 The place of his arrival, Muchros (“Pigswood,” or possibly Pigpromontory13) was renamed Kilrymont, and its association with the Pictish royal family was sealed when a daughter of Ungus, Mouren, was buried there. Ungus gave the land at Kilrymont for a basilica to St Andrew and dedicated it in a ceremony that included walking the land in procession with the bishop before offering a divot of earth on the altar. This highly symbolic act is reminiscent of some rituals still used today when preparing land for building.14 The influence of the narrative can be seen in the 1320 creation of The Nation of Scots and the Declaration of Arbroath: “Their [the Scots] high qualities and merits, if they were not otherwise manifest, shine out sufficiently from this: that […] our lord Jesus Christ […] called them, Simon Taylor, “Appendix One,” in Medieval St Andrews, Church, Cult, City, ed. Michael Brown and Katie Stevenson (Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, 2017), 346. 8 Ibidem, 348. 9 A. A. M. Duncan, “The Foundation of St Andrews Cathedral Priory, 1140,” 4. 10 Taylor, “Appendix One,” 348. 11 FAA, trs. Dauvit Broun, https://openvirtualworlds.org/omeka/items /show/512. 12 Taylor, “Appendix One,” 349. 13 Taylor, PNF3, 584. 14 Taylor, “Appendix One,” 350. 7

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even though settled in the uttermost ends of the earth, almost the first to his holy faith. Nor did he wish to confirm them in that faith by anyone [other] than the most gentle Andrew.”15 Thus the connection between Pictish, and later Scottish kingship and the cult of St Andrew was established at an early period, and this informed the Augustinian’s Account, the twelfth-century narrative which includes a description of Alexander I’s donation at St Andrews. B. The Augustinian’s Account Although it refers to events in the reign of Alexander I (r. 1107 – 1124) the Augustinian’s Account was not written down until the middle of the twelfth century and is primarily a record of the foundation of the Priory of St Andrews in the year 1140 (or 1144, the year is disputed). Duncan suggests a date of around 1120 for Foundation Account B,16 while the Augustinian’s Account was most likely the work of Prior Robert, the head of the Augustinian house at St Andrews, who was responsible for the Augustinian house there in 1140, during the reign of David I. Others such as Dauvit Broun suggest a date closer to 1101 for FAB.17 As recently as 2009, Simon Taylor commented that the AA had “never been fully edited or translated”18 and the text still offers opportunities for rich discussion. The gift of the equus Arabicus reinforced Alexander’s principal donation to the church, which was the highly symbolic “restitution” of the piece of land known as The Boar’s Raik which King Hungus/Ungus had first dedicated to God and St Andrew on the arrival of St Andrew’s relics.19 It is also clear that the royal gift of “liberties and customs” was equally important:

A.A.M. Duncan, The Nation of Scots and the Declaration of Arbroath (London: The Historical Association, 1970), 35. 16 Duncan, “The Foundation of St Andrews Cathedral Priory,” 4. 17 Dauvit Broun, “The church of St Andrews and its foundation-legend in the early twelfth century: recovering the full text of Version A of the foundation legend,” Kings, Clerics and Chronicles in Scotland 500-1297, ed. Simon Taylor (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2000), 108-14. 18 Taylor, PNF3, 564. 19 Ibidem, 609. 15

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Ob cujos etiam donationis monumentum regium equum Arabicum cum proprio freno et sella et scuto et lancea argente, opertum pallio grandi et pretioso praecepit rex usque ad altare adduci; et di praedictis donis, libertatibus et consuetudinibus omnibus regalibus ecclesiam investiri; arma quoque Turchensia diversi generis dedit, quae cum ipsius scuto et sella in memoriam regiae munificientiae usque hodie in ecclesia Sancti Andreae conserve[a]ntur.20 [As a royal record of his gift the king ordered to be led to the altar an Arab steed, with its own bridle, saddle, shield and silver lance, and covered with a large, precious cloth; and he ordered the church to be invested with all the aforementioned royal gifts, liberties and customs; he also gave Turkish arms of a different kind, which are still kept in the church of St Andrew, along with its [the steed’s] shield and saddle to commemorate royal munificence.]21 One suggestion regarding the donation of the “Arab steed” is that it “mirrors, in grander fashion, King Hungus’s act of carrying a divot to the altar to symbolise basically the same act.”22 This is a reminder that the Foundation Accounts are richly symbolic, intended to connect monarchy, religion, and nationhood through word, artefact, and deed. They are of political and dynastic significance too, as will be discussed shortly. C. St Andrews as the “Second Rome” Alexander I was a younger son of Malcolm Canmore and his second wife Margaret, sister of Edgar Atheling of England. Margaret (later Saint Margaret) is often credited, though controversially, with initiating “profound change in Scottish religious life.”23 Her confessor and biographer Prior Turgot, later installed by Alexander as Bishop of St Andrews, describes how she established not only houses for pilgrims and the poor to rest in at St Andrews but also ferries to bring them Ibidem, 603 Ibidem, 610. 22 Ibidem, 368. 23 Richard Oram, Kings and Queens of Scotland (Stroud: The History Press, 2017), 55. 20 21

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across the water, an act which is still remembered in the name Queensferry.24 Soon after her death came the first evidence of St Andrews being more than a place of local pilgrimage.25 Her sons Alexander and his successor David I are viewed as inheriting her reforming tendencies, and both were responsible for inaugurating religious foundations in Scotland. The Augustinan’s Account makes reference to Alexander’s special regard for the church (“ecclesiae specialis amatoris”26) and both Alexander and David “emphatically shifted the balance in favor of episcopy.”27 The family had, therefore, a dynastic interest in St Andrews as well as a religious one. It is also clear that David and his son and successor Malcolm IV intended to have St Andrews recognised as the principal seat of religion in Scotland, though this was rejected by the papacy.28 In this light, the reference to Alexander’s donations in the AA is a postevent endorsement of the dynasty’s commitment to St Andrews. The family’s commitment to St Andrews and the principles of episcopacy also connects directly to the original foundation narrative, since, as Campbell comments, FAA “made the audacious claim that: ‘the archiepiscopacy of all Scotia should be exercised from this city where the apostolic see is [and] no bishop ought to be ordained in Scotia without the approval of the elders of this place. For in relation to Rome this is the second. This is the preeminent city of refuge. This is the city of cities of Scotia.”29 III. The wider medieval context A. The impact of the First Crusade Interestingly, the gifts donated by Alexander at the altar suggest those of a knight returning home to offer thanks to God. The richly 24 Simon Taylor, “From Cinrigh Monai to Civitas Sancti Andree: A Star is Born,” in Medieval St Andrews, Church, Cult, City, ed. Michael Brown and Katie Stevenson (Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, 2017), 24. 25 Taylor, “From Cinrigh Monai,” 24. 26 Taylor, PNF3, 2 27 G.W.S. Barrow, Kingship and Unity: Scotland 1000 – 1306 (London: Arnold, 1981), 66. 28 Barrow, Kingship and Unity, 69. 29 Ian Campbell, “The Idea of St Andrews as the Second Rome Made Manifest,” Medieval St Andrews, 35. See also Dauvit Broun, Kings, Clerics and Chronicles, 111.

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harnessed horse, the shield, the spear, the Turkish arms are all suggestive of a successful warrior. This may have been a deliberate choice, since the First Crusade had come to a triumphant end in 1099 with the occupation of Jerusalem, and these martial offerings could represent the concept of an ideal Christian warrior king. However, although known as “the Fierce,” King Alexander did not take part in the First Crusade. He gained his nickname only after death, and largely as a result of campaigns against the men of the isles, including some of his own relatives.30 Scots certainly participated in the First Crusade, but as individuals rather than an organised force, and there is little, if any evidence, for the participation of the Scottish elite in the First Crusade.31 Macquarrie comments that “We can safely say that there was no Scottish presence at the Council of Clermont in November 1095”.32 .However, Edgar Atheling, heir in exile to the English throne and uncle to Alexander, had departed on crusade from Scotland in 1097.33 Though Scotland was a vassal state to England,34 the relationship between English and Scottish royalty was close, if not always cordial. There would certainly be an awareness of the Crusade and its possible implications for Scotland, due to the connections between the royal houses, as I will discuss in section III B below. Macquarrie points out that in 1128 (four years after Alexander’s death), Hugh de Patens, the first master of the Knights Templars, introduced the Templars into Scotland and successfully recruited support there for an army.35 The force he raised attempted to take Damascus in 1129. David, Alexander’s successor, probably wanted to participate in the 1147 crusade but was advised against it, due in part to the reaction of his own people.36 In summary, crusading fervour, or fever, was certainly present in Scotland around the times of the First Crusade and of Alexander’s Oram, Kings and Queens, 59. Alan Macquarrie, The Impact of the Crusading Movement in Scotland 1095 - c. 1560 (Doctoral thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1982), 19. 32 Ibidem. 33 Steven Runciman, A History of the Crusades Volume 1: The First Crusade (London: Penguin Books), 227-228. 34 Oram, Kings and Queens, 62. 35 Macquarrie, Crusading Movement, 20. 36 Ibidem, 20-21. 30 31

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donation. Since the crusader armies were in conflict with the Seljuk Moslems of Syria, a Turkish people, it is not surprising to read that Alexander donated “arma quoque Turchensia diversi generis.” “Turk” would be in general use for centuries to come, and would be used to describe one of the three types of horse designated as “oriental” breeds: the Turk, the Barb, and the Arabian. The later Greeks and Romans used the term “Saracen” (Gk. Sarakĕnos) to describe the nomads of the vast and little-known desert areas of Syria and Arabia. Later, the term Mussulman for Muslim would be adopted from the Persian musulmān. What is more unusual is the use of the term arabicum, an early adjectival form of the modern descriptive “Arabic,” meaning of the Arabs or of Arabia, used to describe something considered “Arabian.” It is particularly unusual in that it refers to a horse, for there is no real evidence for a horse called an “Arabian” at this time. (For the extended argument re this point, see section IVD below.) Nor does the term appear to have been in general use as a descriptive for people in the early twelfth century. The First Crusade and the establishment of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem certainly made the western armies aware of new creatures, cultures, and artefacts. The area that the Romans had known as Arabia Deserta still lived up to its name, a vast expanse of the unknown that might contain miracles and wonders. In the twelfth century, the Kingdom of Jerusalem was a place and time lying at the very border of reality and legend, where the truth behind some of the tales might become manifest. The equus Arabicus hints at exoticism and rarity value. An interesting point raised by Macquarrie, citing Ranald Nicholson, is the idea that “cosmopolitan chivalry,” a wider European concept influenced by the crusades, may have been an alternative to “nascent nationalism”.37 Perhaps in the events at St Andrews in 1120 it is possible to see something of both, with pre-existing elements taken from the Foundation Accounts stressing the traditional side of the ceremony, along with the modern, “cosmopolitan” chivalric donations. B. Anglo-Scottish relations As noted, Margaret, wife of Malcolm III (Máel Coluim mac Donnchada), was the sister of Edgar Atheling and mother to three 37

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kings of Scotland, Edgar (r. 1197 – 1107); Alexander I; and David (r. 1124 – 1153). The reigns of all four, from Malcolm to David, were marked by conflict both with England and within the family itself. They were also marked, not surprisingly, by intense political wrangling. Margaret and Malcolm died within days of each other after an incursion into England by Malcolm and his son and heir Edward. Malcolm and Edward both died as a result of an ambush near Alnwick in Northumberland.38 Malcolm’s death drew out the differences between Gaelic, or Norse-Gaelic kingship, and the Anglo-Norman tradition. Under Gaelic custom, his heir should now have been the eldest male of the family, his younger brother Domnall mac Donnchada (Donald III).39 However, Domnall’s nephew, Donnchad, the son of Malcolm III and his first wife, now emerged from the English court as a rival. Supported by an Anglo-Norman army, Donnchad managed to take power briefly before Domnall reclaimed control again. When Edmund, second son of Malcolm and Margaret, as the heir to Canmore attempted a power share with Domnall, it was the signal for William Rufus to give his support to Edgar, a younger son. Open conflict between the younger brothers and Domnall and Edmund ensued, resulting in the imprisonment of Edmund and ultimately the death of Domnall, who was first blinded by order of his nephew David.40 After Edgar’s rule and death, conflict continued between Alexander and David over Edgar’s bequest to his youngest brother of most of southern Scotland.41 While Alexander was married to Sibylla, an illegitimate daughter of Henry I, it was David whom Henry favored, and Oram views Alexander as “very much a man of Scotia. It was in the Gaelic heartland of his ancestral kingdom of Tayside that his power was based.”42 It is not too unreasonable to see the potential seeds of independence in the reign of Alexander I. David’s reign would be marked by the establishment of Augustinian communities in Scotland, civil war in England (David supported Henry I’s daughter Matilda), the Oram, Kings and Queens, 55-56. Ibidem, 57. 40 Ibidem, 59. 41 Ibidem, 62. 42 Ibidem, 63. 38 39

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disastrous Battle of the Standard and the arrival of the Brus family, at David’s invitation, in Scotland. It was also marked by a period of economic and political stability, during which “David became more and more a Gaelic king […] successfully uniting the diverse components of his hybrid domain.”43 The Augustinian’s Account, written during David’s reign by one of his supporters and beneficiaries, can therefore be seen as part of the template for a future Scotland, with all the symbols – or most of them – for Scottish nationhood and kingship with which we are familiar today: the patron saint Andrew, the Saltire, the establishment of a Christian religious center that would be “a second Rome”; plus the arms representing a holy Christian monarch. Prior Robert was also at pains to point out that David confirmed the gifts of Alexander and that at least some of the gifts were still present in the church in his day,44 thus stressing the dynastic theme. If there was a symbolic element to the horse, what might that have been? C. Menageries in twelfth-century Britain The inference of the equus Arabicus is that it is exotic, rare, and costly, a gift fit for a king to give (and receive). In fact, the choice of gifts may have a deeper meaning than is immediately apparent as well as being a reflection of practices elsewhere, and I will discuss that shortly. For the present, though, it is worth reaffirming that one of the consequences of the First Crusade was to introduce new animals to the west. It is no coincidence that the first true menageries emerged during the twelfth century, and that one of the earliest was that of Henry I at Woodstock, established in 1110 when the king enclosed the existing hunting park with a stone wall and stocked part of it with exotic beasts.45 These included lions, lynxes, camels, leopards and even an African porcupine. William of Malmesbury said that Henry begged foreign rulers for animals “with great delight”46 and he took some of his Ibidem, 73. Taylor, PNF3, 603; 610. 45 John Banbury and Peter Jay, “The Normans and the Wall” in Woodstock and the Royal Park: Nine Hundred Years of History, ed. John Banbury et al (Oxford: Woodstock and the Royal Park 900 Years Association, 2010), 7. 46 Woodstock and the Royal Park, 11. 43 44

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animals with him when he went on royal progress.47 It was the start of a tradition that would eventually see a menagerie at the Tower of London, and ultimately, London Zoo. Interestingly, one nineteenth-century commentator makes a tangential reference to Alexander’s Arabian in the context of Henry’s penchant for collecting animals: “There is no record of an Arab horse being brought to these islands by a Briton until Alexander, King of Scotland, is known to have presented one to a church in 1121; and his companion, who was a gift from Eastern Europe with some Turkish Armour, was kept at the Royal stud at Gillingham”.48 The Pipe Roll of Henry I for 1130 is one of the earliest in existence and includes various horse-keeping costs; this may be the source of the tale but I have not inspected it, nor have I found any other author referring to it with regard to the “Arab horse.” There was, of course, no reference to a companion horse in the Augustinian’s Account. Cook’s comment shows how significantly the story had advanced since the twelfth century, and it is possible to trace its development to this point. IV. The creation of a legend A. “Hys cumly sted off Araby” Two fifteenth-century writers confirm the broad details of the Augustinian’s Account, including the presence of the equus Arabicus. They are Andrew of Wyntoun and Walter Bower: Before the Lordys all the Kyng Gert than to the awtare bryng Hys cumly sted off Araby, Sadelyd and brydelyd costlykly, Coveryd wyth a fayre mantlete Off precyows and [of] fyne wellvet, Wyth hys armwrys off Turky, That pryncys than oysid generaly, Caroline Grigson, Menagerie: the History of Exotic Animals in England 1100 – 1837 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016), 1. 48 Theodore Andrea Cook, History of the English Turf, volume I (London: H. Virtue and Company, 1901), 13. 47

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And chesyd mast for thare delyte, Wyth scheld and spere off sylvyr qwhyt, Wyth mony a precyows fayre jowele, That now I leve for cause to tell. - Andrew of Wyntoun, Orygynale Cronykil 49 Anno Domini mcxxii. electus est Robertus, Prior de Scona, in episcopum, ad instantiam regis Alexandri I. Qui terram quæ Cursus Apri dicitur, quæ ab ecclesia Sancti Andreæ ablata fuerat, ex integro restiturt, ea conditione, ut ibi constitueretur religio, ut per regera Alexandrum præordinatum fuerat, et per regium equum Arabicum, cum proprio fræno et sella, opertum pallio grandi et pretioso, cum scuto et lancea argentea, quæ nunc est hasta crucis quæ omnia præcepit rex coram magnatibus terras usque ad altare adduci, et de prædictis libertatibus et consuetudinibus regalibus ecclesiam investiri fecit et fasiri. [In the year 1122, Robert, Prior of Scone, was elected Bishop at the behest of King Alexander I. The land known as the Boar’s Run, which had been taken from the church of St Andrew, would be restored again as the king had ordered, and at the king’s request [or by royal request] a [royal] Arabian horse was led up to the altar, with its own bridle and saddle, covered in a large and valuable cloth, with a shield and a lance of silver, which is now a cross in the church, and the said liberties and customs granted to the church were invested and confirmed.] - Walter Bower, The Scotichronicon50 Both Bower and Wyntoun had connections to St Andrews. Both have embellished the original: Wyntoun’s equus Arabicus is now a “cumly sted of Araby”; the cover is a mantlet of fine velvet and the equipage is graced with jewels; Bower notes that the silver spear Alexander I, Dictionary of National Biography ed. Aeneas James George Mackay (London: Smith, Elder & Co, 1885), 261. 50 Walter Bower, Scotichronicon Book VI, ed. and trans. D.E.R. Watt et al, (Edinburgh: The Mercat Press, 1995), 24. Emphasis mine. 49

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became part of a cross. The Boar’s Raik is referenced as “Cursus Apri,” the Boar’s Run. Further embellishments and also inaccuracies appear in various nineteenth-century publications. Captain Thomas Brown, for example, in his 1830 work Biographical Sketches and Authentic Anecdotes of Horses and the Allied Species writes: “In the year 1131, Alexander the First presented to the Church of St Andrews, an Arabian horse, furnished with costly trappings, Turkish armor, a quantity of valuable trinkets, and an estate of considerable value. This is the first notice we have of any Arabian steed being brought to the island.”51 Patrick Fraser Tytler describes not only how the king “commanded his favorite horse to be led up to the altar” but also has a squire bring up the “king’s body armour, which were studded with jewels, with his spear and his shield of silver”52 and cites the notorious scholar John Pinkerton as his source. George Craik says it was the “Arabian horse which [the king] was wont to ride, with his bridle, saddle, shield, and silver lance, a magnificent pall or horse-cloth, and other Turkish arms.”53 Thus the equus Arabicus has entered modern texts, as a gift from King Alexander (which Alexander often not specified) to a church (usually not specified) without any of the context of the donation. An event which is said to have occurred in 1121 was recorded around 1140/1144, survives only in a version from 1708 and has been subject to diverse interpretations and additions over the centuries. C. Interpretation and appropriation One of the most interesting aspects of Alexander’s donation is that it is treated as an event that is both unusual and yet unexceptional at the same time – the leading of an animal to an altar. It is also presented in its specifically Scottish context, without reference to any other similar donations elsewhere in Britain, Europe or beyond. Was it so unique?

51 Thomas Brown, Biographical Sketches and Authentic Anecdotes of Horses and the Allied Species (Edinburgh: David Lizar, 1830), 93. 52 Patrick Fraser Tytler, History of Scotland Volume II (Edinburgh: William Tate, 1841), 198. 53 George Lillie Craik, The History of British Commerce, Volume 1 (London: C. Knight & Co, 1844), 97.

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In the broader context of horses as elite gifts, it is not exceptional. Anglo-Saxon wills have survived that show the details of tributes of horses as part of the heriot, the heritable part of an estate due from an individual to their lord.54 The will of one Ketel includes reference to a heriot of “a helmet, a coat of mail, and a horse with harness and a sword and a spear” to his lord, Archbishop Stigand.55 Indeed, the idea of gifting a horse (and arms) seems to have entered certain statutes as an action that was required when entering monastic life. In a commentary on the statutes of Saint Benedict (ca 845 CE), Hildemar described how young noble boys entering the Abbey of Saint-Martin de Tours “had to give up their horses and their arms, which were left at the saint’s tomb, a ceremony meant to renounce the symbolic attributes of the aristocratic laity of the High Middle Ages.”56 Clearly, the gift of a horse from a king to a religious foundation is different in degree and the presentation of a live animal at the altar seems to make it exceptional. Even the most famous gift of an equine to a religious foundation – that of Clovis to the Basilica of St Martin of Tours – is not specified as being directly at the altar, to my knowledge, and it has become most famous for what one scholar describes as “the first joke recorded in Frankish history,”57 that being that when Clovis requested the return of his horse it would not budge from its stable until the king paid the required (and elevated) price for it. There is a remote echo of this in Alexander’s gift, since it has been suggested that the “the ‘Arab steed’ episode was restoration of that gift [the Boar’s Raik], made before magnates, recorded in a narrative which also referred to the election of Robert as bishop, possibly to explain that he could not carry out the foundation,”58 the implication being that Alexander had offered the gift but never actually followed it through, or had possibly taken it back. The horse (and the arms) reinstated, or reaffirmed, his donation. It has also been suggested that the horse was a gift from an ailing or dying man (hence “caused to be led” rather than Dorothy Whitelock, Anglo-Saxon Wills (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), passim. 55 Ibidem, 88-89. 56 Danièle Alexandre-Bidon and Didier Lett, Children in the Middle Ages. Fifth-Fifteenth Centuries, trans. Jody Gladding (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1999), 49. 57 Gerberding, quoted in Florin Curta, “Merovingian and Carolingian Gift Giving,” Speculum 81:3 (2006): 683. 58 Duncan, The Foundation of St Andrews Cathedral Priory, 7. 54

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leading it himself) and that this would be an appropriate gift at this stage, with death not far away.59 It is interesting to note some unusual enactments elsewhere with horses, one of which is very close in time to Alexander’s donation. In 1118, the embalmed body of the second crusader king of Jerusalem, Baldwin II, was brought into the city on horseback and led through the gate by which Christ himself was supposed to have entered. The date was Palm Sunday.60 The impact of this event must have been tremendous, and it was not the first time such an event had been stagemanaged. The young Otto III had entered Cologne as a corpse on horseback over a century earlier.61 In both cases, they were events that emphasized the royal and religious in a single act. Alexander’s donation may not seem to have quite this level of drama, but it must nonetheless have been an act with vivid visual impact and clearly lasting effect. The regal aspect of the gift (regium equum Arabicum) has been viewed in two ways. Taylor, in his translation, interprets it as a “royal record” of the entire transaction (that is, what makes it essentially royal is that it comes from a king),62 whereas one possible reading of Bower would make it a “royal Arab.”63 What might make it royal relates to the following paragraphs, in which I discuss the evidence for Arabian horses at this time, or rather lack of evidence, for the next section could well have been subtitled the case of the missing Arabians. D. Identifying the Arabian horse: the issues The modern Arabian horse is internationally acclaimed. It is also one of the most mythologised horse breeds, with some twentieth century enthusiasts making expansive claims for it. The most famous of these enthusiasts is undoubtedly Judith, best known as Lady Wentworth, daughter of Wilfrid and Anne Blunt who travelled in Syria and the Najd collecting horses for their own breeding programs in Cairo and Sussex. The following quote is typical of Lady Wentworth’s beliefs regarding the breed: “The Arabian was known as far back as 5000 B.C. Ibidem. Max Harris, Christ on a Donkey: Palm Sunday, Triumphal Entries and Blasphemous Pageants (Leeds: Arc Humanities Press, 2019), 21-22. 61 Ibidem, 20. 62 Taylor, PNF3, 610. 63 Duncan, The Foundation of St Andrews Cathedral Priory, 5. 59 60

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and was celebrated as a race-horse in Arabia, Egypt and Syria in the fifteenth century and from thence to the thirteenth century, when prices as high as those at Newmarket were being paid by the Sultans for Arabian race-horses.”64 Lady Wentworth also comments “The breed was traditionally wild in Arabia, and the first wild horses are recorded by El Kelbi as having been captured in Yemen by Baz, great-greatgrandson of Noah.”65 While these beliefs have been largely discredited – there is no evidence for the existence of a wild Arabian horse evolving on its own in the desert – Lady Wentworth attempted to establish the term Equus Arabicus (sic) for the breed, as a kind of sub-species of equus Caballus: “The Arabian horse, Equus Arabicus, is the root stock from which all the various Southern varieties are derived. It is the source of all pure breeding and the root stock also of the racing type, being the earliest known racehorse.”66 It was necessary for Wentworth to distinguish the hot-blooded “Southern” Arabian fully from the “coarse-fibred, phlegmatic, thick-haired, thick-skinned, ram-headed, slow” “Northern type.”67 Her beliefs regarding horses reflected her concepts of class, race, and purity. Arguably, the term equus Arabicus does relate to “Arabia” rather than “Arab.” Were the equus Arabicus of the AA intended to mean “the horse of the Arabs,” or Arab horse, one might expect to see “equum Arabum” in the text.68 The issue is that modern historians, including equine historians dedicated to researching the breed, have been hard-pressed to find evidence of an Arabian horse in antiquity or even medieval times. The Greeks and Romans knew of no breed of horse called “an Arabian”; Hyland, for instance, while still holding to her belief that “there are various indications that the Arabian horse, though going by Lady Wentworth, “The Arabian Thoroughbred,” Summerhays’ Encyclopaedia for Horsemen, compiled by R.S. Summerhays (London: Frederick Warne, 1966), 11. 65 Ibidem, 12. 66 Lady Wentworth, Horses of Britain (London: Collins, 1947), 9. 67 Ibidem, 8. 68 I am indebted to Jürg Gassmann for making this clear by using the term in his Leeds IMC 2019 presentation, which preceded my own. For a critical analysis of some of the issues relating to Arabian horse influence see Jürg Gassmann, “East meets West: Mounted Encounters in Early and High Mediaeval Europe” in Acta Periodica Duellatorum, 75-107, available at de Gruyter Open Access. DOI 10.1515/apd-20170003. 64

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other names, had already developed by Roman times […], some quote Strabo as saying there were no horses in Arabia then,”69 also points out with scepticism the arguments of the “purists” who “like to say that he rose phoenix-like from the deserts of Arabia. Other more sensible theories admit to mystery, and though discounted by modernists I find Prof. Ridgway’s theory of the Libyan ancestry for the modern Arabian very attractive. I believe the movement was to Arabia, rather than from Arabia.”70 Many of the writers referencing Alexander’s equus Arabicus stress that it was the first reference to an Arabian horse in Britain. There would be no further reference to a possible Arabian horse (other than Wyntoun’s “cumly sted of Araby” until the late sixteenth century when a mysterious stallion was imported via Constantinople from “a parte of Arabia called Angelica” and referenced in one of the editions of Gervase Markham’s famous book A discource of horsmanshippe. Interestingly, Markham makes reference to an “olde writing of a Muncks, written in parchement” relating to a story from the Iliad in which Achilles rode on an “Arabian Courser,” perhaps hinting at an embellished memory of the Augustinian’s Account.71 If the importation of Arabians (assuming they existed in an identifiable form) had been going on for centuries and the term equus Arabicus was used to describe them, why does the term only appear, apparently, in the fortuitous survival of the Augustinian’s Account? The next use of the term equus Arabicus to genuinely indicate an Arabian horse that I have found is in Turkish-Arabic-French dictionaries of the eighteenth century. The investigation is not assisted by the haphazard use of the term Arabian. With regard to the royal studs of medieval England, for instance, all too often horse imports are described in extremely general terms, without specific references: “the Carthaginians introduced oriental blood, and possibly Spanish; in the Muslim and Norman era much Barb and Arabian blood entered.”72 Earlier, post Norman conquest: “There would also have been Syrian strains and some Ann Hyland, Equus: The Horse in the Roman World (London: B.T. Batsford, 1990), 24. Ibidem. 71 Gervase Markham, A Discovrse of Horsemanshippe (London: Richard Smith, 1593), https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A06916.0001.001/1:4?rgn=div1;view=fulltext;q1= arabian (accessed on 01.01.2020). 72 Ann Hyland, The Warhorse 1250 – 1600 (Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1998), 22. 69 70

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purebred Arabians as Moorish officers came from the Damascus Caliphate.”73 R.H.C Davis comments that “Though there is no specific evidence before the thirteenth century, it is inconceivable that the Normans did not acquire Barb and Arabian horses [via Sicily, once they had conquered it].”74 Davis does cite some further evidence in a quote from the Song of Antioch: “the Arab people were accursed of God – ‘but what horses they have and what destriers of price!’”75 The existence of an Arabian in medieval and early modern times is largely based on assumption and inference. Here too, the influence of Lady Wentworth can be witnessed: “Lady Wentworth, while doing sterling work, and using Mantuan archives, nevertheless frequently assumes all orientals to be Arabians.”76 The work of previous generations still vexes that of modern researchers, and the implications of this are recognized by only a few within the field of equine history. The latest DNA research is not particularly enlightening on the origins of the Arabian horse. There is “increasing affinity to Sassanid Persian horses detected in the genomes of European and Asian horses after the seventh or ninth century, this suggests that the ByzantineSassanid wars and the early Islamic conquests significantly impacted breeding and exchange.”77 This was also the time period when “the horse phenotype was also significantly reshaped, especially for locomotion, speed capacity, and morpho-anatomy. Whether this partly or fully reflects the direct influence of Arabian lines require further tests.”78 The search for the Arabian is still the dominant trope. It is also suggested that the newly “shaped” horses could have been disseminated through Arab conquests; but so, arguably, they could by Viking trade routes from the ninth century onwards, in eastern Europe and the north. What then would make them Arabian?

Ann Hyland, The Horse in the Middle Ages (Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1999), 14. R. H. C. Davis, The Medieval Warhorse (London: Thames & Hudson, 1989), 59. 75 Ibidem, 58. 76 Ann Hyland, The Warhorse, 54. 77 Fages et al, “Tracking Five Millennia of Horse Management with Extensive Ancient Genome Time Series,” Cell (2019), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell. 2019.03.049, 7. 78 Ibidem, 11. 73 74

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V. Medieval cathedrals: religious places, magical spaces A. The anticipation of the miraculous I have focussed on the Foundation Accounts as creating a narrative not only for St Andrews but also for Scotland. They are miraculous accounts because medieval populations expected miracles and wonders in their churches and cathedrals. Aspects of Alexander’s donation hint at miraculous events elsewhere, particularly the donation of the silver spear. This has echoes in a well-known incident during the crusades, in which a pilgrim named Peter Bartholomew, who was accompanying the army, had several visions of St Andrew both during the siege of Antioch and after its capture in 1098. St Andrew exhorted Peter to go to the church of St Peter, where he would find the lance with which Christ was injured while he hung from the cross. It took several visits from the saint to convince Peter, who eventually told Raymond of Toulouse, and it was Peter himself who discovered the lance after the floor of the church was dug up. The tale was greeted with scepticism by some, but when Bartholomew had another visitation from St Andrew, who successfully predicted an imminent victory over the Turks, Peter’s visions were vindicated.79 B. Animals at the altar While evidence for horses presented at the altar currently seems to be scarce,80 there is some documentation relating to the presentation of other live animals such as deer. A book of songs, called The Bishopric Garland, or Durham Minstrel, includes a song lamenting the death of Sir Robert de Neville, Lord of Raby in 1282, and recalling how he offered a stag at the high altar of Durham Abbey on Holy-rood-day. The event commemorating his death was highly ritualised and accompanied by a 79 Anthony Bridge, The Crusades (London: Granada, 1980), 96 – 100; August. C. Krey, The First Crusade: The Accounts of Eyewitnesses and Participants (Princeton: 1921), 174-76. Sourced from: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/gesta-cde.asp (accessed on 01.01.2020). 80 I am indebted to Anastasija Ropa for alerting me to the work of Jonathan Jarrett on Catalan wills and cartularies. While I have only investigated this superficially, it would appear that there may be interesting and relevant case studies for viewing the presentation of equids to religious foundations as part of a wider European phenomenon.

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particular song: “LAMENTATION on the death of Sir Robert de Nevill, Lord of Raby in 1282; alludeing to an ancient custom, of offering a stag at the high altar of Durham-abbey on Holy-rood day, accompanied with the winding of horns. WEL-a-wa, salys hornes blaw, Holy-rode this day; Nou is he ded and lies law, Was wont to blaw them ay.”81 The “Wailaway” marks it as a standard lamenting form, and the fact that he who used to blow the hunting horn is now “ded and lies law” while the same horns are blown in his memory is reminiscent of the medieval concept of Fortune’s Wheel and the fact that the slayer is now the slain, the hunter has become the victim. The Sporting magazine or monthly calender of the turf, the chase and every other diversion interesting to the man of pleasure, enterprise and spirit of 1809 recalls the offering of a buck and a doe at St Paul’s Cathedral by Sir William le Baud and his family from 1375 onwards, a gift to the Dean and Canons in exchange for the use of 12 or 22 acres of their land: The buck and doe were offered alive at the high altar of St. Paul’s Cathedral, with very particular ceremonies, as follows:—The doe was offered on January 25th, the day of the Conversion of St. Paul; and the buck, June 29th, the day of the Commemoration of St. Paul.—The buck and doe were brought on these several days, by one or more of the sitting servants of the family, and at the hour of procession, and through the midst thereof, were offered at the high altar in front of the dean and chapter in full robes and wearing roses on their heads.82 Deer seem to have played a particularly interesting and complex role in rites and ritual that continued from prehistoric into Christian times. John Clark has noted the ritual significance of the “hobby stag” in medieval times, a role with which horses are more generally associated in the form of the hobby horse, or ‘obby ‘oss.83 This swapping and sharing of functions has linguistic parallels too, in the 81 Sir Cuthbert Sharpe, The Bishoprick Garland, Or a collection of Legends, Songs, Ballads, &c. Belonging to the County of Durham (London: Nichols, and Baldwin & Cradock, 1834), 2. 82 Sporting magazine or monthly calender of the turf, the chase and every other diversion interesting to the man of pleasure, enterprise and spirit, 34:118. 1809. (Uncredited item). 83 John Clark, “‘Playing the stag’ in Medieval Middlesex? A perforated antler from South Mimms Castle – parallels and possibilities,” in Deer and People, ed. Karis Baker, Ruth Carden and Richard Madgwick (Oxford: Windgather Press, 2015), 208-215.

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Anglo-Saxon “deor,” meaning a herd or group animal rather than specifically a deer. In Scotland, the term “stagg,” of Norse origin, could refer to a horse or bull as well as an adult deer, or even a young animal of one of these species. Given that linguistic and functional flexibility existed regarding species, it is perhaps unsafe to attempt to identify an animal on the basis of a single reference. Furthermore, while the form “equus Arabicus” looks familiar, since it is reminiscent of the binomial nomenclature standardized by Linnaeus in the eighteenth century, there is no reason to assume that it had the same purpose in the twelfth century. VI. Conclusion: the missing mythological link? Was Alexander’s Arabian, assuming it genuinely did exist, a horse at all? It is strange that it has no antecedents and no real descendants, in either a literal or a linguistic sense, at least for several centuries.84 I suggest an alternative reading of equus Arabicus as literally a horse of Arabia – which might render the translation of that part of the account: “As a royal record of his gift, the king ordered to be led to the altar a horse of Arabia, with its own bridle, a saddle, a shield and a silver lance, and covered with a large, precious cloth.” While a saddle and bridle are normally associated directly with a horse, shields, lances and swords are human equipment. The modern Italian term “freno” can mean “brake” as well as bridle, as in the brake of a car. The only thing we can be certain that “goes with” the equus Arabicus is in fact, the “freno” – its own bridle: equum Arabicum cum proprio freno, which indicates restraint of some kind. If not an actual equine, what would a “horse of Arabia” be? The most likely option would be an Arabian oryx, since certain oryx species (they are, of course, the hippotrages) are often described as horseantelopes.85 This brings us to the final piece of the puzzle necessary to 84 There is a reference to “destriers […] arrabiois” in Cligés by Chrétien de Troyes which requires further investigation, but it is possibly contextually related to alchemical theory. I am grateful to Amelie Blackwell for assisting me in finding an Old French version of the term. 85 I am indebted to Hylke Hettema for advising me that in Arabic the word that is closest to the Hebrew re’em (unicorn) is r’im, ‫ رئ م‬meaning a pearly antelope. http://lexicon. quranic-research.net/index.html p. 1004.

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create a foundation account for Scotland – the unicorn, complete with its restraining collar in the form of a royal crown. As Wilma George and Brunsdon Yapp write in their book The Naming of the Beasts: Natural History in the Medieval Bestiary, Unicornis has featured widely as a mythical animal and has given rise to many fantasies. There has been much speculation about its identity, but the oryx must be the favourite. The oryx is a “horse-antelope”, with the build of the horse and the cloven hoof of the antelope. In Africa and Arabia there are several species of oryx […]. The horns are soft in the young oryx and often get damaged and deformed during growth. The result can be the reduction of one horn to a curly insignificant stump. Thus, the oryx becomes the unicorn […]. What is surprising about the bestiaries is that most illustrations depict unicornis more or less as an Arabian oryx that has lost one horn: some even show the asymmetry that would result from turning the two-horned oryx into the unicorn.86 It might be argued that since Alexander has no particular association with the Crusades, the arrival of an animal like an Arabian oryx has no logical explanation. The same could be true for the Turkish arms, however, and would also be true of an Arabian horse, which in any case would have no logical requirement to resemble a modern Arabian horse.87 The gifts were acquired from somewhere, by someone, and it was the king who presented them. There is much that is unexplained about the gifts, not least Prior Robert’s understated commentary about the event. Yet, after all, the main dish was the granting of the Boar’s Raik – the equus Arabicus and trappings were the “royal record” of that gift, adopting Taylor’s explanation. 86 Wilma George and Brunsdon Yapp, Naming of the Beasts: Natural History in the Medieval Bestiary (London: Duckworth &Co, 1990), 87. 87 DNA research currently places the creation of the modern Arabian horse within the last 200 years: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S187114130900 3849 (Accessed 19.02.2020). For the most recent research into the Arabian/Arab horse as an Orientalist creation, see Christoph Lange, “The making and remaking of the Arabian horse – from the Arab Bedouin horse to the modern Straight Egyptian,” in Horse Breeds and Human Society, eds. Kristen Guest and Monica Mattfeld (Oxford and New York: Routledge 2020), 234-250.

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The reasons for the adoption of the unicorn as Scotland’s national animal are still largely unknown, although various suggestions have been put forward. What is known is that it was first adopted into the Coat of Arms in the days of William the Lion, grandson of David I and great-nephew of Alexander I.88 Had great-uncle Alexander’s mysterious equus Arabicus morphed into the unicorn of popular myth, with its cloven hooves and oryx-like tail? Or was it simply a model to display the rich trappings and armor, some of which Prior Robert said were still on show in the church, something like the palmesels (donkeys on wheels) which were “led”89 to altars in European churches on Palm Sunday, certainly from the eleventh century onwards and probably earlier?90 900 years later, Alexander’s intriguing Arabian still provokes questions. Nearly four centuries after Alexander’s mysterious equus Arabicus made its appearance at St Andrews, the Italian traveller Ludovico di Varthema saw and commented upon two “unicorns” at Mecca, in what he describes as the “temple” there: Delli unicorni che si trovano appresso il tempio della Mecca, animali rarissimi. Dall’altra banda del detto tempio è una corte murata, nella qual vedemmo duoi unicorni: e li si mostrano per cosa maravigliosa, come nel vero è cosa da prenderne admirazione. E sono fatti in questo modo: il maggiore è fatto come un poledro di trenta mesi, e ha un corno nella fronte di lunghezza cerca tre braccia; l’altro unicorno era minore, come saria un poledro d’un anno, e ha un corno lungo circa quattro palmi. Il color del detto animale è come un cavallo sasinato scuro, e ha la testa come un cervo e il collo non molto lungo, con alcune crine rare e corte che pendono da una banda, e ha le gambe sottili e lunghe come il capriolo, e il suo piede è un poco fesso davanti e l’unghia è caprina, e ha molti peli di drieto delle gambe, li qual son tanti che fa parer questo animal molto feroce: ma la sua ferocità è coperta da una mansuetudine che in sé dimostra. Although this is widely available in popular accounts, especially online, I have yet to find a confirmation of it in an academic account. 89 Harris, Christ on a Donkey, 152. 90 Ibidem, 149. 88

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Questi duoi animali furono presentati al soldano della Mecca come cosa de molto prezio e rara e che si trova in pochi luochi, e furono mandati da uno re di Etiopia, il qual li fece questo presente per far amicizia con lui.91 The text of Varthema’s journey was published in an English translation by the Hakluyt Society in 1863: In another part of the said temple is an enclosed place in which there are two live unicorns, and these are shown as very remarkable objects, which they certainly are. I will tell you how they are made. The elder is formed like a colt of thirty months old, and he has a horn in the forehead, which horn is about three braccia in length. The other unicorn is like a colt of one year old, and he has a horn of about four palmi long. The colour of the said animal resembles that of a dark bay horse, and his head resembles that of a stag; his neck is not very long, and he has some thin and short hair which hangs on one side; his legs are slender and lean like those of a goat; the foot is a little cloven in the fore part, and long and goat-like, and there are some hairs on the hind part of the said legs. Truly this monster must be a very fierce and solitary animal. These two animals were presented to the Sultan of Mecca as the finest things that could be found in the world at the present day, and as the richest treasure ever sent by a king of Ethiopia, that is, by a Moorish king. He made this present in order to secure an alliance with the said Sultan of Mecca.92 This is on the whole an accurate translation, apart from the description “dark bay”; “Il color del detto animale è come un cavallo sasinato scuro” would be better translated as “the colour of the said animal is like that of a dark stone coloured horse.” The extensive notes provided by George Percy Badger for the Hakluyt edition are also of interest. Among other information he provides the contemporary British measurements of the Venetian braccia (25.08 – 26.87 inches) and the palmo (3.937 inches), while adding the cautionary note that they may not have been the same in di Varthema’s day.93 Noting that

Full text in Italian available from www.gingkoedizioni.it/litinerario-di-ludovico-devarthema/. Accessed 16.08.20. 92 John Winter Jones (trs.), The Travels of Ludovico di Varthema in Egypt, Syria, Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix, in Persia, India, and Ethiopia (The Hakluyt Society: London, 1863), 46-49. 93 Ibidem, 48 91

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Burton had suggested they were possibly “african antelopes, which a lusus naturae had deprived of their second horn,” Badger comments: I was inclined, a first sight, to coincide in this opinion, and to conclude that Varthema saw merely two anomalous specimens of the Oryx, by no means an uncommon quadruped on the north-east coast of Africa, judging from the quantity of its horns brought to Aden by the Somalis.94 However, Badger then apparently takes a different view, that they “were living representatives of a species of the antelope family, the existence of which is very generally doubted.”95 There then follows an overview of some similar tales, including those of Pliny relating to unicorns, as well as some of the contemporary debate on the animals, leading Badger to the somewhat astonishing conclusion that: I am still disposed, nevertheless, to rely on the credibility of Varthema, and to believe that he saw at Meccah two ordinary specimens of the famous unicorn, an animal which further research in the unexplored parts of Central Africa, or among the mountains of Thibet, may yet bring to light.96 It is a pity perhaps that time has not yet provided a living example of the “famous unicorn”! References Alexandre-Bidon, and Didier Lett. Children in the Middle Ages. FifthFifteenth Centuries, trans. Jody Gladding. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1999. Baker, Karis Baker, Ruth Carden and Richard Madgwick. Deer and People. Oxford: Windgather Press, 2015. Banbury, J, et al, eds. Woodstock and the Royal Park: Nine Hundred Years of History. Oxford: Woodstock and the Royal Park 900 Years Association, 2010. Barrow, G.W.S. Kingship and Unity: Scotland 1000 – 1306. London: Arnold, 1981.

Ibidem, 46. Ibidem, 47 96 Ibidem, 48 94 95

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Bower, Walter. Scotichronicon Book VI, ed. and trans. D.E.R. Watt et al. Edinburgh: The Mercat Press, 1995. Bridge, Anthony. The Crusades. London: Granada, 1980. Broun, Dauvit. “The church of St Andrews and its foundation-legend in the early twelfth century: recovering the full text of Version A of the foundation legend.” In Kings, Clerics and Chronicles in Scotland 5001297: Essays in Honour of Marjorie Ogilvie Anderson, ed. Simon Taylor, 108-14. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2000. Brown, Michael H. and Katie Stevenson. “‘Ancient Magnificence’: St Andrews in the Middle Ages: An Introduction.” In Medieval St Andrews, Church, Cult, City, ed. Michael Brown and Katie Stevenson, 1-19. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2017. Brown, Michael H. and Katie Stevenson, eds. Medieval St Andrews, Church, Cult, City. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2017. Brown, Thomas. Biographical Sketches and Authentic Anecdotes of Horses and the Allied Species. Edinburgh: David Lizar, 1830. Campbell, Ian. “The Idea of St Andrews as the Second Rome Made Manifest.” In Medieval St Andrews, Church, Cult, City, ed. Michael Brown and Katie Stevenson, 35 – 50. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2017. Clark, John. “‘Playing the stag’ in Medieval Middlesex? A perforated antler from South Mimms Castle – parallels and possibilities.” In Deer and People, eds. Karis Baker, Ruth Carden and Richard Madgwick, 208-215. Oxford: Windgather Press, 2015. Cook, Theodore Andrea. History of the English Turf, volume I. London: H. Virtue and Company, 1901. Craik, George Lillie. The History of British Commerce, Volume 1. London: C. Knight & Co, 1844. Curta, Florin. “Merovingian and Carolingian Gift Giving.” Speculum 81:3 (2006): 671-699. Davis, R.H.C. The Medieval Warhorse. London: Thames & Hudson, 1989. Duncan, A. A. M. “The Foundation of St Andrews Cathedral Priory, 1140.” The Scottish Historical Review Volume 84:217 (2005): 1-37. –––. The Nation of Scots and the Declaration of Arbroath. London: The Historical Association, 1970. Ewan, Elizabeth. “Living in the Late Medieval Town of St Andrews.” In Medieval St Andrews, Church, Cult, City, ed. Michael Brown and Katie Stevenson, 177-140. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2017. 200

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Fages, Antoine et al. “Tracking Five Millennia of Horse Management with Extensive Ancient Genome Time Series.” Cell. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2019.03.049, 7. Gassmann, Jürg. “East Meets West: Mounted Encounters in Early and High Mediaeval Europe.” Acta Periodica Duellatorum, 75-107. Available at de Gruyter Open Access. DOI 10.1515/apd-2017-0003. George, Wilma, and Brunsdon Yapp. The Naming of the Beasts: Natural History in the Medieval Bestiary. London: Duckworth & Co, 1990. Głażewska, Iwona. “Speculations on the origin of the Arabian horse breed.” Livestock Science 129:1-3 (2010): 49-55. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S187114130900384 9. Accessed online 19.02.2020 Grigson, Caroline. Menagerie: the History of Exotic Animals in England 1100-1837. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. Harris, Max. Christ on a Donkey: Palm Sunday, Triumphal Entries and Blasphemous Pageants. Leeds: Arc Humanities Press, 2019. Hyland, Ann. Equus: The Horse in the Roman World. London: B.T. Batsford, 1990. –––. The Warhorse 1250 – 1600. Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1998. –––. The Horse in the Middle Ages. Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1999. Krey, August C. The First Crusade: The Accounts of Eyewitnesses and Participants. Princeton, 1921. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/gesta-cde.asp. Landry, Donna. “The Bloody Shouldered Arabian and Early Modern English Culture.” Criticism 46:1 (2004): 41-69. Lange, Christoph. “The making and remaking of the Arabian horse – from the Arab Bedouin horse to the modern Straight Egyptian.” In Horse Breeds and Human Society, ed. Kristen Guest and Monica Mattfeld, 234-250. Oxford and New York: Routledge 2020. Mackay, Aeneas James George Mackay. “Alexander I.” In Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co, 1885. Markham, Gervase. A Discovrse of Horsemanshippe. Wherein the breeding and ryding Horses for service, in a breefe manner is more methodically sette downe then hath been heretofore. With a more easie and direct course for the ignorant, to attaine to the same arte or knowledge. Also the manner to chuse, trayne, ryde and dyet, both Huntinghorses, and Running-horses: with all the secretes thereto belonging discouered. London: Richard Smith, 1593.

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https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A06916.0001.001/1:4?rgn=div 1;view=fulltext;q1=arabian. Accessed online 01.01.2020 Macquarrie, Alan. The Impact of the Crusading Movement in Scotland 1095 - c. 1560. University of Edinburgh Doctoral Thesis, 1982. www.medievalists.net/2014/02/impact-crusading-movementscotland-1095-c-1560/. Oram, Richard. Kings and Queens of Scotland. Stroud: History Press, 2017. Angelo Paratico, 5 July 2017. www.gingkoedizioni.it/litinerario-di-ludovico-de-varthema/. Runciman, Steven. A History of the Crusades Volume 1: The First Crusade. London: Penguin Books, 1991. Sharpe, Sir Cuthbert. The Bishoprick Garland, Or a collection of Legends, Songs, Ballads, &c. Belonging to the County of Durham. London: Nichols, and Baldwin & Cradock, 1834. Sporting magazine or monthly calendar of the turf, the chase and every other diversion interesting to the man of pleasure, enterprise and spirit. Vol. 34, 118, 1809. (Uncredited item.) Taylor, Simon. “From Cinrigh Monai to Civitas Sancti Andree: A Star is Born.” In Medieval St Andrews, Church, Cult, City, ed. Michael Brown and Katie Stevenson, 20-34. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2017. –––. “Appendix 1, The St Andrews Foundation Account B and The Augustinian’s Account.” In The Place-names of Fife Volume Three, St Andrews and the East Neuk, ed. Simon Taylor with G. Márkus, 564615. Donington: Shaun Tyas, 2009. Tytler, Patrick Fraser. History of Scotland Volume II. Edinburgh: William Tate, 1841. Wentworth, Judith. Horses of Britain. London: Collins, 1947. –––. “The Arabian Thoroughbred.” In Summerhays’ Encyclopaedia for Horsemen, compiled R.S. Summerhays. London: Frederick Warne, 1966. Winter Jones, John (trs.). The Travels of Ludovico di Varthema in Egypt, Syria, Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix, in Persia, India, and Ethiopia. The Hakluyt Society: London, 1863. Whitelock, Dorothy. Anglo-Saxon Wills. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

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I. Introduction At the 2009 conference held in Oman by the World Arabian Horse Organisation (the controlling body for the registration of purebred Arabian horses worldwide), one of the speakers started his talk with “Now I will talk a little about the origin of Arabian horses, starting with the stallion Zaad Ar-Rakib.”1 The belief that the Arab horse is the purest and/or oldest breed in the world is often based on the narrative surrounding this particular horse named Zād al-Rākib [Companion to a rider]:2 Thus enlightened as to the value of the animal presented to them by the son of David, these Arabs on their return home devoted him to foal-getting, and carefully selecting the dams, at length obtained the breed to which out of gratitude they gave the name Zad-el-Rakeb.3 Popular histories of the Arab horse often use premodern Arabic horse-themed literature to verify the authenticity and antiquity of the breed. Using these texts as evidence, it is sometimes argued, for instance, that the Arab horse has its origins in pre-Islamic Bedouin culture and was known from antiquity in Arabia. Writers frequently Samantha Mattocks, “Middle Eastern Allure,” The Romance of the Arabian Horse, 4 August 2016, https://theromanceofthearabianhorse.com/2016/08/04/middle-easternallure/ (accessed June 24, 2019). 2 Often translated as the traveler’s companion, more literally Zād al-Rākib is “the companion to he who rides a camel.” See Edward William Lane, An Arabic-English Lexicon, root ‫ركب‬/RKB, 1443, http://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/10_r/182 _rkb.html (accessed August 12, 2019). 3 Eugene Daumas, The horses of the Sahara and the manners of the desert, trans. James Hutton (London: Wm. H. Allen & Co, 1863), 11. 1

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ascribe an almost fanatical belief in the purity of horses and their breeding to the Arabs, based on strict practices based on well-known and circumscribed lineages.4 A. Zād al-Rākib as a case study Within the historiography of the breed, this stallion is commonly seen as the founding father of all horses among the Arabs and has thus has also become known as the first Arab horse. Tracking retrospectively from references to Zād al-Rākib in modern texts back to early modern literature on the Arab horse quite often leads to a work known as alKitāb al-Nāṣirī [the Nasiri Book].5 This fourteenth-century work by Ibn al-Mundhir al-Bayṭār (d. 1340 CE), titled Kāmil al-ṣināʻatayn fī al-bayṭara wa al-zardaqa [The complete guide to the professions of veterinary medicine and horse breeding], was commissioned by the Mamluk sultan al-Nāṣir Muḥammad ibn Qalāwūn (1285-1341 CE). Chapter two of this book, entitled “On the lineage of horses and how they were created,” is likely the source so often cited in western works for information on the presumed origin of the Arab horse. However, the chapter is rather short and contains just three citations of early Islamic scholars: Wahb ibn Munabih (d. 737 CE), Al-Wāqidī (747-823 CE), and Hishām ibn alKalbi (d. 819/821 CE).6 Famous for his work Jamharat al-Nasab [The collection of lineage] ibn al-Kalbi is often identified as “the uncontested master of Arab genealogy”7 and considering he developed a sense of a family tree for the Arabs it is unsurprising that his name and his work appear in the discourse on the horse in the premodern Arabic world. His Kitāb al4 Sandra L. Olsen, Cynthia Culbertson, A Gift from the Desert: The Art, History and Culture of the Arabian Horse (Kentucky: International Museum of the Horse, Kentucky Horse Park, 2010), 64-67. 55 See for example Margaret Greely, Arabian Exodus (London: J.A. Allen, 1976), 30. Also Joseph Hammer-Purgstall, Das Pferd bei den Arabern (Vienna: Aus der KaiserlichKöniglichen Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1855), 221. Hammer-Purgstall also lists ibn AlKalbi as a source for Arab horse history, 214. 6 al-Mundhir, ed. Aḥmad Ja’far Ḥijazī, Kāmil al-ṣināʻatayn fī al-bayṭara wa al-zardaqa (Cairo: Wizāra al-Baḥth al-‘alamī, 2002), 35-36. 7 Atallah, W. “al-Kalbi,” in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, ed. P Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. http://dx.doi.org. ezproxy.leidenuniv.nl:2048/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1321 (accessed February 17, 2019).

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Khayl [The Book of Horses] is considered proof of a long-standing “Arab” breeding tradition, because it is referred to as the “world's most ancient pedigree” by Lady Wentworth,8 who dedicated an entire chapter to “El Kelbi’s Stud Book” in her work on the origin of “pure blood” in relation to the development of thoroughbred racehorses.9 In a mere five pages she explains the contents of the book, which she considers to be a large pedigree containing a list of names of “wellknown horses of the Arabs”: “They mostly go back to a horse named Zad-el-Rakib who seems to have stood to the Arab genealogists much in the same position as Childers or Eclipse stands to those of our English Stud Book.”10 B. An "Ancient” Arabic pedigree? To support her statement that ibn al-Kalbi’s work represents the oldest studbook in the world, Wentworth cites names from his version of the proposed pedigree, starting with Zād al-Rākib, followed by his son Hujays, who is described as being better than his sire, and then al-Dīnārī, who is said to be even better. Wentworth comments that obviously “[t]he merit of the mares must throughout have been great; as in each successive generation the produce was better than the sire.”11 Subsequently, she remarks that al-Kalbi therefore mentions the dam first and the sire second. Discussing a mare named Sabal she explains that “In this apparently purely Arab tradition there is no word about Ismaïl, but the wild mare Baz was named after her owner Baz, great-

Lady Judith Wentworth is still considered to be one of the most important authorities of the modern period when it comes to Arab horse history. She relied greatly on the information gathered by her mother Lady Anne Blunt, who was the first woman in search of Arab horses to ever access the desert in the Empty Quarter in current day Saudi Arabia. 9 Judith Wentworth, Thoroughbred Racing Stock (London: Unwin Brothers, 1960), 123127. 10 Flying Childers (1714) and Eclipse (1764) were foundation sires of the English Thoroughbred and famous racehorses in eighteenth-century England. See for example Michael Church, Eclipse: The Horse, The Race, The Awards (London: Thoroughbred Advertising, 2000), 22-25. The skeleton of Eclipse is held at the Royal Veterinary College in Hertfordshire, UK. 11 Judith Wentworth, Thoroughbred Racing Stock (London: Unwin Brothers LTD, 1960), 123-127. 8

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great-grandson of Noah.”12 A footnote points out that Baz was also a region of importance in the Christian tradition as apparently one of “Job’s comforters was a Bazzite,” and Wentworth interprets the appearance of Baz in the book of horses by ibn Al-Kalbi as evidence that “stock of the Beni Azd of Yemen was wild […] and that a particular strain of it became still more celebrated through the blood of Zad-elRakib, a horse given to the Azd; it is not in this place said by whom.”13 Wentworth then offers a schematic sketch based on the list of horses mentioned in ibn al-Kalbi’s work, indicating that it represents the pedigree of the horses descending from Hoshabeh and the Baz mare, which Wentworth describes as both wild horses of Yemen and dating back to 3400 BC, only to date them to 3200 BC at the bottom of the same page. Subsequently, she dates Zād al-Rākib to 1000 BC after concluding that each stallion on the list most probably represents a few generations. Moreover, she mentions “complications” with a horse named A'waj but quickly disregards them assuming that “Sabal was probably dam of both”14 and concludes that even pre-Islamic verse includes a reference to descent from Awajyan or Banat Awaj (daughters of A’waj). The idea that horses were feral in the Arabian Peninsula is commonly perpetuated in books on the history of the breed and often relies on demonstrating that there are references to an “Arab/Bedouin” equine presence in literary works from antiquity such as the Bible.15 However, Wentworth gives special recognition to this book of horses by ibn alKalbi as she considers it more reliable than “religious works written with a purpose.”16 Furthermore, the very existence of this work has been used to confirm the Arab/Bedouin purported obsession with purity of blood, for it is generally concluded to be a pedigree or studbook.17 Ibidem. Ibidem. 14 Ibidem. 15 See for example Matthias Oster, Bedouin Heritage: The world of the Arabian Horse (Sesslach: Matthias Oster, 2016), 258-261: “We see, that both the Old and the New Testament contain much more than echoes of ancient times of pastoralism and Oriental or Bedouin culture. Both books share a common root with the Bedouin society of the Arab peninsula and we should not separate them from each other.” 16 Ibidem. 17 Studbooks represent the breed, as they serve as the body of registration of a purebred breed. A horse that is considered not eligible to be included in the studbook is 12 13

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II. Tracing Zād al-Rākib A. Kitāb al-Khayl by Hishām ibn al-Kalbi Although originally called Kitāb al-Khayl [The Book of Horses], as it is listed as such in the Kitāb al-Fihrist18 by the famous bibliographer Ibn al-Nadīm (d. 995CE), the work is circulated in the Arabic-speaking world today under the title Ansāb al-Khayl fi al-Jāhilīyya wa al-Islām [The lineages of horses in the Jāhilīyya and Islam] since its first republishing in 1146 CE.19 Ibn al-Kalbi’s ninth-century manuscript contains an introduction, which narrates the creation story of the horse and how it came to be in the possession of the Arabs. The rest of the work is a list of 175 horse names detailing who they belonged to, often accompanied by a line or two of poetry containing information about or related to the particular horse. Contrary to Wentworth’s belief that this work could be seen as a studbook, only the first few pages of horses contain specific information on how they are related to one another: When they heard of [the stallion al-Dīnārī] the Banu ‘Amir came to Bakr bin Wā’il and demanded of him that he [the stallion] covered (Sabal), and there was nothing more excellent than her. And her dam was: Sawāda, and her sire was Fayyāḍ. And the dam of Sawāda was Qasāma.20 (Dāḥis), he is the son of Dhī al-‘Uqqāl, and his dam is Jalwā. And he is mentioned at length in the Ghaṭafān war [stories].21 As one progresses further into the book, the name entries do not detail the lineage of the horses as much as at the start of the work; therefore concluded to be a non-purebred or part bred. Inclusion is historically based on the requirement of both parents being included in the studbook, however this is extremely sensitive to error and even fraud, even with today’s added DNA test is used to confirm the parents of a horse. 18 Kitāb al-Fihrist is the largest Arabic bibliographic-biographic encyclopedia ever written. In the Fihrist, Ibn al-Nadīm lists close to 2000 authors and nearly 10000 titles. 19 Jāhilīyya is the Islamic term for the period in time immediately predating the birth of Islam. Sometimes it is translated as the “period of ignorance,” however, I choose to transcribe the term rather than translate it. 20 Ibn al-Kalbi, “Nasab al-khayl fi al-jāhiliyyawa al-islāmwa 'akhbārihā,” in Silsilah Kutub al-Khayl, ed. Ḥ.Ṣ. al-Ḍammān (Damascus: Dār al-Bashā’ir, 2009), 28. 21 Idem, 33. 207

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rather ibn al-Kalbi cites the riders or owners of the horses in lines of poetry: And among them is (al-Naḥḥām), the horse of Sulayk bin alSulka al-Sa’dī. And about her22 he says: “Bring forth alNaḥḥām and hurry up oh servant, and place upon him the saddle and bridle.” And he said about him: “I incited the run and underneath me al-Naḥḥām ran down the hill, as an eagle focused [and] rushing upon its prey.”23 Interestingly, some of the entries do not contain any information on the horse itself; instead, the identity of the rider is stressed, for example in the poetry complimenting the horse named Aṭlāl: “And the horses were hidden at Muqān [where they] advanced, Bukayr bin ‘Abd Allah [is] rider of Aṭlāl.”24 Inconsistencies between the various redactions of the manuscript vary from typographical errors such as the above-mentioned stallion alNaḥḥām being referred to as a female in the edition by al-Ḍammān, to omission of fragments of cited poetry. The entry for the horses named al-Khubās and Nā’iq in the version by al-Ḍammān lists these horses together and cites the poet Dukayn (d.723 CE) in a poem of three lines. Examination of the poem would suggest it is incomplete, and the edition of the book by Zaki Pasha (1946 CE) confirms this, as it contains a much longer entry for the same horses and the editor has included an extra horse that is not mentioned in the poetry. The complete poem in this version has five lines. What is not clear is whether the complete poem was included in ibn al-Kalbi’s original text. However, footnotes suggest that Zaki Pasha encountered the same issue with this entry.25 Both annotations contain copious information on various entries gathered from horse books compiled by ibn alKalbi’s contemporaries as well as poetry collections upon which much of the information in this work is based. It is clear, therefore, that 22 The text in this reproduction seems to contain a possible typographical error; referring to this horse as female whereas other reproductions of this manuscript all refer to this horse as a male, see for example Ibn al-Kalbi, ed. Aḥmad Zaki Pāsha, Ansāb al-khayl fi al-jāhiliyyawa al-islāmwa ‘akhbārihā (Cairo: Dār al-Kutub, 1946), 21-22. 23 Ibn al-Kalbi, “Nasab al-khayl fi al-jāhiliyyawa al-islāmwa 'akhbārihā,” 44. 24 Idem, 61. 25 Ibn al-Kalbi, ed. Aḥmad Zaki Pāsha, Ansāb al-khayl fi al-jāhiliyyawa al-islāmwa ‘akhbārihā, (Cairo: Dār al-Kutub, 1946), 114-115.

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several of the editors were using various sources for their work, and there is some cross-fertilization as well as incomplete entries on the various horses. B. Transmission of the Zād al-Rākib fragments The differences between these various editions give some indication of how, in modern times, the transmission of early Arabic manuscripts and translations distorted the original content of the kitāb al-khayl by ibn al-Kalbi even further. It would seem that Lady Wentworth based the citations in her chapter on the translation of the Nasiri book produced by Nicolas Perron (1798-1876 CE) titled Le Nâcérî. La perfection des deux arts, ou Traité complet d'hippologie et d'hippiatrie arabes.26 The information she lists as coming from ibn al-Kalbi through the kitāb alNāṣirī is indeed present in the French translation. Surprisingly, the same fragments are not present in the Arabic copies of the fourteenth-century manuscript, and it would seem that Perron gathered the information from elsewhere, creating the impression that Ibn al-Mundhir al-Bayṭār, author of the Nasiri book, cites ibn Al-Kalbi at length. In fact, the one reference to ibn al-Kalbi’s work in the Arabic text of kitāb al-Nāṣirī is followed by the cynical expression Allahu ‘alam [only God knows],27 indicating that at this point in time ibn al-Kalbi was probably not considered to be a reliable or favorable source.28 Perron notes in his introduction that he also included information from a manuscript by Wahb bin Munabbih (d.737 CE), but, upon inspection, that document does not contain any references to Zād al-

26 Abou Bakr ibn Badr, Le Nâcérî. La perfection des deux arts, ou Traité complet d'hippologie et d'hippiatrie arabes, trans. M. Perron (Paris: Bouchard-Huzard, 1852), 122, 384-385. 27 Abū Bakr ibn al-Mundhir al-Baytār, Kāmil al-ṣināʻatayn fī al-bayṭara wa al-zardaqa (ed. ʻAbd Alla Muhammad Hassuna Cairo, 1801), 8. www.wdl.org/en/ item/17603/. 28 The members of the al-Kalbi family were closely connected to Ali ibn Abi Tālib (d. 661CE), who is regarded as the rightful successor to the prophet Muḥammad by Shia Muslims. During ibn al-Kalbi’s lifetime the polarization between Sunni and Shia Islam was not yet very pronounced, but later authors, copyists and annotators alike, often conclude ibn al-Kalbi to have been Shia. Those who are Sunni therefore question his transmission chains and way of transmission as those methods differ between Sunni and Shia tradition.

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Rākib either.29 Although Perron lists another source for his compilation as “the Baghdad manuscript,” it is uncertain which document he refers to. Since al-Nāṣirī cites al-Wāqidī (747-823 CE), it may be possible that Perron found his information in his work, as ibn al-Kalbi also cites alWāqidī in his work. In any case, if ibn al-Kalbi perpetuated the information on Zād al-Rākib from the works by either Wahb bin Munabbih or al-Wāqidī, it would only be evidence that ibn al-Kalbi would not have been the first to write about the origin and lineage of horses among the Arabs. C. The origin of horses among the Arabs Although Wentworth claims that it is not mentioned how exactly the horse first arrived among the Arabs, or the ‘Azd tribe, in fact ibn alKalbi provides us with a lengthy description of how Allah created the horse for his prophets: Upon the death of Daūd (David), Sulaymān (Solomon) inherited his reign and possessions and sat on the throne of his father and said: I celebrate Daūd through my loving [of] those horses. And he made them slender and [re]produced them. And he said to part of the scholars: Allah almighty has raised for him [David] one hundred horses from the sea, and they had wings.30 Ibn Al-Kalbi details how Solomon is the key character in the reproduction of horses as he breeds 900 horses from the initial 100 given to David by Allah. He then explains that the ‘Azd tribe from Oman were the first to receive horses following the marriage of Solomon to Belqīs, queen of Sabā (Sheba). Zād al-Rākib is then introduced as being among the horses of the ‘Azd31 and “he was the first horse [that] spread among the Arabs from these [Solomon’s] horses.”32 The next entries of horse names under Zād al-Rākib show something that resembles a family tree, as it starts with the Banu MS Arabe 2817 (993) Traité des chevaux, sans titre ni nom d’auteur. Bibliothèque nationale de France, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8406168v/f8.image#. 30 Ibn al-Kalbi, “Nasab al-khayl fi al-jāhiliyyawa al-islāmwa 'akhbārihā,” 26. 31 The ‘Azd were Sabaeans from the ancient kingdom of Saba’, in current Yemen. Between the first and third century CE they dispersed and left Yemen. 32 Idem, 27-28. 29

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Taghlib breeding al-Hujays from Zād al-Rākib. No dam is mentioned, contrary to Wentworth’s remarks on the importance of the dams. This is followed by Bakr bin Wā’il breeding al-Dīnārī from al-Hujays, again without a dam listed. The first mare appears when the Banu ‘Amir breed al-Dīnārī to Sabal, whose parents Sawāda and Fayyāḍ belong to the Banu Ja’da. Wentworth noted but quickly dismissed as a small issue that the mare Sabal seems to be obscured by complexity. Her sire Fayyāḍ is listed by ibn al-Kalbi as descending from a stallion of the Hūshiyya of Wabār.33 Most probably, this is what Wentworth listed as “Hoshabeh and Baz,” for the difference between the “z” and “r” in Arabic is just a dot.34 At this point Wentworth thus confuses various things and overlooks the complex explanation of what seems to be another founding father of horses among the Arabs, the stallion A’waj: The A’waj from the Banu Hilāl was not from among the daughters of Zād al-Rākib, he was larger than that, he was from the daughters [mares] from among the Hūshiyya [of] Wabār. However the A’waj who was the son of al-Dīnārī was a horse of the Bahrā’, named A’waj. And he belonged to the Banu Sulaym bin Manṣūr, until he turned towards the Bahrā’. But A’waj the Great, his dam was Sabal from the Hūshiyya [of] Wabār, and his sire was from [among] them.35 It appears that there are two important stallions named A’waj, and only one of them descends from Zād al-Rākib. The horses of the Wabār tribe emerge as an outside group of horses not descending from the previously mentioned sole foundational sire. This split in the “pedigree” is evident not only from one of the two A’waj but also from the ancestry of Sabal, which seems to trace back to the Wabār stock. 33 Wabār are an extinct people that early Islamic genealogists often counted among the “true original Arabs,” and references to them are found in other work by ibn al-Kalbi. See J. Tkatsch and P.M. Costa, “Wabār,” in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, ed. P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W. P. Heinrichs. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.leidenuniv.nl:2048/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1321 (accessed August 18, 2019). 34 Wentworth’s source Perron most probably read ‫ باز‬whereas the Arabic contains ‫ وبار‬, see p. 29. 35 Ibn al-Kalbi, “Nasab al-khayl fi al-jāhiliyyawa al-islāmwa 'akhbārihā,” 29.

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Unlike Wentworth, who assumed that Sabal must be the dam of both horses named A’waj, ibn al-Kalbi does not draw such conclusions and continues to list horses descending from A’waj, most probably the one owned by the Banu Hilāl as he repeats the lineage for “Dhū al-‘Uqqāl, and he is the son of A’waj, son of al-Dīnārī son of al-Hujays son of Zād al-Rākib.” Ibn Al-Kalbi then concludes: “[a]nd those horses produced offspring among the Arabs and they spread [among them], and of these horses the lineage of the sires and dams became commonly known.”36 He then goes on to list the rest of the horse names, starting with those belonging to the Prophet Muhammad. III. Connecting the horse to the Arabs Bibliographer ibn al-Nadīm (d. 995 CE) listed over 140 works37 authored by ibn al-Kalbi (d.819/821CE), among which is included the entry Kitāb al-Khayl [The book of horses].38 Despite being one of the very few extant early Islamic Arabic works on horses, this manuscript is not categorized by the bibliographer as a book on animals or even specifically horse-related. It is actually listed in the section titled akhbār al-awā’il: the history of the beginnings, indicating the historiographic nature of the work of Hishām ibn al-Kalbi. A. Embedding the horse in Prophethood In premodern early Islamic texts, the horse is often closely connected to Prophethood. As mentioned previously, ibn Al-Kalbi chronicles a creation story that emphasizes the roles of both David and Solomon in the narrative in which Allah forges the horse for his Prophets. A special connection between Prophets and horses is tangible throughout ibn AlKalbi’s Kitāb al-Khayl:

Idem, 30. Gustav Flügel, ed. Kitāb al-Fihrist: mit anmerkungen herausgegeben (Leipzig: F.C.W. Vogel, 1872), 95-98. 38 The text that I have used is based on a copy of the original produced by Mansūr alJawālīqī (d. 1146 CE). Al-Jawālīqī was a grammarian and philologist, and that might be the reason he reproduced the work of ibn al-Kalbi, which testifies to the nature of The Book of Horses as a philological work rather than a historic one. 36 37

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[Arabs in Jahiliyyah], never stopped that love for horses and their known merits until Allah sent his Prophet [Muḥammad], peace be upon him, and Allah ordered him to improve them and breed them.39 David, a Prophet of Allah, loved horses very much.40 However, the Prophets do not appear in chronological order as one would expect in a historiographic work. Muḥammad is mentioned first, as the Prophet sent to start breeding horses, and ibn al-Kalbi makes reference to several hadith to emphasize that horse husbandry is part of the duty to Islam. Contrary to Lady Wentworth’s claim that he was not spoken of by ibn al-Kalbi, Ishmael bin Ibrahīm (Abraham) is then mentioned as the first person to ride horses, seemingly an achievement worthy of praise, as ibn al-Kalbi relates that the horses were wild prior to their submission to Ishmael. The specific reference to Ibrahīm here stresses again the strong bond between Prophets and horses that ibn alKalbi proposes. After Ibrahim, to whom ibn al-Kalbi does not attribute a particular connection to horses, and Ishmael, follows the creation account of the horses being drawn from the sea, which leads into the discussion of Zad al-Rākib and his direct offspring, and the issues around the name of A’waj, as previously examined. Here, there does seem to be discourse around tribal ownership of named horses and intertribal horse-breeding activities. The list of horse names that follows starts again with Prophet Muḥammad, even though ibn al-Kalbi does not provide any information about where those horses came from, their ancestry, or physical traits. This is surprising, since details of Muhammad’s horses are often included in hadith. One of the horses, al-Sakb, is for example said to have been the mount of the Prophet during the battle of Uḥud (625 CE). Both academic and non-academic literature on Arab horses often refers to ibn al-Kalbi’s work as a source for names and information about horses of the early Islamic period, 41 yet details about Ibn al-Kalbi, “Nasab al-khayl fi al-jāhiliyyawa al-islāmwa 'akhbārihā,” 23. Idem, 26. 41 Jérémie Schiettecatte and Abbès Zouache, “The Horse in Arabia and the Arabian Horse: Origins, Myths and Realities,” Arabian Humanities 8 (2017). http://journals. openedition.org/cy/3280; DOI: 10.4000/cy.3280 (accessed September 1, 2019). 39 40

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al-Sakb and the other four horses listed as belonging to the Prophet are absent from his Kitāb al-Khayl. This aspect of the Kitāb al-Khayl, the importance of embedding the horse into Prophethood, shows that Lady Wentworth misunderstood the purpose of ibn al-Kalbi’s work, since she claimed that his book on horses was to be considered more reliable than “religious works written with a purpose.” The importance of showing that the horse is a gift from Allah to his Prophets, and that they have a special connection with it, the horse, attests to the religious purpose of this Kitāb al-Khayl. Moreover, the Islamic character of this text is no different from his other works that are seen as crucial to the development of Islamic historic narratives relating to Arab identity. Islamic scholarly tradition that projects Arab identity back to pre-Islamic times can be clearly seen in the way genealogies for the Arab people trace back to pre-Islamic figures, particularly to well-known prophets of other monotheistic faiths. Connecting the history of the horse to prophecy does not represent an extraneous element within the narrative of Arab horse history, as it has often been connected to biblical figures such as Noah, Job, Jeremiah, and others.42 A similar construction for the genealogy of the Arab people can be found in ibn al-Kalbi’s other works, and a brief discussion of the parallel narratives can perhaps clarify the reasons why a ninth-century Arabic philologist and genealogist wrote a book on horses. B. Ibn Al-Kalbi and the Arab identity A recent study of Arab identity has shown that during the early Islamic period (seventh-tenth century), Muslim scholars were reimagining their pre-Islamic past by means of genealogy, resulting in the emergence of a few very well-known stereotypes, including the image of the mounted Bedouin, which is still familiar today.43 Genealogy became a significant (and authoritative) methodological principle in Muslim societies, a process which began soon after the death of Muḥammad in 632 AD. In fact, documenting the family trees of the Prophet and his Companions and their tribal lineages could be seen as one of the catalysts of the Judith Forbis, The Classic Arabian Horse (NY/London: Liveright, 1976), 72. Peter Webb, Imagining the Arabs: Arab Identity and the Rise of Islam (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd., 2016), 321-322.

42 43

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birth of the Arabic scholarly discipline 'ilm al-nasab [knowledge of lineage/genealogy]. Although the ethnogenesis of Arab identity starts during the Umayyad era as a consolidating force of the Caliphate as an imperial ruling concept,44 the zenith of 'ilm al-nasab as a stepping stone for all Muslims into Arabness takes place in the second half of the eighth century and the first half of the ninth century under Abbasid rule.45 In forging a lineage to affirm their Arab identity and therefore justify their right to rule, the Abbasid elite simultaneously created a new history for their professed superior lineage. In order to organize their new society, their nasab was adapted to political, social, and economic needs, rather than being used as an immutable source.46 It was precisely during this period that Hishām ibn al-Kalbi emerged as one of the most important scholars involved in laying the foundation for the formation of Arab identity. Both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars cite his work Jamharat al-nasab [Collections of Lineage] as one of the most comprehensive texts on pre-Islamic and early Islamic history. In his work Kitāb al-Aṣnām [Book of Idols], describing preIslamic polytheistic practices in the Arabian Peninsula, we find similar “Arab” origin narratives as those in the book on horses, but this time as related to the lineage of the tribes of Arab people. The narrative features the same generational gaps and, in parallel to the horse text, includes founding fathers who may be more legendary than historical.47 The same Prophets are now cited as ancestors of the Arab peoples, and, being a genealogist, ibn al-Kalbi confirms the Biblical narrative that Ishmael was to be the progenitor of the Arabs because of his ability to speak Qur’anic Arabic, as he had also stated in his Kitāb alKhayl: “The first to ride horses was Ismā'il bin Ibrāhīm, and [he was] the first to speak proper Arabic that Allah sent down to his messenger in the Qur’ān.”48

Idem, 144. Stefan Leder, “Nasab as Idiom and Discourse,” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 5: 1-2 (2015), 56-74. DOI: 10.1163/15685209-12341371. 46 Zoltan Szombathy, “Motives and Techniques of Genealogical Forgery in Pre-modern Muslim Societies,” in Volume 5: Genealogy and Knowledge in Muslim Societies: Understanding the Past, ed. S. Savant, H. Felipe (London, Edinburgh: AKU-ISMC; Edinburgh University Press, 2014), 24-36. 47 Peter Webb, Imagining the Arabs, 194-196. 48 Ibn al-Kalbi, “Nasab al-khayl fi al-jāhiliyyawa al-islāmwa 'akhbārihā,” 26. 44 45

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The idea thus that both the Arab and his horse predate Islam is intrinsic to the work of ibn al-Kalbi. However, the issue is complicated by the fact that there is no tangible evidence for Arab identity in preIslamic times. More importantly, his work can be used to illustrate how ibn al-Kalbi actively constructed an ancient genealogy for the horse to match that of ancient Arab ethnicity. This is endorsed in another of his origin accounts, which suggests how a possible Islamic breeding tradition emerged by connecting the horse to certain specific tribes: And others claim – Allah knows best – when Sulayman sterilised those horses, from them 3 horses with wings flew away and one horse fell in Rabī'a, and another in al-‘Azd, and the last one in Bahrā', they [the tribes] carried them on their horse. When they recovered they flew back to the sea. And they bred among each other when Allah wanted it so.49 Ibn Al-Kalbi does not offer a source for this fragment, but inclusion of these specific tribe names in an auxiliary narrative on how the horses purportedly spread among those identified as Arabs by ibn al-Kalbi shows the retrojection of both the horse and Arab identity into preIslamic times because, as evident in the text, the tribes already had ordinary horses when the winged horses fell among them. The location of the tribes is significant too. According to legend the Rabī’a were Adnanites originating in western regions of the Arabian Peninsula, and thus considered Arabized (following their adoption of the Arabic language). Although they are said to be able to trace their lineage back to Ishmael through Adnān, genealogical tradition argues that Ishmael spoke Hebrew and only later learned Arabic. In the early stages of ‘ilm al-nasab, language was an important marker of Arabness,50 hence the added value of ibn al-Kalbi often also being classified as a philologist. This is probably the reason for ibn al-Kalbi’s efforts to make it clear that Ishmael (eventually) did speak Arabic and that the Arabic he spoke was even that of the Qur’ān. By the act of a horse falling into the Rabī’a, the Adnanites were now included in the Arab ethnos, as how could they not be Arabs if one of the sacred horses had been among them?

49 50

Idem, 30. Peter Webb, Imagining the Arabs, 183-187. 216

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The Bahrā’ were equally blessed to receive a winged horse and this seems to be almost literally a strategic choice, as they inhabited the Euphrates area in the late Byzantine period and during the early Islamic period they relocated to greater Syria. The tribe was part of the larger group of tribes known as Quḍā’a, who are said to be of unknown genealogy, but claim their descent from Ma’add, a pre- Islamic identity.51 Seemingly, symbolically placing another part of the map under the Islamic empire in ibn al-Kalbi’s day, by emphasizing the Bahrā’ as receivers of a sacred horse, again supports the affirmation of Arab identity, in this case for groups of people who previously identified as Ma’add. This pre-Islamic identity marker slowly disappeared in the Umayyad period and was replaced by Islamic genealogical narratives affirming Ma’add as a son of Adnān in order to include them in the newly found Arab identity. Last, but certainly not least, ibn al-Kalbi mentions al-‘Azd again in this fragment, the tribe from which Zād al-Rākib sprang. The Al-‘Azd are known to have existed in pre-Islamic times and play an important role in the Arab identity formation process as well as the way early Muslim writers conceived pre-Islamic history. In fact, genealogical narratives on al-‘Azd and their history are often sourced by no one other than Hishām ibn al-Kalbi.52 Early Arabic genealogical texts contain contradicting contradictory information as to whether or not al‘Azd were able to claim Arabness via a certain lineage,53 but surely the connection to one of the sacred winged horses would help their case? IV. Conclusion Contemporary literature on the Arab horse often cites premodern Arabic texts as proof of the antiquity and purity of the breed and also uses these documents as evidence of a long-standing breeding tradition among the Arabs. However, these popular accounts of the origin of the Peter Webb, “Ethnicity, Power and Umayyad Society: The Rise and Fall of the People of Ma’add,” in The Umayyad World, ed. A. Marsham (London: Routledge, 2019), forthcoming. 52 Brian Ulrich, “The Azd migrations reconsidered: narratives of Amr Muzayqiya and Mālik b. Fahm in historiographic context,” Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 38 (Oxford: Archeopress, 2008), 311-331. 53 Jan Retsö, The Arabs in Antiquity: Their history from the Assyrians to the Umayyads (London and New York: Routledge Curzon, 2003), 32. 51

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Arabs and their horses are now revealed to be an Islamic reconstruction of pre-Islamic times. Histories of the purported founding father of the Arab horse contain very similar themes to those found in narratives that reimagine the pre-Islamic past. Zād al-Rākib in the premodern Arabic accounts performs a similar function for the horse as Ishmael does for the people, being a single progenitor sent by Allah. Although Lady Wentworth proposed that the importance of Zād al-Rākib to the lineage of Arab horses was comparable to that of Eclipse to the English Thoroughbred, even going so far as to attempt to pin down a date in antiquity for the founding sire, there is no tangible evidence that he was anything more than a legend, whereas the skeleton of Eclipse has been preserved and is sometimes on show to the public in museum exhibitions.54 Textual inconsistencies, conflicting content and varied annotations make it difficult to draw any useful practical equine knowledge from ibn Al-Kalbi’s work on horses.55 The Kitāb al-Khayl lacks any classification or registration system that would indicate it was written as a studbook, nor does it contain any evidence for the existence of a breed of horse called the Arab horse. At no point does ibn al-Kalbi refer to the horses as being Arab horses, although he does stress the horse’s vital role in confirming Arab identity for certain peoples in both Jahiliyyah and Islam:56 “It was the Arabs who connected the horse in Jahiliyya and Islam through knowledge of their merits.”57 The book on horses by Hishām ibn al-Kalbi was to become known as the first and only pedigree for the premodern “Arab” horse, a narrative that has survived into modernity. Close analysis of the contents of his work, however, provides us with insights on how early Islamic scholars reimagined the connection between the horse and certain peoples that they rendered Arabs in hindsight. We may thus Such as in the recent exhibition on George Stubbs at Milton Keynes and Mauritshuis, the eighteenth-century painter sketched Eclipse, and for the occasion of the exhibition the skeleton will be put on display. 55 Some modern authors from the Middle East have acknowledged this fact, however choose to mention the existence of Zād al-Rākib in evidence of the antiquity of the breed. See for example Philippe Paraskevas, The Egyptian Alternative vol. 1: Breeding the Arabian Horse (Cairo: Obelisque Publications, 2010), 78. 56 Possibly therefore later copies have obtained the altered title: Ansāb al-Khayl fi alJāhilīyya wa al-Islām [The lineages of horses in the Jāhilīyya and Islam]. 57 Ibn al-Kalbi, “Nasab al-khayl fi al-jāhiliyyawa al-islāmwa 'akhbārihā,” 23. 54

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conclude that the horse was a vital symbol for early Islamic historiographers to attest the Arabness of various groups of peoples, and, in the book on horses by ibn al-Kalbi, a means of identifying Muslim individuals. Creating a pedigree that was embedded in prophethood facilitated the process of attaching the horse to the Arab (identity) in an Islamic justified and historically accepted genealogy. References Primary Sources al-Baytār. Kāmil al-ṣināʻatayn fī al-bayṭara wa al-zardaqa [The complete guide to the professions of veterinary medicine and horse breeding]. Cairo: ʻAbd Alla Muhammad Hassuna, 1801. www.wdl.org/en/item/17603/. MS Arabe 2817 (993). Traité des chevaux, sans titre ni nom d’auteur. Bibliothèque nationale de France. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/ 12148/btv1b8406168v/f8.image#. Secondary Sources Abou Bakr ibn Badr. Le Nâcérî. La perfection des deux arts, ou Traité complet d'hippologie et d'hippiatrie arabes. transl. & ed. M. Perron. Paris: Bouchard-Huzard, 1852. Atallah, W. “al-Kalbi.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, ed. P Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W. P. Heinrichs. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1960-2005. al-Kalbi. “Nasab al-khayl fi al-jāhiliyyawa al-islāmwa 'akhbārihā” [Genealogy of horses in the Jahiliyya and Islam and their histories] In Silsilah Kutub al-Khayl [Series of Horse books], ed. Ḥ.Ṣ. alḌammān. Damascus: Dār al-Bashā’ir, 2009. –––. Ansāb al-khayl fi al-jāhiliyyawa al-islāmwa ‘akhbārihā [Genealogies of horses in the Jahiliyya and Islam and their histories], ed. A. Zaki Pāsha. Cairo: Dār al-Kutub, 1946. al-Mundhir. Kāmil al-ṣināʻatayn fī al-bayṭara wa al-zardaqa [The complete guide to the professions of veterinary medicine and horse breeding], ed. Aḥmad Ja’far Ḥijazī. Cairo: Wizāra al-Baḥth al-‘alamī, 2002. Church, M. Eclipse: The Horse, the Race, the Awards. London: Thoroughbred Advertising, 2000. Daumas, E. The horses of the Sahara and the manners of the desert, trans. James Hutton. London: Wm. H. Allen & Co, 1863. 219

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Flügel, G., ed. Kitāb al-Fihrist: mit anmerkungen herausgegeben. Leipzig: F. C. W. Vogel, 1872. Forbis, J. The Classic Arabian Horse. New York/London: Liveright, 1976. Greely, M. Arabian Exodus. London: J. A. Allen, 1976. Hammer-Purgstall, J. Das Pferd bei den Arabern. Vienna: Aus der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1855. Leder, S. “Nasab as Idiom and Discourse.” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 58:1-2 (2015): 56-74. DOI: 10.1163/ 15685209-12341371. Mattocks, S. “Middle Eastern Allure.” The Romance of the Arabian Horse. 4 August 2016, https://theromanceofthearabianhorse.com/2016/ 08/04/middle-eastern-allure/ (accessed June 24, 2019). Olsen, S. L. and C. Culbertson. A Gift from the Desert: The Art, History and Culture of the Arabian Horse. Kentucky: International Museum of the Horse, Kentucky Horse Park, 2010. Oster, M. Bedouin Heritage: The world of the Arabian Horse. Sesslach: Matthias Oster, 2016. Paraskevas, P. The Egyptian Alternative vol. 1: Breeding the Arabian Horse. Cairo: Obelisque Publications, 2010. Schiettecatte, J. and A. Zouache. “The Horse in Arabia and the Arabian Horse: Origins, Myths and Realities.” Arabian Humanities 8 (2017). http://journals.openedition.org/cy/3280; DOI: 10.4000/cy.3280 (accessed September 1, 2019). Szombathy, Z. “Motives and Techniques of Genealogical Forgery in Pre-modern Muslim Societies.” In Volume 5: Genealogy and Knowledge in Muslim Societies: Understanding the Past, ed. S. Savant, H. Felipe. London/Edinburgh: AKU-ISMC; Edinburgh U. Press, 2014. Ulrich, B. “The Azd migrations reconsidered: narratives of Amr Muzayqiya and Mālik b. Fahm in historiographic context.” In Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 38. Oxford: Archeopress, 2008. Webb, P. “Ethnicity, Power and Umayyad Society: The Rise and Fall of the People of Ma’add.” In The Umayyad World, ed. Andrew Marsham. London: Routledge, 2019. Forthcoming. –––. Imagining the Arabs: Arab Identity and the Rise of Islam. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd., 2016. Wentworth, J. Thoroughbred Racing Stock. London: Unwin Brothers Ltd., 1960. 220

Equestrian Military Equipment of the Eastern Roman Armies in the Sixth and Seventh Centuries Mattia Caprioli

I. Introduction The importance of horsemen, in particular horse archers, in the Eastern Roman armies during the sixth and seventh centuries AD, is well acknowledged in both ancient sources and modern studies. Even in the most famous military treatise of the period, the Strategikon by Emperor Maurice Tiberius, at least half of the books of which it is composed deal specifically with cavalry equipment, training, and deployment on the battlefield.1 However, modern studies somewhat neglect the most important component of the Eastern Roman horseman – the horse. In particular, there seems to be a lack of detailed studies dealing with the military equipment of Eastern Roman warhorses during the sixth and seventh centuries. This is probably partially due to the brief, but detailed, description of equestrian equipment in the Strategikon which, however, is perhaps taken too much for granted given the reliability of the treatise, and without a proper cross-comparison with other sources. Also, in the Strategikon we do not have any direct or detailed information on some specific matters, such as the production of the equipment itself and the actual diffusion of some of its components (such as armor and stirrups) in the army, neither of which has been adequately explored. The Strategikon, however, remains an essential source from which every study on the subject of the Eastern Roman For a detailed analysis of the warfare of the sixth and seventh centuries and the role of horsemen, see Philip Rance, “Narses and the Battle of Taginae (Busta Gallorum) 552: Procopius and Sixth Century Warfare,” Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte 54:H.4 (2005): 424-472. 1

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equestrian military equipment during sixth and seventh centuries must begin. II. Horse armor The military equipment of warhorses is described briefly but accurately near the beginning of the treatise: The horses, especially those of the officers and the other special troops, in particular those in the front ranks of the battle line, should have protective pieces of iron armor about their heads and breast plates in iron or felt, or else breast and neck coverings such as the Avars use. The saddles should have large and thick cloths; the bridles should be of good quality; attached to the saddles should be two iron stirrups, a lasso with thong, hobble, a saddle bag large enough to hold three or four days' rations for the soldier when needed. There should be four tassels on the back strap, one on the top of the head, and one under the chin.2 As is evident from the text of the Strategikon, horse armor is probably the most important piece of military equestrian equipment. Its importance, especially for animals in the front line of battle, is also stressed in the possibly contemporary treatise Perì Strategias.3 In this work, horse armor is described as comprising protection made of iron for the head, neck, and breast and this is prescribed specifically for horses in the first rank.4 Also, the treatise recommends iron plates to defend their hooves from caltrops – a defensive measure strangely not included in the Strategikon, considering that its author recommended the use of caltrops in various situations.5 Maurice’s Strategikon. Handbook of Byzantine Military Strategy, ed. George T. Dennis (Philadeplhia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1984), 13. 3 The actual dating of this treatise is disputed among scholars. While in Three Byzantine Military Treatises, ed. George T. Dennis (Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 1985), it is claimed that the treatise was written in the sixth century, other studies date the work much later, to the eighth or even ninth century; e.g. see Salvatore Cosentino, “The Syrianos’ Strategikon: a 9th century source?” Bizantinistica. Rivista di studi bizantini e slavi 2 (2000): 243-280. 4 Three Byzantine Military Treatises, 56-57. 5 Three Byzantine Military Treatises, 56-57, Maurice’s Strategikon 53: 151-152, 160. 2

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Horse armor described in treatises of the sixth and seventh centuries AD, which protected only the front areas of the animal, is apparently different from that of the Roman heavy cavalry of previous and later periods, these seeming to have been generally more protective and enclosing.6 This kind of “half horse armor” is often described by modern authors as a new borrowing from the Avars, on the basis of the famous description in the Strategikon.7 However, it must be noted that the treatise actually seems to refer to two different “combinations” of horse armor, only one of which is directly referred to as “Avar.” The first horse armor described is a combination of a head protection and a breastplate, apparently without any armor for the neck of the horse. By the sixth century, this solution had long been in use in the Roman world, at least from the second century AD, as seen from archaeological finds and from descriptions in literary sources of later periods.8 The “Avar style” of horse armor adds a neck guard to this combination – something that, by itself, does not represent a novelty to the Romans, considering that horse armors with neck guards were already known and used in previous periods. What actually seems to be new is the form of the armor – complete with neck guard but only covering the front of the horse, as opposed to the previous periods when complete horse armor enclosed the entire body of the animal. Its lamellar construction does not seem to have ever been in use before for horse armor amongst the Romans. But it has to be noted that in the Strategikon, the horse armor of the Avars is described as similarly made from iron or felt, so that it does not seem that the author is referring to the method of construction. The clearest example of the Avar style horse armor comes from a non-Roman source, a famous and detailed Sasanian relief from Taq-i Bostan in Iran, evidence that this form of horse protection was actually widespread and used not only by the Romans and the Avars, at least in For references for the period before the sixth to seventh centuries, see the synthesis by Raffaele D’Amato, Roman Heavy Cavalry (1). Cataphractarii & Clibanarii. 1st century BC-5th century AD (Osprey: Oxford, 2018), 44-48, 50-56, while references for later periods can be found in Sowing the Dragon’s Teeth. Byzantine Warfare in the Tenth Century, ed. Eric McGeer (Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 2008), 36-37, 114-115. 7 Georgios Kardaras, “The nomadic art of war. The case of the Avars,” Acta Militaria Mediaevalia 11:2 (2015): 15. 8 D’Amato, Roman Heavy Cavalry, 44-57. 6

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the eastern Mediterranean.9 For the authors of both Strategikon and Perì Strategias, iron seems to have been the material of choice for horse armor. This is in line with known Roman military gear that dates at least three centuries earlier. The complete horse trapper and the bits of what has been identified as horse armor made of iron scales from Dura Europos all can be dated to the third century AD, while many literary sources of the fourth and fifth centuries describe élite heavy cavalry.10 The use of iron for horse armor is also mentioned in later written sources from the Middle Byzantine period, in both military treatises and literary texts.11 We do not have any direct archaeological evidence for iron horse armor from the sixth and seventh centuries; in many cases, it could be difficult to distinguish iron laminae for horse armor from those meant for the armor of soldiers, as they are often of similar dimensions. Thus, the copper-alloy scales of the horse trappers from Dura Europos which, although earlier, could provide a good parallel, are nearly identical in size to those of the armor of soldiers from the same site. Further, in many cases, the laminae are scattered and in such small numbers that it is impossible to reconstruct the original form of the armor to which they belonged. However, taking the third-century Dura Europos horse trappers again as a reference for the size of horse armor laminae, we know that many iron scales from Dura Europos, identified as pieces of horse armor, are indeed quite large compared to the scales intended for armor protecting the torso.12 Considering the size, they could be somewhat comparable to a large lamina of the sixth-seventh centuries measuring about 11x8 cm, which was found during the excavation of the Eastern Roman fort of Gradina on Jelica Mountain, Serbia.13 Even if its use as part of a cuirass cannot be ruled out, one should consider the possibility that the Gradina scale could have been a component of a horse armor. For an analysis and a tentative reconstruction of the lamellar horse armor, see Timothy Dawson, Armour Never Wearies. Scale and Lamellar Armour in the West, from the Bronze Age to the 19th Century (Stroud: The History Press, 2013), 72-75. 10 D’Amato, Roman Heavy Cavalry, 44-57. 11 McGeer, Sowing the Dragon’s Teeth, 214, 216. 12 D’Amato, Roman Heavy Cavalry, 52-56. 13 Gradina on Jelica Mountain. Thirty Years of Archaeological Research (1984-2014), ed. Mihailo Milinkovic, Perica Spehar (Cacak: Cultural Institution of National Importance, 2014), 150. 9

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Horse armor made of copper-alloy laminae, although widely known from both archaeological and written sources from the third century onwards,14 are not to be found anywhere in sources of the sixth and seventh centuries. It could be argued that, since pieces of gilded bronze armament from this period have been found, and that gilded armor for officers and military élites are mentioned in literary sources, at least high ranking officers could have protected their horses also with gilded copper-alloy armor as well, but there is nothing to support this hypothesis.15 Even if iron seems to be the material of choice for the horse armor, “softer” materials were also considered suitable for the purpose, such as felt (most probably used as padding between layers of textile or leather), which is mentioned in the Strategikon. Even if not directly stated in any written source, padded horse armor was probably also used by the Romans between the fourth and fifth centuries, as a mosaic from the ancient city of Cirta (now Constantine, Algeria) seems to indicate.16 The use of padded horse armor during the sixth and seventh centuries is also confirmed by, admittedly later, literary sources. In his chronicle, Theophanes the Confessor described the Emperor Heraclius in action during the battle of Nineveh (627 AD). According to the author, Heraclius' horse was hit by numerous sword blows to the face, but its sturdy padded armor prevented the animal from being injured.17 No archaeological evidence has been found so far of padded armor from the sixth and seventh centuries, neither for soldiers nor horses, but this could be easily explained by the perishability of the materials. References to leather, another perishable material that could have been used to produce horse armor, are surprisingly absent from any kind of D’Amato, Roman Heavy Cavalry, 44-57. References of gilded officers’ armours in period written sources can be found in The Iohannis or De Bellis Lybicis of Flavius Cresconius Corippus, ed. George W. Shea (Lewiston-Queenston-Lampeter: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1998), 124-126, while examples of gilded pieces of armament were found in the excavation of the Crypta Balbi in Rome, see Roma. Dall’antichità al medioevo. Archeologia e Storia nel museo nazionale romano Crypta Balbi, ed. Maria Stella Arena et all. (Milano: Electa, 2012), 399-402. 16 D’Amato, Roman Heavy Cavalry, 57. A picture of such caparisoned horses can be seen in Simon MacDowall, Adrianople AD 378. The Goth’s Crush Rome’s Legions (Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2001), 68. 17 The Chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor. Byzantine and Near Eastern History. AD 2841083, ed. Cyril Mango and Roger Scott (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997), 449. 14 15

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period source. This absence is even more striking, considering the fact that we know that leather as material was widely used in the Roman army for horse armor, both in earlier and later periods.18 Even if we cannot exclude the use of leather for horse armor in the sixth and seventh centuries, it must be admitted that there is no clear evidence that could attest to its use in this period. Given at least the written evidence of the use of horse armor in Eastern Roman armies of the sixth and seventh centuries, a problem arises when looking at the visual sources from the imperial territories, from which horse armor is totally absent. P. Grotowski, who studied the iconography of warrior saints of the Middle Byzantine period and likewise faced the same issue with later visual sources, gave three possible reasons for this absence.19 While his third explanation, firmly linked with the later iconography of the warrior saints (“the lack of hagiographic evidence that might link the warrior saints with cataphract formations”), is not related to our subject, the two others may be applicable to the context of the sixth and seventh centuries. The first possibility is what Grotowski called “iconographic traditionalism,” rightly pointing out that in the traditional representation of Roman horsemen, at least in terms of the art of the imperial propaganda, the mounts are usually unarmored and, consequently, this model could have been followed by later artists. According to Grotowski, representations of caparisoned horses in Late Antiquity are to be found mainly in “folk art” (e.g. the famous Dura Europos graffities), and more broadly in non-propagandist art. If this is generally true, it could be argued that caparisoned horses were probably represented at least on the Column of Theodosius in Constantinople, even if this is difficult to ascertain since we have only much later drawings of the monument.20 This first hypothesis could be applied to the art of the sixth and seventh centuries, in which armored horsemen are indeed represented seating on horses that have no armor. However, it has to be noted that, among the few representations that we have, only a very small number can be regarded properly as propaganda art – e.g. the imperial mounted D’Amato, Roman Heavy Cavalry, 51, 57. McGeer, Sowing the Dragon’s Teeth, 36-37, 114-115. Piotr L. Grotowski, Arms and Armour of the Warrior Saints. Tradition and Innovation in Byzantine Iconography (843-1261) (Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2010), 395-397. 20 D’Amato, Roman Heavy Cavalry, 57. 18 19

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portrait on the Barberini diptychs, the gold medallion depicting Justinian, and maybe also the Isola Rizza silver dish, while all of the other representations of horsemen may be categorized as belonging to the so-called minor arts. Indeed, applying this hypothesis to the art of the sixth and seventh centuries may lead to biased conclusions. Grotowski’s second hypothesis deals with the actual use of horse armor by the army in the tenth and eleventh centuries, which was confined to élite heavy cavalry cataphract formations, a minor component of forces; such better equipped but uncommon cavalry, could have had a direct reflection in art. This last explanation could probably be better applied to contexts of the sixth and seventh centuries than the previous one. If indeed horse armor never appears in the few depictions that we have, possibly indirectly indicating its limited use, this seems to be confirmed by a careful reading of the written sources. In military manuals, it is stated very clearly that mainly – if not only – the horses of commanders and of other “special troops,” in particular those deployed in the first line of battle, should be equipped with horse armor. This, of course, means that only a small percentage of the cavalry would have been provided with caparisoned horses. This is also confirmed indirectly by the passage in Theophanes referenced above, which describes the horse of the emperor himself as caparisoned – even if that does not mean that other Eastern Roman warhorses could not have been equipped with horse armor. As an aside, it is curious how the armor of the emperor’s horse, which we assume should have been of the richest and most solid materials, was, in fact, made of felt. In other literary sources of the period, for example Procopius, horse armor or other devices of protection for the horses in general are never mentioned. This contrasts with detailed descriptions of the equipment of the cavalrymen, possibly indicating indirectly that horse armor was not the norm. III. Saddles As it is commonly acknowledged by modern scholars, during the sixth and seventh centuries, the Eastern Romans used saddles with a wooden framework made up of a seat, a pommel, and a cantle. This type of saddle originated in the Far East – between China, Korea, and the 227

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Eurasian Steppe – between the third and fourth centuries AD, and is usually accepted as having been adopted by the Romans, between the fourth and fifth centuries, under the influence of the Steppe people such as the Huns and the Avars (hence the common name of “Hunnish” or “Turkic” saddle).21 It is still not entirely clear if it would be possible to distinguish between an earlier “Hunnish” and a later “Avar” saddle. A feature that possibly could enable the establishment of a typology is the inclination of the cantle, which indeed seems to have been more pronounced towards the sixth and seventh centuries, in contrast to earlier examples which seemed to have vertical cantles – although examples of depictions of quite vertical pommels and cantles are also known from later periods.22 Considering the materials from which the saddle was made, it is unsurprising that there have been no finds from the Eastern Roman area of the wooden framework or of the leather covering. However, other pieces belonging to this kind of saddle, such as the metallic decorations that were attached to the pommel, have been found, particularly in Italy. Usually in bronze, sometimes even gilded, these metallic laminae have been found both in Rome and in Lombard necropolises such as Castel Trosino, the laminae from the latter site most probably having been produced in Rome itself.23 A really unique example of such decorative plates, now unfortunately lost, is a pair decorated with cloisonné from Ravenna, popularly known as the “Armour of Theoderic,” because of an initial misunderstanding of their actual use.24 Such decorations of the pommel, also in other materials such as horn, are known from the Barbaricum and from the Steppe area in the same timeframe, demonstrating the widespread use of this kind 21 Toshio Hayashi, “Development of saddle and stirrups,” in The Silk Roads and Sports (Nara: Research Centre for Silk Roadology, 1997), 67-68; Anatoly M. Khazanov, “The Eurasian Steppe Nomads in World Military History,” in Nomad Aristocrats in a World of Empires, ed. Jürgen Paul (Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, 2013), 199. 22 I. Bugarski, “Carved antler tools from Mosa and Mandelos reassessed: a glimpse into the Avar pictorial evidence,” in Close to the bone: current studies in bone technologies, ed. Selena Vitezovic (Belgrade: Institute of Archaeology, 2016), 89-90. 23 La necropoli altomedievale di Castel Trosino. Bizantini e Longobardi nelle Marche, ed. Lidia Paroli (Ascoli Piceno: Silvana Editoriale, 1995), 231-232; Roma. Dall’antichità al medioevo. Archeologia e Storia nel museo nazionale romano Crypta Balbi, ed. Maria Stella Arena, Lidia Paroli, and Laura Vendittelli (Milano: Electa, 2012), 392. 24 Cinzia Cavallari, Oggetti di ornamento personale dell’Emilia Romagna bizantina: i contesti di rinvenimento (Bologna: Ante Quem, 2005), 95.

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of saddle.25 Taking for granted that the wooden framework saddle with pommel and cantle was used, since these latter parts are also specifically mentioned in the Strategikon,26 some problems emerge when examining the iconographical evidence. In fact, no clear contemporary image, from either the Eastern Roman area or from surrounding cultures, really shows such a type of saddle.27 In the case of representations of a rider in action (e.g., the cavalrymen of Isola Rizza and the ivory plaque from Nocera Umbra), it could be reasonable to conclude that the artist simplified the subject to make it easier to depict. However, this kind of reasoning does not fit with other sources. This is the case of the illumination of the Passage of the Red Sea in the Pentateuch of Tours, and the Pentateuch of Ashburnham, where the horses of Pharaoh’s soldiers (represented as Roman warriors) depicted without their riders are clearly shown with a saddle without either pommel or cantle. Depictions of eastern Roman horses without riders seem almost non-existent in this period. With no other sources to provide comparisons, one can only suppose that the depiction in the Pentateuch represents either a simplification of the regular wooden framework saddle, or else perhaps a totally different kind of saddle. Unfortunately, if it had a wooden seat or a softer type of saddle, it is not possible to tell from the iconographical evidence alone. In combination with the saddle, the Strategikon advises the use of “large and thick cloths.” While the Greek word for these cloths should imply their use as a cover for the saddle tree, some scholars identify them with proper saddlecloths that were put under the saddle itself.28 Saddlecloths are quite well-represented in a number of visual sources from the period – i.e., the Pentateuch of Tours and on the Isola Rizza silver dish – even if they do not appear as extensive as described in the Strategikon. However, there is at least iconographical evidence from the 25 Bugarski, “Carved antler tools,” 92-93; F. Chris, “The archaeological evidence for equestrianism in early Anglos-Saxon England, c. 450-700,” in Just Skin and Bones? New Perspectives on Human-Animal Relations in the Historical Past, ed. Aleksander Pluskowski (Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 2005), 57-61, 64. 26 Maurice’s Strategikon, 30. 27 A notable exception is a carved bone tool coming from the Avar milieu, see Bugarski, “Carved antler tools,” 86-88. 28 Grotowski, Arms and Armour of the Warrior Saints, 384, Giuseppe Cascarino, Carlo Sansilvestri, L’esercito romano. Armamento e organizzazione. Vol IV: l’Impero d’Oriente e gli ultimi Romani (Avellino: Il Cerchio, 2012), 177, fig. 5.63.

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Avar milieu, datable between the sixth and seventh centuries, depicting a really large saddlecloth, maybe of the same type to which the Strategikon refers.29 IV. Stirrups Exactly when and how stirrups were invented is still a matter of debate, probably as much as that surrounding the possible existence of stirrups in organic materials (e.g., wood or leather) prior to the introduction of metal versions.30 Scholars generally agree that, just like the wooden framework saddle with pommel and cantle, metal stirrups originated in the Far East and were spread to the West by the movements of the nomadic peoples of the Eurasian Steppe, particularly the Avars.31 The first mention of iron stirrups in Eastern Roman sources is in the chapter of the Strategikon which deals with equestrian military equipment; it would appear that they were well known, since the author does not provide a detailed explanation. Even if it is not stated specifically in the treatise that stirrups were adopted from the Avars, it is generally agreed that they were adopted from them, since, in the same chapter, there is an abundance of references to devices and items that should be made “such as the Avars use.”32 A question that apparently only rarely arises amongst scholars concerns the actual spread of stirrups to the Eastern Roman army. It is clear from other sources that they were not adopted simultaneously by every army; for example, widespread use among the Arabs only began much later. Thus, the sudden and widespread adoption of the stirrup by the Eastern Romans following their first encounters with the Avars should not be taken for granted, based solely on references in the Strategikon. We might expect a significant number of stirrups from the Balkans, the area where Avars and Eastern Romans had their major encounters. Still, archaeological finds of iron stirrups from the period between the end of the sixth and beginning of the seventh centuries, Bugarski, “Carved antler tools,” 87. Grotowski, Arms and Armour of the Warrior Saints, 380; Hayashi, “Development of saddle and stirrups,” 69-73; Khazanov, “The Eurasian Steppe Nomads,” 199-200. 31 For a general contribution about the spreading in Europe of Asiatic military gear, see Witold Swietosvlaski, “The role of Avars in spreading Asiatic forms of armament in Europe,” Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Archaeologica 23 (2001): 75-85. 32 Maurice’s Strategikon, 13; Kardaras, “The nomadic art of war,” 10. 29 30

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the timeframe during which the Strategikon was written, are remarkably few. In fact, the vast majority of finds of the earliest form of stirrup from that area – apple-shaped with elongated suspension loops – cannot be dated securely earlier than c. 630 AD.33 A possible explanation is that, in the Eastern Roman forts in the Balkans, there were no truly professional cavalry soldiers who might have been equipped with stirrups. Indeed, in the earlier Avar contexts in the Balkans, stirrups are usually associated with lance-heads, part of the main weaponry of both Eastern Roman and Avar cavalry shock troops.34 Other archaeological evidence seems to indicate that stirrups were not adopted by the Eastern Romans prior to the seventh century, in any case later than the reference to skalae in the Strategikon. No stirrups that could be dated earlier than the seventh century have been found in Eastern Roman territories or even at sites neighboring the Empire. A stirrup with circular bow and eyelet-like suspension was found at Pergamon,35 while a number of others, all to be dated to c. 600–650 AD, have been found in Lombard necropolises in Italy – and it must be noted that their typology is different from the earliest Avar models.36 No stirrups have been found at Eastern Roman sites in Italy. Thus, at the castrum of San Antonino di Perti and in Crypta Balbi in Rome, finds of equestrian equipment were limited to saddle parts, horse bits, and spurs, and this is also the case in the Lombard necropolises before the seventh century. Unfortunately, iconographic evidence does not help in understanding when and how quickly stirrups were introduced in the Eastern Roman armies. While we know for certain that they were depicted from the eighth century onwards,37 there is a general problem of dating precisely the visual evidence within the period from the sixth 33 Florin Curta, “Horsemen in Forts or Peasants in Villages? Remarks on the Archaeology of Warfare in the 6th to 7th Century Balkans,” in War and Warfare in Late Antiquity. Current Perspectives, ed. Alexander Sarantis and Neil Christie (Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2010), 813. 34 Curta, “Horsemen in Forts or Peasants in Villages?” 820-821. 35 Ibidem, 818. 36 La necropoli altomedievale di Castel Trosino, 301, 303; Longobardi. Un popolo che cambia la storia, ed. Gian Brogiolo Pietro, Federico Marazzi, and Caterina Giostra (Milan: Skira, 2017), 193. 37 Grotowski, Arms and Armour of the Warrior Saints, 381.

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to the seventh centuries. Given the dates provided by archaeological finds, it could be inferred that instances of iconographic depictions of stirrups must be dated after the first quarter of the seventh century, even if it is possible that representations of horses without stirrups can only be dated earlier. V. Decorative devices: tufts, pendants, and phalerae The first chapters of the Strategikon emphasize the importance of soldiers presenting themselves in good order, both to boost morale and to impress the enemy,38 and this is the policy also laid down for the appearance of Eastern Roman warhorses. Emperor Maurice decreed that horses should be decked out with various tufts or tassels on the backstrap, on the top of the head, and under the chin. Such decorations are clearly visible in some iconography of the period, both Eastern Roman and Avar. These include an ivory fragment from the Lombard necropolis of Nocera Umbra, and the famous dish from the treasure of Nagyszentmiklós, Hungary. Back and front straps, as well as the bridles, were decorated with various metal fittings and pendants. These not only appear in contemporary depictions, for example, on the horses of the Pentateuch of Ashburnham, as well as in archaeological assemblages. A good number of plaque attachments for horse harness, dating to the sixth or seventh centuries as well as a series of little bells with probably the same decorative function were found in Crypta Balbi in Rome.39 Other decorative devices used by the Eastern Romans were phalerae. While none are known directly from Eastern Roman sites or territories, phalerae produced in Imperial workshops or inspired by Eastern Roman models are known from Germanic sites, such as the famous examples from Ittenheim and a Lombard specimen with a Latin inscription from Reggio Emilia.40

Maurice’s Strategikon, 12. Roma. Dall’antichità al medioevo. Archeologia e Storia nel museo nazionale romano Crypta Balbi, ed. Maria Stella Arena et all. (Milan: Electa, 2012), 389-391. 40 Roma. Dall’antichità al medioevo, 83-84; Caterina Giostra, “Goths and Lombards in Italy: the potential of archaeology with respect to ethnocultural identification,” PCA 1 (2011): 19 n. 30. 38 39

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VI. Production of equestrian military equipment A major problem concerning equestrian military equipment, including horse armor, between the sixth and seventh centuries relates to its production. We should probably expect that their production was in the first instance left to imperial fabricae that produced military gear and were still active during the time. From the Notitia Dignitatum we know of at least three fabricae clibanariae in the Eastern Roman Empire, located in Antioch, Caesarea in Cappadocia, and Nicomedia.41 It is not known exactly what kind of items were produced in such fabricae clibanariae, but it can most probably be inferred that at least horse armor could have been produced there. Armor, even if only that worn by soldiers, was amongst the items that, by a law of Emperor Justinian, could only be produced by the imperial workshops, while private traders and producers were forbidden to make or sell both weapons and armors.42 Apart from the imperial fabricae, it was often up to the army itself to produce its own military gear by groups of specialized personnel under the supervision of the officers. This is also directly specified in the Strategikon, particularly for the time when the army was in winter quarters.43 Other items, such as saddles and ornaments, which were neither armor nor weaponry and probably not used exclusively by soldiers, were most likely produced outside the imperial workshops. This is clearly demonstrated by the finds in the Crypta Balbi in Rome, an ergasterion [workshop] with a mixed production of military and nonmilitary gear, which also produced decorative pieces for saddles and straps, as well as decorated spurs, horse bits, and possibly also saddles.44 VII. Conclusions While it must be admitted that Emperor Maurice’s Strategikon is an essential source for the study of the Eastern Roman equestrian military equipment, a comparative analysis of the text with other sources reveals certain discrepancies between the treatise itself, the assumptions of Notitia Dignitatum, ed. Otto Seeck (Berlin: Weidmann, 1876), 32. Imp. Iustiniani Novellae. Vol. II, ed. Zachary Von Ligenthal (Lipsia: Teubner, 1881), 59-63. 43 Specialized personnel within the army (armorers and weapon makers) is mentioned in Maurice’s Strategikon, 14, 140. 44 Roma. Dall’antichità al medioevo, 331-334, 388-394. 41 42

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some scholars and the actual situation revealed by archaeology, art, and written sources. Horse armor was surely one of the most important pieces of equestrian military equipment. According to the Strategikon, it existed in two variants, both protecting mainly the frontal areas of the horse, meaning that it was a lighter form of protection than those developed in Late Antiquity and in the Middle Byzantine period. The armor was made of iron or felt, and while other materials such as horn or leather are known to have been used in earlier and later periods, they seem not to have been used during sixth and seventh centuries. Also, despite the importance given to it, horse armor probably had limited use, something also implied in the Strategikon itself. It was reserved for officers and troops deployed in the front line of battle, which seems to be confirmed by the almost absolute lack of archaeological, iconographic and written references outside the Strategikon. The production of such horse armor was possibly limited to the imperial fabricae clibanariae, at least if we assume that the restriction on producing weapons and armors imposed by law was also extended to equestrian armor. It is also possible that could the army provide the necessary horse armor through its specialized personnel. Saddles with seat, pommel, and cantle were certainly known and used by the Eastern Romans, as confirmed at least by archaeological finds of the metal decorations interpreted as being mounted on the pommel, and by a direct reference to the pommel in the Strategikon. Visual references of such type of saddle, however, are almost nonexistent in the Eastern Roman milieu. This could be explained by artists creating simplified depictions of saddles, or by postulating that alongside the wooden frame saddle of Eastern origin, at least one other type of perhaps softer saddle, without pommel and cantle, existed. The reference to stirrups in the Strategikon has always encouraged the assumption that as soon as the Eastern Romans encountered the Avars in the sixth century, they adopted the new riding device extensively. It should be remembered that in Emperor Maurice’s treatise stirrups are described as being employed in a specialized way, on special saddles with two stirrups on one side, to help injured soldiers to mount. However, archaeological finds do not seem to confirm this picture, since the earlier forms of stirrups do not appear before the first quarter of the seventh century, even in the Balkan territories where the first encounters between the Avars and the Eastern Romans occurred. 234

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Elsewhere, for instance in Italy, stirrups do not seem to appear before the first quarter or the middle of the seventh century. Also, iconography does not help to resolve the problem of the actual introduction and widespread adoption of stirrups by the Eastern Roman army, given the difficulty in dating precisely the majority of the depictions of the period. It could be inferred that, even if the emperor had realized the potential of the new riding device, and even if it had been introduced into the Eastern Roman army by the end of the sixth century, it was not used widely used until later. While some of the equipment accessories, such as saddle bags and lassos, referred to in the Strategikon are unfortunately nowhere to be found either in art, archaeological finds, or written references, the decorative devices adorning Eastern Roman warhorses are much less elusive. Tufts and tassels like the ones described in the treatise are clearly represented in art, both from the Eastern Roman and Avar milieus, while metallic plates and phalerae that were attached to horse harnesses are both depicted in iconographical sources and found on archaeological sites. To sum up, given the results of the analytical comparison of Emperor Maurice’s work with other sources, the most reasonable approach is to bear in mind that the Strategikon is a treatise, so it need not offer a faithful picture of the contemporary reality, and that despite its accuracy and reliability as a source, it should be approached with due caution. References Arena, Maria Stella, Paolo Delogu, Lidia Paroli, Marco Ricci, Lucia Saguì, Laura Vendittelli, ed. Roma. Dall’antichità al medioevo. Archeologia e Storia nel museo nazionale romano Crypta Balbi. Milan: Electa, 2012. Brogiolo, Gian Pietro, Federico Marazzi, Caterina Giostra, ed. Longobardi. Un popolo che cambia la storia. Milan: Skira, 2017. Bugarski, I. “Carved antler tools from Mosa and Mandelos reassessed: a glimpse into the Avar pictorial evidence.” In Close to the bone: current studies in bone technologies, ed. Selena Vitezovic, 86-97. Belgrade: Institute of Archaeology, 2016. Cascarino, Giuseppe, Carlo Sansilvestri. L’esercito romano. Armamento e organizzazione. Vol. IV: L’impero d’Oriente e gli ultimi romani. Avellino: Il Cerchio, 2012. 235

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Cascarino, Giuseppe, ed. Strategikon. Il Manuale di Arte Militare dell’Impero Romano d’Oriente. Città di Castello (PG): Il Cerchio, 2016. Cavallari, Cinzia. Oggetti di ornamento personale dell’Emilia Romagna bizantina: i contesti di rinvenimento. Bologna: Ante Quem, 2005. Cosentino, Salvatore. “The Syrianos’ Strategikon: a 9th century source?” Bizantinistica. Rivista di studi bizantini e slavi 2 (2000): 243-280. Curta, Florin. “Horsemen in Forts or Peasants in Villages? Remarks on the Archaeology of Warfare in the 6th to 7th Century Balkans.” In War and Warfare in Late Antiquity. Current Perspectives, ed. Alexander Sarantis, Neil Christie, 809-850. Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2010. D’Amato, Raffaele. Roman Heavy Cavalry (1). Cataphractarii & Clibanarii. 1st century BC-5th century AD. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2018. Dawson, Timothy. Armour Never Wearies. Scale and Lamellar Armour in the West, from the Bronze Age to the 19th century. Stroud: The History Press, 2013. Dennis, George T. ed. Maurice’s Strategikon. Handbook of Byzantine Military Strategy. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1984. –––. Three Byzantine Military Treatises. Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 1985. Fern, Chris. “The archaeological evidence for equestrianism in early Anglos-Saxon England, c. 450-700.” In Just Skin and Bones? New Perspectives on Human-Animal Relations in the Historical Past, ed. Aleksander Pluskowski, 43-71. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 2005. Giostra, Caterina. “Goths and Lombards in Italy: the potential of archaeology with respect to ethnocultural identification.” PCA 1 (2011): 7-36. Grotowski, Piotr L. Arms and Armour of the Warrior Saints. Tradition and Innovation in Byzantine Iconography (843-1261). Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2010. Hayashi, Toshio. “Development of saddle and stirrups.” In The Silk Roads and Sports, 65-76. Nara: Research Centre for Silk Roadology, 1997. Kardaras, Georgios. “The Nomadic Art of War. The Case of the Avars.” Acta Militaria Mediaevalia 11 (2015): 7-25. Khazanov, Anatoly M. “The Eurasian Steppe Nomads in World Military History.” In Nomad Aristocrats in a World of Empires, 187-207. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, 2013. 236

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Mango, Cyril, Roger Scott, ed. The Chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor. Byzantine and Near Eastern History. AD 284-1083. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997. MacDowall, Simon. Adrianople AD 378. The Goth’s Crush Rome’s Legions. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2001. McGeer, Erik, ed. Sowing the Dragon’s Teeth. Byzantine Warfare in the Tenth Century. Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 2008. Milinkovic, Mihailo, Perica Spehar, ed. Gradina on Jelica Mountain. Thirty Years of Archaeological Research (1984-2014). Cacak: Cultural Institution of National Importance, 2014. Nicolle, David. “Arms of the Umayyad Era: Military Technology in a Time of Change.” In War and Society in the Eastern Mediterranean: 7th15th Centuries, ed. Ya’acov Lev, 9-100. Leiden: Brill, 1996. Paroli, Lidia, ed. La necropoli altomedievale di Castel Trosino. Bizantini e Longobardi nelle Marche. Ascoli Piceno: Silvana Editoriale, 1995. Rance, Philip. “Narses and the Battle of Taginae (Busta Gallorum) 552: Procopius and Sixth Century Warfare.” Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte Bd. 54, H. 4 (2005): 424-472. Seeck, Otto, ed. Notitia Dignitatum. Berlin: Weidmann, 1876. Shea, George W., ed. The Iohannis or De Bellis Lybicis of Flavius Cresconius Corippus. Lewiston-Queenston-Lampeter: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1998. Swietosvlaski, Witold. “The role of Avars in spreading Asiatic forms of armament in Europe.” Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Archaeologica 23 (2001): 75-85. Von Ligenthal, Zachary, ed. Imp. Iustiniani Novellae. Vol. II. Lipsia: Teubner, 1881.

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Horse Burials among the Lombards and Avars: Some Differences and Similarities between the Germanic and Nomadic Rituals Annamaria Fedele

I. Introduction Since 2000, archaeological excavations carried out in different Italian Regions have led to new archaeological discoveries highlighting the variation in size of Lombardic cemeteries. Some are quite small in area, while others are extensive with burial numbers exceeding one hundred. Each contains human graves, but also some pits containing horses and the skeletal remains of other animals, such as dogs. Of all the animals interred, the horse seems to have had the most important role in Lombard funerary practices, being the sacrificial victim par excellence. In fact, in a total of sixteen cemeteries distributed across northern and southern Italy, thirty-two pits have been found, with horses arranged in many different ways. Often these animals were buried alone, occasionally with one or two dogs, or together with their possible owner, presumably a horseman, like in the cemetery of San Mauro Cividale, next to Udine in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and, especially, in the cemetery of Vicenne and Morrione, both located in the municipality of Campochiaro (Campobasso, Molise). By way of contrast, there are only three cemeteries with dogs, in two instances buried with a horse (Povegliano Veronese, Nocera Umbra), and in another two cases, separately in a distinct pit (Testona Moncalieri, Nocera Umbra). In-depth analysis of the various finds allowed for the identification of differences in rites, representing the presence of different cultures in the Italian peninsula. While one custom belongs to the Germanic funerary tradition, another is linked to the nomadic inheritance from central Asia. This is confirmed both by written sources and scientific research that allows parallels to be drawn with central European discoveries connected to the Lombards and Avars.

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II. The Germanic ritual A. Horses buried alone or with dogs From the report of a find made in 1902 at Mandello Vitta (Piemonte), we know that the horse buried there was without any harness fittings.1 The same style of deposition has been noted at Testona Moncalieri, in the locality of “Villa Lancia” (To, Piemonte). The grave, which was partially disturbed both in the past and more recently, consists of a simple pit filled with earth, and orientated W-E, containing the remains of a male horse some sixteen years old. The orientation of the grave is the opposite of that of the human interments in this small cemetery. The skeleton of the animal is incomplete and is represented by the cranium, the cervical vertebrae, and a fragment of a rib (Fig. 1).2

Fig. 1. Partial skeleton of a horse. Testona Moncalieri (Italy)3 1 Ermanno Ferrero, “Sepolture barbariche a Mandello Vitta,” Atti della Società Piemontese di Archeologia e Belle Arti 7 (1902): 273. 2 Emmanuele Petiti, Elena Bedini, “Sepolture animali in necropoli longobarde: gli esempi del Piemonte,” in Necropoli longobarde in Italia. Indirizzi della ricerca e nuovi dati, ed. Elisa Possenti (Trento: Castello del Buonconsiglio, monumenti e collezioni provinciali, 2014), 552-554. 3 Image source: Emmanuele Petiti and Elena Bedini, “Sepolture animali in necropoli longobarde: gli esempi del Piemonte,” in Necropoli longobarde in Italia. Indirizzi della ricerca e nuovi dati, ed. Elisa Possenti (Trento: Castello del Buonconsiglio, monumenti e collezioni provinciali, 2014), 550-556.

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In Collegno (To, Piemonte), a headless male horse was found in a pit, the southern part of which had been damaged by a bulldozer. The horse, with a height at the withers of 145.2cm, was killed when it was around five years old. (Fig. 2).4

Fig. 2. Headless horse from Collegno (Italy) 5

Other finds from the Veneto Region include a total of ten burials at Bovolone (Vr), one of which contains a horse of between nine and ten years old that stood some 135 cm at the withers.6 Another pit came to light at Brega di Rosà (Vi), but this time located next to a building of uncertain chronology and function. Here, the animal was eight years old, stood some 133 cm at the withers, and was lying on its left side with the bones of the pastern joints flexed.7 A different arrangement Elena Bedini, “Il cavallo,” In Presenze longobarde. Collegno nell’Alto Medioevo, ed. Luisella Pejrani Baricco (Torino: Soprintendenza per i beni archeologici del Piemonte, 2004), 237-238. 5 Image source: Petiti and Bedini, “Sepolture animali in necropoli longobarde: gli esempi del Piemonte,” 550-556. 6 Alfredo Riedel, “Lo scheletro di cavallo,” Quaderni di Archeologia del Veneto 9 (1993): 90. 7 Francesca Alhaique, Eugenio Cerilli, “Analisi osteologiche,” in Nelle campagne della Rosa. Dieci anni di ricerche archeologiche a Rosà, ed. Elena Pettenò (Bassano: Editrice Artistica Bassano, 2004), 124. 4

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was noted in the locality Ortaia of Povegliano Veronese (Vr). A male horse, five to six years old that stood 140.8 cm at the withers, was deposited without its head. But unlike the Collegno burial, it was accompanied by the complete skeletons of two greyhounds, male and female (Fig. 3). Indeed, in the same cemetery, two small ritual pits have been found, each containing a horse’s head. In each of these cases, there are no elements of harness included.8 Three pits containing horse remains came to light in 2003 at the site of Spilamberto (Mo, Emilia Romagna). The animals had been deposited on the ground lying crouched on their sides. All had been buried without their heads, which were probably used in some form of burial ceremonies, apparently demonstrated by the finding of an equine mandible mixed with ashes found in a small pit aligned with the grave no. 66 (Fig. 4).9

Fig. 3. Horse with two dogs. Povegliano Veronese (Italy) 10 Alfredo Riedel, “Le inumazioni di animali della necropoli longobarda di Povegliano (VR),” Annali del Museo Civico di Rovereto 11 (1995): 53-98; Caterina Giostra, “La necropoli di Povegliano Veronese, loc. Ortaia,” in Necropoli longobarde in Italia. Indirizzi della ricerca e nuovi dati, ed. Elisa Possenti (Trento: Castello del Buonconsiglio, monumenti e collezioni provinciali, 2014), 268-270. 9 Patrizia Farello, “I cavalli longobardi di Spilamberto,” in Il tesoro di Spilamberto. Signori longobardi alla frontiera, ed. Andrea Breda (Modena: Comune di Spilamberto, 2010), 91-97. 10 Image source: Alfredo Riedel, “Le inumazioni di animali della necropoli longobarda di Povegliano (VR),” Annali del Museo Civico di Rovereto 11 (1995): 53-98. 8

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Fig. 4. Circular pit containing fragments of an equine mandible. Spilamberto (Italy)11

Finally, in the nineteenth century, a pit with a horse and a dog, buried with an iron chain, was discovered at the well-known site of Nocera Umbra (Ortaia locality).12 Thanks to the remarkable work of Michael Müller-Wille and Judith Oexle,13 who in the 70s and 80s mapped, organised, and catalogued all horse burials discovered in previous decades in Northern and Central Europe, we know now that the deposition of a horse in a pit separate from human burials is a typical rite of the Merovingians. Yet in the Roman period, this funerary custom was attested along the courses of the rivers Rhine, Elba, and Danube. Such burials increased during the fifth century AD in what is now modern Germany, especially in Saxony and Thuringia. In the majority of cases, the animals were interred intact. But between the fifth and seventh centuries, burials of headless horses or consisting only of horses’ heads, are scattered throughout Germany. In these cases, the animals are rarely accompanied by items of harness, and where it is found, it consists only of the bits and bridle buckles. Patrizia Farello, “I cavalli longobardi di Spilamberto,.” in Il tesoro di Spilamberto. Signori longobardi alla frontiera, ed. Andrea Breda (Modena: Comune di Spilamberto, 2010), 9197. 12 Cornelia Rupp, Das langobardische Gräberfeld von Nocera Umbra 1. Katalog und Tafeln (Florence: All’Insegna del Giglio, 2005), 57. 13 Michael Müller-Wille, “Pferdegrab und Pferdeopfer im frühen Mittelalter,” Berichten van de Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkunding Bodemonderzoek Jaargang 20-21 (1970/71): 119248; Judith Oexle, “Merowingerzeitliche Pferdebestattungen. Opfer oder Beigaben?” Frühmittelalteriche Studien 18 (1984): 122-127. 11

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Burials with the remains of one or more dogs are less well documented, although dogs had a role in the funerary practices of the Germans. From the work of Wietske Prummel,14 we know that in continental Europe, Anglo-Saxon England, and Scandinavia, dogs were included in burials. In continental Europe, the rite spread among the Thuringian and Saxon tribes in particular, then among the Franks and the Phrygians, and finally among Lombards, Alamans, and AngloSaxons. Both the work of Prummel and those of Müller-Wille and Oexle shows that the practice was the cultural heritage of the Lombards, even before they arrived and settled in Italy. Further, it disproves the interpretation of some Italian scholars who refuse to accept the presence in Italy of a foreign and Lombard aristocracy, preferring to see these rites as indicating the minor status of some foreign parvenus.15 B. Horses in human graves Another form of deposition consisted of including the whole body, or some body parts, of a horse in a human burial – man, woman, or child, but apart from the example from Campochiaro, in Italy, there are few graves of this type. From some nineteenth-century descriptions, we know that an equine lower jaw was found in a burial located close to the façade of the church of Saint Giulia in Lucca (Tuscany).16 A grave discovered at Rieti-Madonna del Cuore (Ri, Lazio), sometime in the 19th century, contained a horse that had been interred with a woman who was wearing some silver fibulae.17 Another more recent discovery comes from Sacco di Goito (Mn, Lombardy), where the head of a 14 Wietske Prummel, “Early medieval dog burials among the Germanic tribes,” Helium 32 (1992), 137. 15 Cristina La Rocca, “Tombe con corredi di armi, etnicità e prestigio sociale,” in I Longobardi e la guerra. Da Alboino alla battaglia sulla Livenza (secc. VI-VIII), ed. Pierandrea Moro (Rome: Viella, 2004), 57; Chiara Provesi, “Uomini e cavalli in Italia meridionale da Cassiodoro ad Alzecone,” in Ipsam nolam barbari vastaverunt. L’Italia e il Mediterraneo occidentale tra il V e la metà del VI, ed. Carlo Ebanista & Mario Rotili (Naples: Tavolario, 2010), 97-111. 16 Stefano Cervo, “Il Vir Magnificus di Santa Giulia a Lucca,” Actum Luce 44:1-2 (2015): 78. 17 Maria Carla Somma, “Rileggendo alcuni contesti dell’Italia centrale. Per un contributo alla conoscenza delle presenze alloctone in area Medio adriatica,” in La trasformazione del mondo romano e le grandi migrazioni. Nuovi popoli dall’Europa settentrionale e centro-orientale alle coste del Mediterraneo, ed. Carlo Ebanista & Mario Rotili (Naples: Tavolario, 2012), 178-80.

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horse with a bit in its mouth was placed on one side of a grave-pit defined by the traces of four wooden posts at its corners. Here there was neither human skeleton nor grave goods, probably as a result of grave-robbery in antiquity.18 Better known is the discovery at San Mauro at Cividale (Ud, Friuli-Venezia Giulia) of a four year-old stallion, separated stratigraphically from the skeleton of a human male by a layer of earth and stones. On the northern side of the human remains lay some remains of a shield, along with elements of horse harness which, obviously, were not directly associated with the horse but with the man (Fig. 5).19

Fig. 5. Horse above the human skeleton. Cividale S. Mauro (Italy)20

Elena Maria Menotti, “Necropoli longobarde e d’età longobarda negli scavi dagli anni ’90 ad oggi,” in Necropoli longobarde in Italia. Indirizzi della ricerca e nuovi dati, ed. Elisa Possenti (Trento: Castello del Buonconsiglio, monumenti e collezioni provinciali, 2014), 375. 19 Isabel Ahumada Silva, ed., La collina di San Mauro a Cividale del Friuli. Dalla necropoli longobarda alla chiesetta medievale (Florence: All’Insegna del Giglio: 2010), 95-100. 20 Isabel Ahumada Silva, ed., La collina di San Mauro a Cividale del Friuli. Dalla necropoli longobarda alla chiesetta medievale (Florence: All’Insegna del Giglio, 2010), 95-105. 18

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Fig. 6. Horse burials accompanying human males. Szólad (Hungary)21

Many scholars believe that this type of deposition could indicate Nomadic ritual, but this interpretation is not entirely correct.22 In fact, as we shall see below, this formula is well attested in Avar cemeteries, and at least from the fifth to sixth centuries, it spread also among the Lombards. In fact, there are many such archaeological finds in central and eastern Europe that precede their conquest of northern and central Italy. Examples include the double burial of a man and a woman at Kamýk,23 the horseman of Zaluži,24 and the man and woman buried in the Žuran tumulus,25 all located in the Czech Republic. In Hungary, the same practice is found at Szentendre-Pannóniatelep (grave nos 1, 7, 26), Veskény, Vörs (grave no. 5),26 and in the recently-discovered cemetery

Image source: Michael Schmauder, ed., Die Langobarden. Das Ende der Völkerwanderung (Bonn: Kolloquien zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Band 11, 2008). 22 Maria Carla Somma, “Rileggendo alcuni contesti dell’Italia centrale. Per un contributo alla conoscenza delle presenze alloctone in area Medio adriatica,” in La trasformazione del mondo romano e le grandi migrazioni. Nuovi popoli dall’Europa settentrionale e centro-orientale alle coste del Mediterraneo, ed. Carlo Ebanista and Mario Rotili (Naples: Tavolario, 2012), 188. 23 Bedřich Svoboda, ed., Čechy v dobĕ stĕhováú národú (Prague: Academia, 1965), 333. 24 Ibidem, 332. 25 Jaroslav Tejral, “Langobardische Führstengräber nördlich der mittleren Donau,” in Glaube, Kult und Herrschaft und Identität, ed. Uta von Freeden, Herwig Friesinger und Egon Wamers (Bonn: Kolloquien zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Band 12, 2009), 132. 26 István Bóna, Jolan B. Horváth, ed., Langobardische Gräberfelder in West-Hungarn (Budapest: Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, 2009), 183. 21

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of Szólad.27 In Szólad grave 13, we can observe the same form of burial as that found at Cividale, San Mauro, the difference being that the horse in the Hungarian cemetery did not lie on stones but on wooden beams (Fig. 6). In addition, as a result of the regular “profanation,” the animal could originally have had a bit in its mouth, since one was found together with some grave goods in the surface layer of the pit. II. The Nomadic ritual A. The necropoli of Campochiaro The cemeteries of Campochiaro in Molise Region are located in two different parts of the same municipality (Vicenne and Morrione), situated in the Tammaro plain next to the important route from Pescasseroli to Candela that connects Abruzzi with Apulia. The plain is used for pasture, since the gravelled terrain is unsuitable for the growing of crops. The first discoveries were made in the 1980s during building works. The Vicenne cemetery, which was partially damaged by bulldozers, measures 35 x 45m. It comprises 167 graves, including twelve with a horse lying on its side or crouched next to a horseman accompanied by many grave goods (Fig. 7), such as belt-buckles, arms (swords, arrowheads, spearheads, knives), pottery and, in some cases, earrings.28 In the Morrione cemetery there were seven horse burials out of a total of 230 graves, and here each horse lay close to the man buried with it, and the graves contained the same types of goods as in the rest of the cemetery (Fig. 8).29 This manner of deposition is very similar to that used by Avars and other steppe peoples of Early Turkic origin. If 27 Uta von Freeden, Tivadar Vida, “Ausgrabung des langobardenzeitlichen Gräberfeldes von Szólad, Komitat Somogy, Ungarn. Vorbericht und Überblick über longobardenzeitliche Besiedlung am Plattensee,” Germania 85:2 (2007): 370-373. 28 Bruno Genito, “Sepolture con cavallo da Vicenne (CB): un rituale nomadico di origine centroasiatica,” in I Congresso nazionale di archeologia medievale, ed. Sauro Gelichi (Florence: All’Insegna del Giglio, 1997), 289; Valeria Ceglia, Isabella Marchetta, “Nuovi dati dalla necropoli di Vicenne a Campochiaro,” in La Trasformazione del mondo romano e le grandi migrazioni. Nuovi popoli dall’Europa settentrionale e centro-orientale alle coste del Mediterraneo, ed. Carlo Ebanista and Mario Rotili (Naples: Tavolario, 2012), 217-238. 29 Valeria Ceglia, “Le presenze avariche nelle necropoli altomedievali di Campochiaro,” in Kulturwandel in Mitteleuropa. Langobarden-Awaren-Slawen, ed. Jan Bemmann, Michael Schmauder (Bonn: Kolloquien zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Band 11, 2008), 691.

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we consider the chronology of the site, we can see that in these two contexts (Vicenne and Morrione) there is a new ritual, probably connected with the central Asiatic heritage of some nomads. Thus, while the Germanic horse burials referred to above have been dated to the end of sixth/start of the seventh centuries AD, the cemeteries of Campochiaro, are later than the earliest Germanic ones. They go date to the middle of the seventh century, or even to the beginning of the eighth. This hypothesis is based on coins found in some burials containing a horse or only a human corpse.30 Indeed it is supported by the Historia Langobardorum of Paulus Diaconus, who describes the arrival in the plain among the cities of Saepinum, Bovianum, and Aesernia of a new population, called “Bulgarians,” who served the Lombard Duke of Beneventum.

Fig. 7. Grave no. 150. Campochiaro, Vicenne (Italy) 31 Ermanno A. Arslan, “Le monete delle necropoli di Campochiaro e la monetazione anonima beneventana nel VII secolo,” in I Beni culturali del Molise, ed. Gianfranco De Benedittis (Campobasso: Grafica Isernina, 2004), 87-131. 31 Valeria Ceglia and Isabella Marchetta, “Nuovi dati dalla necropoli di Vicenne a Campochiaro,” in La Trasformazione del mondo romano e le grandi migrazioni. Nuovi popoli 30

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Fig. 8. Grave no. 102. Campochiaro, Morrione (Italy) 32

There are many parallels with Avar finds in the Carpathian Basin, where horse burials with similar harness were numerous from the last third of the sixth to the beginning of the ninth centuries. In fact, in Campochiaro horses have bits, and harness accessories both in silver and bronze, along with iron stirrups, while graves also include quivers containing arrowheads; only a small stirrup in bronze has been found, but it was laid close to the muzzle of a horse in Vicenne grave no. 33. Apart from the relatively unknown Borgomasino (Piemonte) graves, there are no Lombard burials containing stirrups. Most scholars now accept that stirrups were spread by Avars during their conquest of the Carpathian Basin. Richly equipped horses were buried in the Early Avar dall’Europa settentrionale e centro-orientale alle coste del Mediterraneo, ed. Carlo Ebanista and Mario Rotili (Naples: Tavolario, 2012), 217-238. 32 Image source: Valeria Ceglia, “Le presenze avariche nelle necropoli altomedievali di Campochiaro.” In Kulturwandel in Mitteleuropa. Langobarden-Awaren-Slawen, ed. Jan Bemmann, Michael Schmauder (Bonn: Kolloquien zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Band 11, 2008), 691-703. 249

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cemeteries of Iváncsa33 and Szegvás-Sapoldal,34 in the Middle Avar site of Gyenesdías,35 and some Late Avar cemeteries, all in Hungary (Fig. 9).

Fig. 9. Burial of a horseman from the Avar period. Gyenesdías (Hungary) 36

Indeed, silver harness accessories have been found over a wide area (Figs. 10, 11). There are not only circular studs, but also floral and fringed accessories.37 The work of Zsófia Rácz38 has shown that the István Bóna, “Avar lovassír Iváncsárol – Grave of an Avar Horseman at Iváncsa”. In Archaelógiai Értesitő, XCVII, 261-263. Budapest 1970. 34 István Bóna, “A Szegvár-Sápoldali lovassír. Adatok a korai avar temetkezési szokásokhoz – Das Reitergrab von Szegvár-Sápoldal. In Archaelógiai Értesitő, CVI, 32. Budapest 1979. 35 M. Schmauder, ed., Die Langobarden. Das Ende der Völkerwanderung (Bonn, 2008), 339-41. 36 Image source: Michael Schmauder, ed., Die Langobarden. Das Ende der Völkerwanderung. 37 Valeria Ceglia, Isabella Marchetta, “Nuovi dati dalla necropoli di Vicenne a Campochiaro,” in La Trasformazione del mondo romano e le grandi migrazioni. Nuovi popoli dall’Europa settentrionale e centro-orientale alle coste del Mediterraneo, ed. Carlo Ebanista and Mario Rotili (Naples: Tavolario, 2012), 229-230. 38 Zsófia Rácz, ed., Die Goldschmiedegräber der Awarenzeit (Mainz: Verlag des RömischGermanischen Zentralmuseums, 2014), 70. 33

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floral pattern is known from thirty-four archaeological sites across modern Hungary, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine (Hlodosy), with a particular concentration in Hungary. Some casting moulds come from Felnac (Romania) and Kunszentmárton (Hungary), while another came from the outskirts of the Hungarian city of Szentes. The most ancient come from the horseman burial at Szergvás-Sapoldal (Hungary), dated not before the 584 A.D. by the presence of a coin of the emperor Mauritius Tiberius.

Fig. 10. Harness of the horse buried in the grave no. 150 of Vicenne 39

The fringed shape spread from the Early Avar period in the Carpathian Basin, and accessories of this type have been found in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine (Mala Pereshchepyna Voznesenka) and Italy (Nocera Umbra). The greatest concentration is known from Hungary, and perhaps these are accessories derived from Valeria Ceglia and Isabella Marchetta, “Nuovi dati dalla necropoli di Vicenne a Campochiaro,” 217-238. 39

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those with the “mask decoration.” Some casting moulds come from Felnac, Kunszentmárton, Gatér (Hungary), and Sisak (Croatia).40

Fig. 11. Accessories of the harness found in Avarian horse burials 41

Finally, there are also other very significant grave goods at Campochiaro, such as hand-made pottery vessels, some quivers, and the buckle of a belt, all of which indicate that members of a nomadic population of warriors and their families were buried here. B. The cemetery of Borgomasino Another important cemetery was discovered and excavated in Piedmont in the nineteenth century. The chronology spans from the end of the sixth to the end of the seventh centuries, and there were some 90–100 graves, three with horse remains. From the excavation report, we know that one of these graves consisted of a pit with the horse buried together with a man, likely a horseman; they were accompanied by the teeth of a horse, a bit, a stirrup, and some harness Ibidem, 72. Image source: Zsófia Rácz, ed., Die Goldschmiedegräber der Awarenzeit (Mainz: Verlag des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums, 2014). 40 41

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accessories. The grave goods comprised a sword, a helmet, and possibly a shield; from this information, it would appear that the grave was disturbed before its discovery. The other two horse burials are pits, each containing a horse buried separately from humans. There is no information on the state of preservation of the skeletal remains and how they lay, but we do know that the animals were each accompanied by a bit and a stirrup (now lost, but visible in an old photo).42 Maria Maddalena Negro Ponzi has speculated on the presence here of a multi-ethnic community of Germanic and nomadic peoples, taking as her starting point the evidence of a horse and a man buried together, and two horses put in two separate pits, but this hypothesis is not completely formulated.43 The presence of Germanic and nomadic cultures in the same context is very likely, but does not just depend on the burials of horses, since as noted already, in “Lombard” graves horse and man can be buried together. A more reliable indicator of the presence of nomadic people is the presence in the same cemetery of burials from the Lombard culture and horse burials with stirrups. The presence of a stirrup in a pit containing only a horse leads me to identify another nomadic ritual that was widespread among the Avars and other steppe peoples. In Avar cemeteries in Hungary, there are also many burials containing only horses, where the horses are always richly harnessed. Some examples come from the inter-ethnic archaeological site of Környe44 or Early and Late Avar cemeteries such as CsákberényOrondpuszta,45 and Szekszard-Bogyiszlói;46 all in Hungary (Fig. 12). Caterina Giostra, “Il ducato longobardo di Ivrea: la grande necropoli di Borgomasino,” in Per il Museo di Ivrea. La sezione archeologica del Museo Civico P.A. Garda, ed. Ada Gabucci, Luisella Pejrani Baricco, Stefania Ratto (Florence: All’Insegna del Giglio, 2014), 162-164. 43 Maria Maddalena Negroponzi, “La necropoli di Borgomasino: strade e insediamenti in Piemonte in età longobarda,” Bollettino della Società Piemontese di Archeologia e Belle Arti L, (1998), 68. 44 Ágnes Salamon, István Erdélyi, ed., Das Völkerwanderungzeitliche Gräberfeld von Környe (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1971), 63-64. 45 Gyula László, ed., Das awarenzeitliche Gräberfeld in Csákberény-Orondpuszta (Budapest: Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum und MTA Bölcsészettudományi Kutatóközpont Régészeti Intézet, 2015), 198-208. 46 Gyula Rosner, ed., Das awarenzeitliche Gräberfeld in Szekszard-Bogyiszlói Straße (Budapest: Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum und MTA Bölcsészettudományi Kutatóközpont Régészeti Intézet, 1999), 105. 42

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In conclusion, the notion that separate horse burials are “Germanic,” and human and equine burials indicate “nomadic” is both reductive and unlikely. Rather, in both cultures, horse remains are deposited in many different ways, that are amenable to analysis from a deeper archaeological perspective and, more probably, through the lens of anthropology.

Fig. 12. Graves with a horse only. Környe (Hungary) 47

III. Sacrifice or “mort d’accompagnement”? The rites can be interpreted in many different ways. But it seems likely that the customs can be attributed to ruling classes who devoted time to equestrianism and to hunting, the latter being indicated by the presence of dogs in some Germanic graves. However, the significance could also be religious. To understand this final, complex aspect, we can consider some early historical texts and anthropological studies. Among the historical sources, there are significant references to the Germanic sacrifice of horses in Tacitus’ Germania, in the late Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum by the chronicler Adam of Bremen, and in the tenth-century 47 Image source: Ágnes Salamon and István Erdélyi, ed., Das Völkerwanderungzeitliche Gräberfeld von Környe (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1971).

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Kitāb al-alāq an-nafīsa by the Persian geographer and explorer Ibn Rusta. These texts contain the reference of human and animal killing in the occasion of particular ceremonies, moreover, some body parts of horse (like the head) seem that were used for magical and apotropaic aims.48 Regarding the anthropological studies, the most important work on this subject is Alain Testart’s Les mort d’accompagnement. La servitude volontaire I,49 in which the author makes the distinction between the “mort d’accompagnement” and the sacrifice. He considers the first a kind of custom designed to preserve the body of the animal for the afterlife, and the offering of animals to obtain favour from a deity. The same hypothesis has been recently reconsidered by the ethnologist Carole Ferret who has analyzed some customs and rituals through recent fieldwork investigations among nomadic and equestrian populations in Yakutia and Kazakhstan50. The horse fulfilled several purposes among steppe peoples from the past to recent times. The meat of the horse was eaten, its milk (kumis) was drunk; indeed the animal was a fundamental means of transport in the economy of the pastoral societies. Due to all these multiple motives, the horse had an important role in the religious system and the funerary practices of the nomadic peoples: it was often sacrificed to supernatural entities or buried wholly together individuals. Hence, in the light of the fact that in Lombard and Avar graveyards appear several kinds of horse depositions, we can make a conclusion: while the practice of burying headless horses could be connected to their sacrifice, the burying of whole horses, as in Avar cemeteries, could be considered a “mort d’accompagnement.” However, this is a subject for detailed research in the future.

Johan Thilderkvist, ed., Ritual bones and common waste. A study of Early Medieval bone deposits in Northern Europe (Groningen: Barkhuis & University of Groningen Library, 2013), 46-47. 49 Alain Testart, ed., Les mort d'accompagnement. La servitude volontaire I (Paris: Éditions errance, 2004), 29-34. 50 Carole Ferret, ed. by, Une civilisation du cheval: Les Usages de l’équidé, de la steppe à la Taïga, 268-94. (Paris: Éditions Belin, 2009), 73-122. 48

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References Ahumada Silva, Isabel, ed. La collina di San Mauro a Cividale del Friuli. Dalla necropoli longobarda alla chiesetta medievale, 95-105. Florence: All’Insegna del Giglio, 2010. Alhaique, Francesca, and Eugenio Cerilli. “Analisi osteologiche.” In Nelle campagne della Rosa. Dieci anni di ricerche archeologiche a Rosà, ed. Elena Pettenò, 124-126. Bassano: Editrice Artistica Bassano, 2004. Arslan, Ermanno A. “Le monete delle necropoli di Campochiaro e la monetazione anonima beneventana nel VII secolo.” In I Beni culturali del Molise, ed. Gianfranco De Benedittis, 87-131. Campobasso: Grafica Isernina, 2004. Bedini, Elena. “Il cavallo.” In Presenze longobarde. Collegno nell’Alto Medioevo, ed. Luisella Pejrani Baricco, 237-238. Turin: Soprintendenza per i beni archeologici del Piemonte, 2004. Bóna, István. “Avar lovassír Iváncsárol” [Grave of an Avar Horseman at Iváncsa]. Archaelógiai Értesitő 97 (1970): 243-263. –––. “A Szegvár-Sápoldali lovassír. Adatok a korai avar temetkezési szokásokhoz – Das Reitergrab von Szegvár-Sápoldal. Archaelógiai Értesitő 106 (1979): 3-32. Bóna, István and Jolan B. Horváth, ed. Langobardische Gräberfelder in West-Hungarn. Budapest: Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, 2009. Ceglia, Valeria. “Le presenze avariche nelle necropoli altomedievali di Campochiaro.” In Kulturwandel in Mitteleuropa. Langobarden-AwarenSlawen, ed. Jan Bemmann, Michael Schmauder, 691-703. Bonn: Kolloquien zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Band 11, 2008. Ceglia, Valeria and Isabella Marchetta. “Nuovi dati dalla necropoli di Vicenne a Campochiaro.” In La Trasformazione del mondo romano e le grandi migrazioni. Nuovi popoli dall’Europa settentrionale e centro-orientale alle coste del Mediterraneo, ed. Carlo Ebanista and Mario Rotili, 217238. Naples: Tavolario, 2012. Cervo, Stefano. “Il Vir Magnificus di Santa Giulia a Lucca.” Actum Luce 44:1-2 (2015): 77-108. Farello, Patrizia. “I cavalli longobardi di Spilamberto.” In Il tesoro di Spilamberto. Signori longobardi alla frontiera, ed. Andrea Breda, 91-97. Modena: Comune di Spilamberto, 2010. Ferrero, Ermanno. “Sepolture barbariche a Mandello Vitta.” Atti della Società Piemontese di Archeologia e Belle Arti 7 (1902): 271-274.

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Ferret, Carole. Edited by, Une civilisation du cheval: Les Usages de l’équidé, de la steppe à la Taïga. Paris: Éditions Belin, 2009. von Freeden, Uta and Vida Tivadar. “Ausgrabung des langobardenzeitlichen Gräberfeldes von Szólad, Komitat Somogy, Ungarn. Vorbericht und Überblick über longobardenzeitliche Besiedlung am Plattensee.” Germania 85:2 (2007): 359-84. Genito, Bruno. “Sepolture con cavallo da Vicenne (CB): un rituale nomadico di origine centroasiatica.” In I Congresso nazionale di archeologia medievale, ed. Sauro Gelichi, 286-289. Florence: All’Insegna del Giglio, 1997. Giostra, Caterina. “La necropoli di Povegliano Veronese, loc. Ortaia.” In Necropoli longobarde in Italia. Indirizzi della ricerca e nuovi dati, ed. Elisa Possenti, 259-273. Trento: Castello del Buonconsiglio, monumenti e collezioni provinciali, 2014. –––. “Il ducato longobardo di Ivrea: la grande necropoli di Borgomasino.” In Per il Museo di Ivrea. La sezione archeologica del Museo Civico P.A. Garda, ed. Ada Gabucci, Luisella Pejrani Baricco, Stefania Ratto, 155-176. Florence: All’Insegna del Giglio, 2014. La Rocca, Cristina. “Tombe con corredi di armi, etnicità e prestigio sociale.” In I Longobardi e la guerra. Da Alboino alla battaglia sulla Livenza (secc. VI-VIII), ed. Pierandrea Moro, 51-57. Rome: Viella, 2004. László, Gyula, ed. Das awarenzeitliche Gräberfeld in Csákberény-Orondpuszta. Budapest: Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum und MTA Bölcsészettudományi Kutatóközpont Régészeti Intézet, 2015. Menotti, Elena Maria. “Necropoli longobarde e d’età longobarda negli scavi dagli anni ’90 ad oggi.” In Necropoli longobarde in Italia. Indirizzi della ricerca e nuovi dati, ed. Elisa Possenti, 366-379. Trento: Castello del Buonconsiglio, monumenti e collezioni provinciali, 2014. Müller-Wille, Michael. “Pferdegrab und Pferdeopfer im frühen Mittelalter.” Berichten van de Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkunding Bodemonderzoek Jaargang 20-21 (1970-1971): 119-248. Negroponzi, Maria Maddalena. “La necropoli di Borgomasino: strade e insediamenti in Piemonte in età longobarda.” Bollettino della Società Piemontese di Archeologia e Belle Arti L (1998): 41-76. Oexle, Judith. “Merowingerzeitliche Pferdebestattungen. Opfer oder Beigaben?” Frühmittelalteriche Studien 18 (1984): 122-127. Petiti, Emmanuele, and Elena Bedini. “Sepolture animali in necropoli longobarde: gli esempi del Piemonte.” Necropoli longobarde in Italia. 257

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Indirizzi della ricerca e nuovi dati, ed. Elisa Possenti, 550-556. Trento: Castello del Buonconsiglio, monumenti e collezioni provinciali, 2014. Provesi, Chiara. “Uomini e cavalli in Italia meridionale da Cassiodoro ad Alzecone.” In Ipsam nolam barbari vastaverunt. L’Italia e il Mediterraneo occidentale tra il V e la metà del VI, ed. Carlo Ebanista and Mario Rotili, 97-111. Naples: Tavolario, 2010. Prummel, Wietske. “Early medieval dog burials among the Germanic tribes.” Helium 32 (1992): 132-194. Rácz, Zsófia, ed. Die Goldschmiedegräber der Awarenzeit. Mainz: Verlag des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums, 2014. Riedel, Alfredo. “Lo scheletro di cavallo.” Quaderni di Archeologia del Veneto 9 (1993): 90. –––. “Le inumazioni di animali della necropoli longobarda di Povegliano (VR). Annali del Museo Civico di Rovereto 11 (1995): 53-98. Rosner, Gyula ed. Das awarenzeitliche Gräberfeld in Szekszard-Bogyiszlói Straße. Budapest: Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum und MTA Bölcsészettudományi Kutatóközpont Régészeti Intézet, 1999. Rupp, Cornelia. Das langobardische Gräberfeld von Nocera Umbra 1. Katalog und Tafeln. Florence: All’Insegna del Giglio, 2005. Salamon, Ágnes and István Erdélyi, ed. Das Völkerwanderungzeitliche Gräberfeld von Környe. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1971. Schmauder, Michael, ed. Die Langobarden. Das Ende der Völkerwanderung. Bonn: Kolloquien zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Band 11, 2008. Somma, Maria Carla. “Rileggendo alcuni contesti dell’Italia centrale. Per un contributo alla conoscenza delle presenze alloctone in area Medio adriatica.” La trasformazione del mondo romano e le grandi migrazioni. Nuovi popoli dall’Europa settentrionale e centro-orientale alle coste del Mediterraneo, ed. Carlo Ebanista and Mario Rotili, 177-194. Naples: Tavolario, 2012. Svoboda, Bedřich, ed. Čechy v dobĕ stĕhováú národú. Prague: Academia, 1965. Tejral, Jaroslav. “Langobardische Führstengräber nördlich der mittleren Donau.” Glaube, Kult und Herrschaft und Identität, ed. Uta von Freeden, Herwig Friesinger, Egon Wamers, 123-62. Bonn: Kolloquien zur Vorund Frühgeschichte, Band 12, 2009. Testart, Alain, ed. Les mort d'accompagnement. La servitude volontaire I. Paris: Éditions errance, 2004.

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Thilderkvist, Johan, ed. Ritual bones and common waste. A study of Early Medieval bone deposits in Northern Europe. Groningen: Barkhuis & University of Groningen Library, 2013.

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I. Introduction The antiquary, Sir William Wilde1 was the first to draw attention to a form of openwork cheek-pieces for snaffle bits,2 cheek-pieces being a bridle component indicating the presence in Ireland of the ridden horse, something known from the Later Bronze Age onwards.3 This group has a loop to which strapwork was attached and a bar onto which the cannons of the bit were fitted, with arms curving back on themselves to form two teardrop-shaped motif panels, each enclosing an animal figure (Fig. 1). Of the twenty definite examples4 known at the time of going to press (Appendix 1),5 one metal-detector find is well-provenanced to Holm Bay in Strangford Lough, Co. Down, while a second – donated by the Royal Irish Academy to the National Museum of Denmark in the nineteenth century – is located loosely to “Dunshaughlin,” which includes Lagore Big, the townland in Co. Meath that contains the royal crannóg of Lagore,6 and another in the collections of the British Museum, is listed simply as “Ireland.” 1 William R. Wilde, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Antiquities of Animal Materials and Bronze in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy (Dublin: Hodges, Smith and Co, 1861), 608. 2 The nomenclature and measurements used in this paper are shown in Fig. 3 below. 3 Brian G. Scott, “Some notes on horse-riding in the Irish Later Bronze Age,” Journal of Irish Archaeology 28 (2019): 17-48. 4 Of these twenty, currently I have, to date, been able to examine nineteen in person; detail on one (PAS PA 2010.210.1, near Brecon) comes from a photograph and its publication. 5 A pair, a find from the River Thames in London attached to an iron curb bit, are of rather suspect form. See below and Appendix 1: Anon. (1935) “A medieval bridle-bit,” Antiquaries Journal XV (1935), 76–77; John B. Ward-Perkins, London Museum Medieval Catalogue (London: British Museum, 1940: reprint Ipswich: Anglia Publishing, 1993), 81. 6 George Eogan, “Irish Antiquities of the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Early Christian Period in the National Museum of Denmark,” Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 91C (1991), 166, fig. 16 no. 120, and 169.

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Unhappily, none of the ten National Museum of Ireland pieces is provenanced, and none of those from Britain that have close provenances, all metal detector finds, have any archaeological context.

Fig. 1. Type 7a “deer” cheek-pieces (a) NMI P517, (b) NMI W122 (both by kind permission of the National Museum of Ireland).

Fig. 2. Type 7b “deer” cheek-pieces with a lower bar and an extension (a) NMI W132, (b) NMI E186:63, (c) NMI W121 (all by kind permission of the National Museum of Ireland). 262

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Fig. 3. Measurements used in the text: (a) complete specimens, h = height from outside of loop to bottom of motif panels, w=width from outside of motif panels (b) incomplete specimens, W=max width of motif panel, L = maximum surviving length of motif panel. (all by kind permission of the National Museum of Ireland)

Type 7b has a lower bar, straight or angled from which there is a downward extension (Fig. 2).7 Wilde8 identified the animal in the motif panel (Figs 1 and 2) as a horse. Later, E.C.R. Armstrong9 accepted this, suggesting an improbable link to the design of Early Iron Age Italian equine cheekNMI W132 (Fig. 2a) has a scar at the apex of the lower loop, where some form of extension has broken off. 8 Wilde, Catalogue, 608. 9 Edmund C.R. Armstrong, “Cheek-pieces of bridle-bits in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin,” Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries 30 (1918): 187–188; “The Early Iron Age, or Hallstatt Period in Ireland (Continued),” Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (sixth ser.) 14 (1924): 125 and 126, Fig. 18. 7

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pieces,10 having earlier suggested a possible dating to the Viking period. In fact, since Wilde, all finds of this form from the Atlantic Isles have been labelled “horse pattern” or similar, and dated over a wide range. What may have contributed to the original misidentification is that insular carvings of the ninth and tenth centuries AD usually depict male deer and horse as having the same gait, foreleg raised in the manner of a pacing mount, rear leg raised. In fact, such a gait would not be normal for a deer, and it seems clear that the artists who carved these panels were copying the gait of the horse so as to fit the animal within their borders. Horses invariably are shown with the neck bent and the face sloping forward and downward, as with the animals in the cheekpiece motif panels. However, it is clear that the shape of the neck and head of each of these is so configured as to blend with the curve of the arm of the cheek-piece. The differences will be detailed below.

Fig. 4. Complete bit from Doohatty Glebe, Co. Monaghan, with wrought-iron mouthpiece and related Type 8 cheek-pieces, showing how deer-series cheekpieces would have hung in use.11 See, for example, Friedrich–Wilhelm Von Hase, Die Trensen der Früheisenzeit in Italien (Munich: C.H. Beck: Prähistorische Bronzefunde XVI.1, 1969), esp. 6-14 and figs A, B, and 1-6. 11 After Conleth Manning, Clogh Oughter Castle, Co. Cavan: Archaeology, History and Architecture (Dublin: Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Archaeological Monograph Series: 8: The Stationery Office, 2019), 100. 10

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The surviving specimens, the majority of which are broken sections, were designed to hang vertically, with the loop to the top; while there are no surviving complete bits with cheek-pieces of this type, the arrangement can be seen from a good example of a bit with cheekpieces of the closely-related Type 8 (Fig. 4).12 II. Technology It is clear that nearly all of the deer cheek-pieces were cast in open, onepiece moulds, with the back finished off by hammering. The body sections are usually a flattened D-shape, while those of the loops a rounded D-shape. The quality of casting is quite variable, often with significant flaws that obviously led to the breakage evident in many specimens. Two examples can be seen from the broken piece from Alnwick Castle, where there is a major flaw in the front leg, while the metal forming the head has spread into a blob (Fig. 5a). The sites of the breaks in the loop and bar also exhibit flaws in the form of gas bubbles. And the commonest cause of breakage was casting imperfections at points of major stress in use. Of the pieces analysed (Table 1),13 one is a brass, one a leaded bronze, two are gunmetal, with the strap tag on NMI W122 brass with one gunmetal rivet.14 Rolled rivets survive in a number of strap tags (e.g., NMI W122: Fig. 1b), but although these occur in some early Irish metalwork as nails (e.g. the ninth/tenth century AD St Mel’s crozier),15 they also occur on composite artefacts well into the post-mediaeval period. The Doohatty snaffle has cheek-pieces of my Type 8 which, on stylistic grounds, is related to the deer series. See below. 13 XRF analyses were conducted by Dr Paul Mullarkey, National Museum of Ireland. 14 Terminology for copper-alloys is after Justine Bayley, “Alloy nomenclature,” in Dress Accessories 1150–1450, ed. Geoff Egan and Frances Pritchard (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, new edition 2002), 13–17. 15 The principle for both nails and rivets is simple. Small triangles of copper-alloy are rolled into a tight cone shape, producing a sharp point. These can then be used directly as nails. As rivets to secure, for example, leather straps into strap-tags, they are driven through the leather via prepared holes, which are slightly narrower than the top of the pyramid. As the rivets are hammered through, the holes help compress them, thus increasing the tightness of fit. When secured, the ends are hammered flush. See William A. Oddy and I.M. McIntyre “St. Mel’s Crozier: technical examination and report on conservation and restoration in 1971-2,” Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 103 (1973): 38. 12

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Table 1. Analytical results of National Museum of Ireland specimens.

Although the majority of motif panels are divided by the head, body and legs of the deer into six voids of differing shape, in several cases one or more voids are absent due to poor casting, as can be seen from the right-hand motif panel of NMI W121 (Fig. 2c), where the void normally defined by the hind legs is infilled. However, the reverse of the specimen from Armagh Robinson Library (Fig. 5b) shows that the creation of depressions could also have been deliberate, produced by casting in a two-piece mould.16 It is only speculation, but it is not impossible here that such depressions originally held enamel or some other decorative infill.17 In addition, not infrequently edges of the voids were not cleaned by having ragged edges left over from the mould removed with a file as, for example, with the broken piece from the Alnwick collection (Fig. 5a). It is noticeable, however, that however

For example, British Museum specimen 1851,0717.11 shows infill of one of the voids (see Appendix 1), where examination of the reverse shows that there is no trace of this being a casting flaw. 17 Indents and annulets occur on other forms of cheek-piece, but analysis of several pieces in the National Museum of Ireland by Dr Paul Mullarkey indicate that they did not contain enamel. 16

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poor the casting, pieces were used until they failed, as can be seen, for example, from the wear on the loop and bar of ALN 456 (Fig. 5a).

Fig. 5 (a) casting flaws in ALN 456 (Collection of the Duke of Northumberland, Alnwick Castle), (b) the front (upper) and back (lower) of ARL BC50 showing that what normally are voids were cast deliberately as depressions (reproduced by kind permission of the Governors and Guardians of Armagh Robinson Library).

Another feature that is evident is a degree of asymmetry evident in the casting, hence in the making of the clay mould. Thus, for example, in Fig. 1 it is clear that the shapes of the heads of the deer are slightly different between left and right; in Fig. 1a, the legs are of different thicknesses. The racks in Fig. 2b are different in size, and the front leg of the left-hand animal points virtually straight out in line with the upper surface of the back, while that of the right-hand deer is at an angle of perhaps 20⁰ downwards. These sorts of minor differences can be observed throughout the type where both motif panels survive, and similar asymmetries are to be found among the other types of cheekpiece, particularly the more ornate ones. The consistency of occurrence across all of the types identified, set beside the equally common detailed symmetry of others, would seem to suggest strongly that it was 267

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deliberate on the part of the craftsmen. As to why, there is not yet a simple explanation. Another point of asymmetry, in terms of survival, is that of the broken pieces, it is the right motif panel that survives in seven instances, the left in only two. Again, there seems no simple explanation. A third example of asymmetry comes in the difference in size between many of the surviving pairs of strap tags; although the right-hand tag on NMI P517 (Fig. 1a) is broken, it is clear that the two tags are not matched in size. This may be due to some riders having two thicknesses of leather strap, one for reins and one for the headstall. III. Identification of the animal as deer When we consider Insular depictions of horses and deer towards the end of the first millennium AD and start of the second, there are two critical differences between them – perhaps best seen in representations on some Irish high crosses (Fig. 6).18 First, horses’ heads are invariably shown with prominent ears, and the mane flat on the neck, sometimes barely visible as more than a zone of superficial texturing. Male deer, on the other hand, have their racks prominent and standing out from the straight, upright neck. Second, horses are always depicted with distinct tails, usually falling down to below their hocks, while deer have only short, stubby scuts that barely reach to the lower buttocks. A very clear demonstration of the differences comes from Face 2 of the ninth-century cross-shaft from Banagher, Co. Offaly (Fig. 6a).19 Here, a panel shows an ecclesiastic on a fine, pacing mount with upstanding ears and a mane lying close on its neck, the prominent tail hanging down to the fetlock joint, just above the hoof. Directly below is a depiction of a male deer, with its right-front leg caught in a rectangular trap, and the stubby scut does not reach past the upper posterior. Unfortunately, the area of the neck is damaged, although it is clear that originally it would have been either upright, or arched slightly backwards. The same contrast can be seen on the high cross at Bealin, Soderberg notes the occurrence of deer in scenes on twelve high cross panels. John Soderberg, “Wild cattle: red deer in the religious texts, iconography, and archaeology of Early Medieval Ireland,” International Journal of Historical Archaeology 8 (2004): 173. 19 After Peter Harbison, The High Crosses of Ireland: an iconographical and photographic survey, 3 vols. (Bonn: Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Monographien 17.1–3, 1992), I, 26 and 378–379, and II, fig. 66. 18

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Co. Westmeath,20 of similar date (Fig. 6b),21 and the base of the tenthcentury Kells, Co. Meath, Market Cross (Fig. 6c). Mullarkey lists scenes, including hunts, in which both deer and horses appear.22 This general form of depiction of horses can be seen also on Class I and II Pictish carvings,23 while their differentiation from deer is clear, for example, on the Shandwick, Ross-shire Class II pillar (Fig. 7).24

(a)

(b)

(c)

Fig. 6. Depictions of horses and deer on Irish high crosses. (a) Banagher, Co. Offaly, (b) Bealin, Co. Westmeath, north face, (c) Kells, Co. Meath Market Cross south face of base (upper) and north face of base (lower). 20 cf Carola Hicks, “A Clonmacnois workshop in stone,” Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 110 (1980): 9–10 and 10, fig. 2. 21 The same contrast, albeit much less clearly defined, may be noted on the upper and lower panels of the early 9th century cross base from Oldcourt, Co. Wicklow. Padraig Ó hÉailidhe, “The cross-base at Oldcourt, near Bray, Co. Wicklow,” in Figures from the Past: studies in figurative art in honour of Helen M. Roe, ed. E. Rynne (Dun Laoghaire: Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 1987), 101-102, and 100, fig. 6:3. 22 Paul Mullarkey, “The figural iconography of the Soiscéal Molaise and Stowe Missal book shrines,” in Making and Meaning in Insular Art, ed. R. Moss (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2007), 62-63. 23 For example, Irene Hughson, “Pictish horse carvings,” Glasgow Archaeological Journal 17 (1991–1992), 53-61; Leslie Alcock, “Image and icon in Pictish sculpture,” in The Age of Migrating Ideas, ed. R.M. Spearman and I. Higgitt (Stroud: Allen Sutton Publishing, 1993), 230-236. 24 After John R. Allen, Early Christian Monuments of Scotland, part iii (Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1903), 72, fig. 69.

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Fig. 7. Hunting scene from the Class II Pictish pillar at Shandwick, Ross-shire.

Male deer appear both in naturalistic and abstract forms on Irish ecclesiastical and secular artefacts from perhaps the eighth century onwards. Examples include two depictions in filigree on the rim of the eighth-century Derrynaflan, Co. Tipperary, paten,25 on the terminals of the ninth-century Rathlin, Co. Antrim bossed pennanular brooch,26 on knop 2 of the late-ninth/early tenth-century “Kells” crozier,27 and on a side panel of the eleventh-century shrine of the Stowe Missal28 (Mullarkey 2007, 61–62). Depictions of deer in illuminated manuscripts are sparse, one faded example29 coming from the Book of Kells f. 302r that can be compared against two small horse figures on ff 89v and 255v, demonstrating again a clear distinction in characteristics (mane/rack, tail/scut, ears). Male deer are also found on the eleventhcentury weaving sword from Littleton Bog, Co. Tipperary (Fig. 8), and Michael F. Ryan, “The menagerie of the Derrynaflan paten,” in The Insular Tradition, ed. C.E. Karkov et al. (Albany: State of New York Press, 1997), 251-254, esp. 252, pl. 12.2b and c; Niamh Whitfield, “Motifs and techniques in Early Medieval Celtic filigree: their ultimate origins,” in Making and Meaning in Insular Art, ed. R. Moss (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2007), 32–33, and 32 fig. 32d. 26 Cormac Bourke, “The silver brooch from Demesne, Rathlin Island,” in Rathlin Island: and archaeological survey of a maritime landscape, ed. W. Forsythe and R. McConkey (Belfast: Northern Ireland Environment Agency, 2012), 144. 27 Maire McDermott, “The ‘Kells’ crosier,” Archaeologia 96 (1955): 74, fig. 11.17. 28 Mullarkey, “The figural iconography,” 63. 29 Bernard Meehan, The Book of Kells (London: Thames and Hudson, 1994), 77, fig. 105. 25

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on a copper-alloy gaming piece, possibly dating to the twelfth or thirteenth centuries.30

Fig. 8. (a) Weaving sword from Littleton Bog, Co. Tipperary (after Johnston 1999), (b) copper-alloy ‘gaming piece’ from Saggart, Co. Dublin (after Roe 1945).

Later, the deer savaged by a wolf in the thirteenth- or fourteenthcentury Clare Island Abbey, Co. Mayo, fresco is depicted naturalistically,31 and that in the fifteenth-century hunting scene at Holycross Abbey, Co. Tipperary,32 although less well-executed, has a prominent rack, stubby scut, and defined hooves.33 While it is clear that the animals in the cheek-piece motif panels are male deer, the manner of the composition is quite different from that of the depictions just discussed. The bodies seem rigid, with only the occasional hint at a joint in the legs. The front right leg is either straight out in line with the line of the back, or slightly angled down. The neck is bent forwards to match the curve of the motif panel, and the representation of the antlers follows the line of the outside of the lower arm. In all examples (bar that in the National Museum of Denmark, 30 Ruth Johnson, “Ballinderry Crannóg No. 1: a reinterpretation,” Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 99C (1999): 57-63; Helen Roe, “A Mediaeval Bronze Gaming Piece from Laoighis,” Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 75 (1945): 156, and pl. XXXI no. 4. 31 Thomas J. Westropp, “Clare Island survey: Part 2 history and archaeology,” Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 31C (1911): 34-35 and Plate XXXI.A1; Conleth Manning, Paul Gosling and John Waddell, New Survey of Clare Island, Vol. 4 (Dublin: Royal Irish Academy 2005), 81, and 82, pls XXXVII–XXXIX and fig. 15. 32 Colm Hourihane, Gothic Art in Ireland 1169–1550 (New Haven and London: The Paul Mellon Centre, 2003), 9, fig. 1 and plate 6. 33 It is noticeable that deer do not feature on any of the catalogued mediaeval floor tiles from Ireland, which date from the thirteenth century onwards. Elizabeth S. Eames and Thomas Fanning, Irish Medieval Tiles (Dublin: Royal Irish Academy), 1998.

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where it merely touches the underside of the upper arm) the scut stands erect from the rear of the animal and intersects the upper arm, leaving a slight raised bump at its centre. IV. Dating The dating of the pieces is problematic, if for no other reason that none have been found in an archaeological context; all are stray finds! An attempt to obtain a 14C date from leather surviving in the strap tag of NMI W122 (Fig. 1b) returned a date of 3717+33 BP (UBA-41848), one which may reasonably be discounted! The cheek-pieces seem not to be the products of the Irish artistic schools that produced the high crosses or the fine metalwork, lacking the fluidity and grace of the depictions of deer there. Ó Floinn identified a marked decline in the quality of copper-alloy castings towards the end of the twelfth century,34 a criticism that might justifiably be applied to the majority of the deer cheek-pieces. And Hourihane35 noted the paucity of Irish secular metalwork that can be dated between the first quarter of the thirteenth and start of the fifteenth centuries, apart from seals and some small items of jewellery. On these grounds alone, it might be possible – though not particularly satisfactory – to allocate at least some of these pieces as gap-fillers for this general period. Deer occur in Christian texts of the first millennium AD as metaphors for the living Christ, and hunting scenes may be interpreted as Christ pursued by demons in the shape of dogs, or the Christian pursued by temptation or, with the shedding of the antlers, as a symbol of resurrection:36 Ryan suggested that the Bealin deer represents the soul caught for Christ.37 Male deer also appear in the Holyrood Legend centred on the early twelfth-century king, David I of Scotland, as well as that of St Eustace (later incorporated into the legend of St Hubert), both of which involved one with a crucifix held between its antlers. Again, what appear to be crossed keys forming the downward extension of NMI E186:63 (Fig. 2b) could be a reference to the papal keys. A question, therefore, is whether the origins of the design have Raghnall Ó Floinn, “Irish Romanesque crucifix figures,” in Figures from the past, ed. E. Rynne, 183. 35 Hourihane, Gothic Art, 105. 36 Mullarkey, Making and Meaning, 63. 37 Ryan, “The menagerie,” 254 34

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any religious connotations and, if so, for how long was it retained? Thus, for example, might we see a link to the Psalmist who wrote: As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?38 The zinc content of the cheek-pieces (see Table 1 above), mostly at comparatively low levels (2.14%–6.29%), indicates metal that had been recycled along with other copper-alloy scrap. Zinc is a volatile element, which can be lost (perhaps up to 10%) with each remelt and casting. 39 The compositions of the two high-Zn pieces (NMI 1881:305 and W122 strap tag), at 12.54% and 11.86% respectively, indicate melts closer to brass stock that had undergone limited recycling. Brass had become commonplace in Ireland by the middle of the 13th century as seen, for example, in the references to a tax on imports of the alloy to Dublin, and to brass vessels that were the subject of theft.40 But Bayley has identified zinc residues in crucibles of the tenth to eleventh centuries AD from Dublin, indicating Hiberno-Norse craftsmen working, amongst other things, with brasses and gunmetals;41 Young42 similarly

King James version, Psalm 42, 1-2. Justine Bayley, “The production of brass in antiquity with particular reference to Roman Britain,” in 2000 Years of Zinc and Brass, ed. P.T. Craddock (London: British Museum – British Museum Occasional Paper 50, 1998 revised edition), 20. 40 Allowing for the vagaries of translation, for example, Calendar of Documents (relating to) Ireland 1171–1251, vol. I, ed. Henry S. Sweetman (London: Longman and Co. et al. 1875), 455-456, dated 30 May, 1250, “…Grant for 3 years to the citizens of Dublin of the following aids, to enable them to fortify or inclose their city, namely: For every…100 lbs. of brass or copper, 1d…”; vol III, 110, dated Trinity 1286; Calendar of the Justiciary Rolls or Proceedings in the Court of the Justiciar of Ireland preserved in the Public Record Office of Ireland, XXIII to XXXI Years of Edward I, ed. James Mills (Dublin: His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1905), Membranes 13 and 16 dated 1295, pp 7 and 28 and passim. 41 Justine Bayley pers. comm. 2019. It should be remembered, however, that the occurrence of zinc residues in crucibles can be somewhat deceptive as to the level of the metal present in the melt. See Thérèse Kearns et al. “Metal to mould: alloy identification in experimental casting moulds using XRF,” Journal of the Historical Metallurgy Society 44 (2010): 53; cf Vana Orfanou and Thilo Rehren, “A (not so) dangerous method: pXRF vs. EPMA-WDS analyses of copper-based artefacts,” Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 7 (2015), 393. Equally, XRF analysis taken at an uncleaned area of the surface of a casting may provide an underestimate of the zinc content, due to loss of zinc at the surface during deposition. 38 39

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detected zinc in crucibles from the ninth–tenth centuries AD site at Woodstown, Co. Waterford. Bayley et al. also noted the presence of fragments and small ingots of brass from tenth- to eleventh-century contexts in Viking Dublin.43 These examples, along with regular contemporary use in Viking York and in Lincoln, for example, and the circulation of brass ingots in the North Atlantic province,44 would appear demonstrate that the frequent use of zinc-rich copper alloys had become re-established in the Atlantic Isles by the mid-tenth century, perhaps indicating a general terminus post quem for our pieces.45 Qualitative analyses of Irish artefacts by Craddock et al.46 indicated that whereas copper-alloy artefacts of the fifth to ninth centuries AD were overwhelmingly bronzes with a few only showing significant levels of zinc, ninety percent of those from the tenth to twelfth centuries analysed had significant contents of zinc. There are no immediately obvious parallels for the series, but one might point to a group of keys dating to the later first millennium and earlier second AD from Scandinavia,47 with at least one outlier further Tim Young, “Chapter 6. Discussion of metalworking evidence,” in Woodstown, a Viking-Age Settlement in Co. Waterford, ed. I. Russell and M.F. Hurley (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2014), 111. 43 J. Bayley, J. Cotton, T. Rehren and E. Pernicka, “A Saxon brass bar ingot cache from Kingsway, London,” in Hidden Histories and Records of Antiquity: Essays on Saxon and Medieval London for John Clark, Curator Emeritus, Museum of London, ed. J. Cotton, J. Hall, J. Keily, R. Sherris, and R. Stephenson (London: LAMAS Special Paper 17, 2014), 125. Although there are deposits of calamine (smithsonite: ZnCO3) and sphalerite (ZnS) scattered throughout the island, there seems no evidence of mining for these ores before the end of the early modern period, so that we can certainly rule out Irish brass production as a source. 44 E.g. Søren M. Sindbæk, “An object of exchange: routinization of Viking Age longdistance exchange in the Baltic area,” Offa 58 (2001): 49–60. 45 J. Bayley, Non-Ferrous Metalworking from Coppergate. The Archaeology of York 17/7 (London: Council for British Archaeology/York Archaeological Trust, 1992), 809-810. 46 Paul T. Craddock, J.M. Wallis and J.F. Merkel, “The rapid qualitative analysis of groups of metalwork: making a dream come true,” in Pattern and Purpose in Insular Art, ed. M. Redknap, N. Edwards, S. Youngs, A. Lane and J. Knight (Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2001), 121. 47 Hanne .L. Aannestadt, “En nøkkel til kunnskap – om kvinneroller i jernalder,” Viking 7 (2004): 72, fig. 6 and 73, figs 7-8. Rygh type 454. This group of Norwegian keys with teardrop-shaped bow enclosing openwork zoomorphic panels include a pair from Hove, Rogaland and Heggum Nordre, Buskerud, catalogue numbers S844 and C9108. These and the keys referred to in the text are all listed on the website http://www.unimus.no/artefacts (accessed 01/10/19). 42

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The Irish “Deer” Series of Cheek-Pieces

south in Holland,48 as indicating one possible thread of influence. These have a teardrop-shaped bow which forms a motif panel that can be blank, or contain an abstract shape or a zoomorphic figure. The key from Schoonoord, Drenthe, includes an animal that Bertelsen identified as a dog depicted in Scandinavian Urnes style with Irish influence, and dating approximately to the mid-eleventh to mid-twelfth centuries AD.49

Fig. 9. (a) Løten, Hedmark, (b) Gjerdal, Buskerud (a and b the website of the Kulturhistorisk museum, Oslo – http://www.unimus.no/artefacts), (c) cheekpiece motif panel from Holm Bay, Co. Down (DCM 2019.34: courtesy of Down County Museum, photographer Peadar Curran), (d) Dublin silver penny of Sihtric Silkbeard c. 1018–1035 (not to scale).

A key from Løten, Hedmark (C29083), of similar date, this time with a round bow, incorporates an animal that may be identified as a stylised male deer from the lappet sweeping back from the head representing the rack, the prominent stubby scut and the neatly-formed L.G. Bertelsen, “Toch Barbarische Noormannen in Drenthe? Een late Vikingsleutel van de Papeloze kerk bij Schoonoord,” Nieuwe Drentse Volksalmanak 2015 (2015), 161-170. 49 Bertelsen, “Toch Barbarische Noormannen,” 164. 48

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hooves (Fig. 9a).50 Its possible relationship to the deer series is further indicated by the circular eye, and by the positioning of the legs, which mirrors that of the animals in the cheek-pieces. The notched frame of the boss of the key from Gjerdal, Buskerud (C53460) is reminiscent of the notching on the upper arms, loop and strap tag, of NMI W122 (Fig. 1b). In the vertical, the figure in the frame has been suggested to be human, arms and legs spread in a St Andrew’s cross position.51 However, when viewed in the horizontal, it appears as a quadruped (Fig. 9b).52 One must enter a caveat, however. While keys of the types described above do seem to occur in small numbers in south-western England,53 they would appear to be exceedingly rare among Irish collections,54 including the extensive Dublin excavation assemblages. Thus, an already weak case for a linkage is weakened further, emphasising the lack of antecedents for the forms of the deer, although some elements of the overall design can be recognised on other types of Irish metalwork. Where surfaces have not been corrosion damaged, the decorative motifs – interlocking Zs, meanders, zig-zags and annulets – have long histories that cannot of themselves help us define dates other than over a wide range. Nevertheless, while tenuous at best, the keys might suggest a dating for the earliest pieces in the series in, perhaps, the eleventh or earlier twelfth centuries AD, and a link to craftsmen in one or more of the late Viking urban centres in Ireland.

It might be pertinent to note that in Viking mythology, four male deer grazed on the leaves of the World Tree, Ygddrasil, e.g. Neil Price, The Viking Way: Magic and Mind in Late Iron Age Scandinavia (Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2019), 23 and fig. 2.1. 51 Aannestadt, “En nøkkel til kunnskap,” 72. 52 The projection from the cross-bar, is identified in the catalogue of the Kulturhistorisk museum, Oslo, as a snake head. If one were to consider the being in the main frame to be a stylised Cervid, then the juxtaposition of it and a snake head would be of interest in view of the supposed enmity of the two, indicating a possible Christian motif. 53 Ward-Perkins 1940, 134f: finds include. PAS LIN-A542BE, PAS_DOR-FAB445, WILT_C60511, none of which have any archaeological context. 54 What may be an iron key of this general form appears on an X-radiograph taken of ferrous finds from Woodstown, Co. Waterford, a site of the late-ninth to late-tenth centuries AD, indicating the possibility that in other contemporary assemblages, more may lurk unrecognised under coats of corrosion and concretion. Susan Kelly, “Appendix 5.3 X-radiography of iron,” in Woodstown, a Viking-Age Settlement in Co. Waterford, ed. I. Russell and M.F. Hurley (Dublin: Four Courts Press), 385, fig. 13.16. 50

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The Irish “Deer” Series of Cheek-Pieces

The firmly-provenanced cheek-piece fragment from Holm Bay55 in Strangford Lough, Co. Down (DCM 2019.34: Fig. 9c) exhibits a rack similar to NMI E186:63 and hooves similar to those of NMI W122, as well as a body and lower arm infilled with the ‘right-angled’ hatching that Murray noted as being rare on early-mediaeval metalwork in Ireland.56 He cited examples on the 12th-century animals on the Cross of Cong, as well as on earlier tenth and eleventh century occurrences. It could be noted that the racks of DCM 2019.34 and NMI E186:63 bear a certain resemblance to the hairstyle depicted on the later coins of Sihtric Silkbeard, king of Dublin (c. 960–1042 AD), as shown in Fig. 9d. Returning to the analytical evidence, the early ingots and scrap show only minor to trace amounts of tin, whereas later artefacts of brass or gunmetal tend show significantly more. For example, some ring and stick pins from Knowth, Co. Louth, analysed by Mullarkey57 showed tin contents in the region of 3%, and a general increase in this alloying element from the very low levels found in ingots and scrap of the ninth and tenth centuries58 could suggest that our terminus post quem should be moved up, and towards perhaps the twelfth or thirteenth centuries. Analyses of later medieval dress accessories59 suggest zinc-rich copper alloys were usual, but that high-zinc brasses without significant tin contents were rare, while quantitative analyses of seventy small cast objects60 from English sites found forty-five gunmetals and leaded It may – or may not – be significant that Strangford (Old Norse Strang Fjörðr) was the scene of significant Viking activity up to the tenth century: the place-name element “holm” derives from Old Norse holmr, “a small island.” 56 Griffin Murray, “The art of politics: the Cross of Cong and the Hiberno-Urnes style,” in Before and after the battle of Clontarf: The Vikings in Ireland and Beyond, ed. H.B. Clarke and R. Clarke (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2015), 128. 57 P. Mullarkey, “Appendix 4: The composition of Roman, Early Christian and Viking period metal objects from Knowth,” in G. Eogan Excavations at Knowth 5 (Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 2014a), 773. cf. P. Mullarkey “Appendix 6: X-ray fluorescence analysis of the non-ferrous artefacts,” in Viking Graves and Grave-Goods in Ireland: Medieval Dublin Excavations 1962–1981, Ser. B. vol. 11, ed. Steven H. Harrison and Raghnall Ó Floinn (Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 2014b), 750–751 and 753–757, Table 20. 58 Bayley et al., “A Saxon brass bar ingot cache,” 28. 59 Mike Heyworth, “Metallurgical analysis of the dress accessories,” in Dress Accessories 1150–1450, ed. G. Egan and F. Pritchard (Woodbridge: Boydell Press 1991; new edition 2002), 394–395. 60 Nigel W. Blades, Copper alloys from English archaeological sites 400-1600 AD: an analytical study using ICP-AES, 168, Table 5.37 (Unpublished PhD thesis, Royal Holloway, University of London, 1995). 55

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gunmetals but only eleven brasses. Thus, the current analytical evidence, albeit from a small sample, might steer us away from positing an early Hiberno-Norse connection for the type. In this case, a further possible clue towards establishing a timeline for the series may come from a consideration of the species of deer in Ireland in the first and second millennia AD. Prior to the first decades of the thirteenth century AD, the only native species was the red deer (Cervus elaphus), a Neolithic introduction, and the species certainly depicted on carvings such as Banagher and Bealin. The earliest evidence for fallow deer (Dama dama) reaching Ireland, imported by AngloNormans, comes from records indicating a date around 1207–1213 AD.61 Being more suitable than red deer to enclosure, fallow deer were imported and bred to create the herds that populated the many deer parks that were constructed in Ireland over the next few centuries. At the crude level of depiction of the cheek-piece deer, one might think that there is nothing there that could be used to define them as red or fallow. However, at least three of the pieces62 show annulets placed on the body (Fig. 10a) that might be indicative of the dappling of fallow deer (Fig. 10b), a feature that red deer lack.63 If this were the case, we might look at the introduction to Ireland of fallow deer at the turn of the thirteenth century as representing another potential chronological marker. The late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries are a time when Ham Green jugs, dated c. 1175–1225 AD,64 Fiona Beglane et al., “Ireland’s fallow deer: their historical, archaeological and biomolecular records,” Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 118C (2018): 12; Terence Reeves-Smith, “A history of deer management in Ireland with special reference to the Glenarm Deer Parks,” Ulster Journal of Archaeology 74 (2017–2018): 236. 62 Corrosion masks the original surfaces of many of the pieces, but the feature is clear on ALN 455, W113 and W121. 63 A sherd of Chester ware shows the hind quarters of an animal that Sweetman et al. identified as that of a deer. Interestingly, the body shows markings that might represent dappling. P. David Sweetman “Archaeological Excavations at Shop Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth,” Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 84C (1984): 184, fig. 6.3. Similar marking is seen on a sherd of Ham Green ware from Dalkey Island Co. Dublin: Dudley M. Waterman, “Medieval pottery from Dalkey Island,” in G.D. Liversage et al., “Excavations at Dalkey Island, Co. Dublin 1956–1959, Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 66C (1968): 187, fig. 10.8 and 189. 64 Mike Ponsford, “Dendrochronological dates from Dundas Wharf, Bristol and the dating of Ham Green and other medieval pottery,” in Custom and ceramics, ed. E. Lewis (APE: Wickham, 1991), 98. 61

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some of which were embellished with hunting scenes including male deer, were arriving from Bristol into centres like Dublin, Waterford, and Cork. A particularly fine specimen, showing markings that could indicate fallow deer, came from Lamb Alley, in Dublin (Fig. 11); a mortar from the same kilns, also with a deer, was uncovered in Waterford City.65 The forms of the animals on the extant examples, the positioning of the legs in particular, suggests that such depictions on imported wares could have provided a source of design idea.

(a)

(b)

Fig. 10. (a) NMI W113 (drawing Rena Maguire), (b) fallow deer buck with mottled coat.

A characteristic of fallow deer when running is full-speed locomotion in which all four feet leave the ground in a bouncing motion.66 The nearest that these deer would come to the gait in the

The Lamb Alley find, is currently on display in the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin: Claire McCutcheon “The pottery” in T. Coughlan Excavations at Back Lane/Lamb Alley, Dublin, forthcoming. For the Waterford Ham Green mortar, see Audrey Gahan and Claire McCutcheon “Medieval pottery,” in Late Viking age and medieval Waterford: Excavations 1986-1992, ed. M.F. Hurley and O.M.B. Scully (Waterford: Waterford Corporation, 1997), 294 and 295, fig. 11:3.11, and Plate 23. A very similar specimen came from 5 Peter Street, Bristol. Ponsford, “Dendrochronological dates,” 96, fig. 5a. 66 A fine example depicting this motion comes from the thirteenth- or fourteenthcentury frescoes at Clare Abbey, Co. Mayo. Manning et al., New Survey of Clare Island, 62, fig. 1, and 65. 65

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cheek-pieces would be in a slow walk (as in Fig. 10a),67 or when taking a couple of quick steps before breaking into a full run, a posture not dissimilar to that in Fig. 10b. However, while I have suggested above that the bent necks of the deer in the motif panels was simply an artistic device to fit the whole of the beast within the teardrop shape, another possibility is that it was intended to represent the animal fighting during the rut – head down, and straining forward (Fig. 12).

Fig. 11. Ham Green jug, c. 1175–1250 AD, with hunting scene from Back Lane/Lamb Alley, Dublin (by kind permission of the National Museum of Ireland).

Fig. 12 Male fallow deer during rut. 67 Again, at Clare Abbey. Manning et al., New Survey of Clare Island, 87 and 90, pl. LIX and fig 25.

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The Irish “Deer” Series of Cheek-Pieces

V. The finds from Britain The nineteenth-century find from the River Thames in London (British Museum 1917,1203.2), is an anomalous “bit” made up of a pair of somewhat dubious deer-series cheek-pieces for a snaffle bit attached to an iron mouthpiece for a curb bit of the type known as a “breaking bit” or “bit with keys” (Fig. 13b). Ward-Perkins suggested (without argument) that the assembly was probably to be dated to the late fifteenth century.68 However, the cheek-pieces and mouthpiece are ill-matched, and the whole is not demonstrably functional in terms of controlling a horse, particularly in applying the downward pressure so important in a complete curb.69 Nonetheless, there seem to be no other examples, and it might be tempting to view these as separate finds that were cobbled together by a nineteenth-century dealer, and given a false provenance, to deceive the antiquary who purchased it, a practice to which probably every museum curator in the world can attest! The cheek-pieces themselves are simplistic, but do broadly compare with the motifpanels that have survived as stray metal-detector finds in Britain, such as PAS WMID-014C52 (Fig. 13a).

Fig. 13 (a) PAS WMID-014C52, (b) BM 1917,1203.2 anomalous combination of curb-bit mouthpiece and deer cheek-pieces, from the River Thames (a courtesy of Trustees of the British Museum, b courtesy of The Portable Antiquities Scheme/The Trustees of the British Museum). Ward-Perkins, London Museum Medieval Catalogue, 82. E.g. John Clark, “Curbing Horsepower: the Archaeology of Curb Bits in Medieval England – and Elsewhere,” in The Horse in Premodern European Culture, ed. A. Ropa and T. Dawson (Leiden: de Gruyter, 2020), 177-192. 68 69

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The last pieces in the group are largely unremarkable, and are undated (see Appendix 1) and undistinguished. These finds (“near Brecon” PA 2010.210.1 and Sherbern-in-Elmet, W. Yorks PAS SWYOR-4A95EC: Figs 15a and b), and especially the latter, give the impression of being poor imitations (English?) of later members of the Irish-produced series. The Brecon piece (PA 2010.210.1: Fig. 15a) might70 have been of better quality, but corrosion has removed too much of the surface to be certain; it has removed any trace of the rack also. Certainly, what survives, however, is closer to the Irish pieces than the other two.

Fig. 14 (a) PA 2010.210.1 “near Brecon” (courtesy of PAS Cymru), (b) PAS SWYOR-4A95EC, Sherbern-in-Elmet, W. Yorks (courtesy of The Portable Antiquities Scheme/The Trustees of the British Museum).

VI. Evolution of the series A final consideration is the relationship of the deer series to another form (my Type 8), represented by one of the very few pieces in the whole assemblage of some 170 cheek-pieces that has a solid archaeological provenance. The right-hand motif panel of a cheek-piece was recovered from directly under rubble resulting from the slighting of Clogh Oughter castle, Co. Cavan,71 following the siege of 1653 (Fig. 15a). The piece shows significant wear of the loop, and has a wear pace Mark Redknap, “Ring rattle on swift steeds: equestrian equipment from early medieval Wales,” in Early Medieval Art and Archaeology in the Northern World: studies in honour of James Graham-Campbell, ed. A. Reynolds and L. Webster (Leiden: Brill, 2013), 204-205. 71 Manning, Clogh Oughter Castle, 100. 70

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notch at the top of the lower arm, just below the bar, and it is reasonable to suggest that it had been in use for some time before it broke and was discarded. Manning rightly compared it with the fine pair, still connected to a two-piece iron mouthpiece, from Doohatty Glebe, Co. Monaghan (Figs 4 and 16b). Both show that although the deer figure has morphed into an abstract form, some of its features still survive – the stylised rack, the hooves and the protuberance on the upper arm that marked where the scut intersected it. These pieces and a number of others (which will be discussed in my forthcoming Corpus) would seem to belong to the latter stages of the Gaelic revival, with Clogh Oughter providing a reasonable terminus ante quem for the type.

Fig. 15 (a) Clogh Oughter, Co. Cavan, (b) left-hand cheek piece of the bridle from Doohatty Glebe, Co. Monaghan72

It would seem logical to suggest that these were inspired by and developed from the design of the deer series, but the threads of that sequence are yet to be teased out. VII. Conclusion While it is tempting to put the emergence of the deer series sometime in the tenth to twelfth centuries AD, and associate the earliest examples with Hiberno-Norse craftsmen in one of the major Irish urban centres, the evidence is meagre. Linkage of some specimens to the introduction of fallow deer at the turn of the thirteenth century is somewhat more convincing, especially when considered with the ceramic parallels and 72

After Manning, Clogh Oughter Castle, 100. 283

Brian G. Scott

the analytical evidence. While it is clear that there is a stylistic relationship with the later series represented by the find from Clogh Oughter, the poor (and degenerate?) copies from Britain provide no link. One solution, obviously the more comfortable, would be to ignore the slender indications of ties to craftsmen of the tenth to twelfth centuries AD, and see a progression from perhaps the earlier thirteenth century onwards to the abstract pieces such as Doohatty, with Clogh Oughter providing a likely terminus ante quem. One can only hope that archaeological excavation will provide the evidence soon to clarify the chronology.

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Appendix 1 – Summary descriptions of members of the deer cheek-piece series Dimensions (cm) width length

Museum

Catalogue

Provenance

ALN

455

—

10.0

8.4

ALN

456

—

w 13.2*

h 7.2

ARL

BC 50

—

w 11.7*

h8

BM

1851,0717.1 1

‘Ireland’, purchased from the Earl of Enniskillen.

w 11.9

h 8.5

1917,1203.2

“Westminister end of the Thames Embankmen t at a depth of 15 feet”

left h 7.0 right 7.0

left w 10.7 right w 10.7

BM

Comments Right-hand motif panel only, with annulets on the body.73 Right-hand motif panel, panel with most of the loop and bar surviving. The head of the deer is largely featureless due to a casting flaw.74 Complete, apart from loss of the rack to corrosion on the lower arms of both motif panels. Voids infilled. Complete, with the style of the rack very similar to NMI P517 (below). The second void field of the left motif panel is infilled, and there are distinct, but very worn traces of a running-V motif on both arms. The left-hand upper arm bears a fine median groove that runs from the base of the rack to the plain boss at the end of the bar; this is not repeated on the right-hand upper arm. The bar has been broken at some point due to a casting flaw, and repaired with a modern synthetic. There is a large casting flaw on the reverse, which has been exploited by corrosion. A pair of cheek-pieces in which the heads of the deer in both right-hand motif panels are reduced to mere blobs, The rack of the animal in the left-hand motif panel of cheek-piece (a) is a series of notches, similar to PAS WMID-014C52, while the

John Collingwood-Bruce, A Descriptive Catalogue of Antiquities, Chiefly British, at Alnwick Castle (Newcastle upon Tyne: printed for private distribution, 1880), 84. 74 Fig. 4a: Collingwood-Bruce, A Descriptive Catalogue of Antiquities, 84. 73

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Brian G. Scott

DCM

2019.34.

Holm Bay, Co. Down

length

max width

NMD

OA VIII j 12

“Dunshaughlin td.” Co. Meath

w 10.7

h 8.7

NMI

1881:305

—

w 12.6*

h 5.3

NMI

E186:63

—

w 11.8

h 7.3

NMI

P517

—

w 13.0

h 8.0

NMI

P1210

—

w 12.3*

h 7.2

Fig. 9c: Greer Ramsay pers. comm. 2019. Eogan, “Irish Antiquities,” 166, fig. 16 no. 120 and 169. 77 Wilde, “A Descriptive Catalogue,” 608. 75 76

286

head in the motif panel of (b) is reduced to a simple wedge shape. The pieces have a suspiciously “modern” feel! Most of the right-hand motif panel only. The body of the deer and the lower arm exhibits right-angle hatching, and the rack resembles that of NMI E186:63.75 Complete. The rack on each motif panel is reduced to a simple wedge. Interlocking Zs are evident at the tops of the lower arms.76 Most of the right motif panel is missing, with only the back legs and scut surviving. The surface has been significantly degraded by corrosion. It is a poor casting, with many flaws evident, including at the sites of the breaks Complete, although the surface is heavily corroded. The racks of both deer, which have very slender bodies, are well defined. The extension has the appearance of crossed keys, which may be of ecclesiastical significance. Complete and one of the finest survivals, with a lustrous, dark-green patina, with two surviving strap tags, one of which contains remanent leather.77 There is no trace of decoration on the arms. The left-hand motif panel, loop and bar, and the tip of the right-hand panel survive. The head of the deer and upper back are a featureless blob due to a partly failed casting.

The Irish “Deer” Series of Cheek-Pieces NMI

W112

—

w 10.6*

h 7.4

NMI

W113

—

w 9.4*

h 8.3

NMI

W121

—

w 11.1*

h 8.1

NMI

W122

—

w 10.6*

h 7.4

NMI

W130

—

w 10.0**

—

NMI

W132

—

w 12.5*

h 8.4

Fig. 8a. Fig. 2c. 80 Fig. 1b. 81 Fig. 2a. 78 79

287

Comprises the left-hand motif panel, complete loop and bar, stump of right-hand panel. There is no surface decoration, but evidence of heavy wear on loop and bar. Right-hand panel, and most of the loop, with the stump of the bar survives. The body and lower arm are decorated with annulets.78 Almost complete, although most of the head and rack of the left-hand motif panel are missing. The bodies of the deer and lower arms are decorated with annulets, seemingly scattered at random. The extension probably ended in a trilobe, but only one survives.79 Complete, with finely crafted deer with textured bodies, and notched decoration on upper arms. A strap tag with surviving leather shows the use of rolled rivets.80 Badly-degraded and incomplete. The top of the loop is missing, as are the outer segments of both motif panels, neither rack surviving. The right-hand motif panel survives as does the V-shaped lower bar. The body is finely textured, and the lower arm is decorated with interlocking Zs, which continue on both arms of the V of the lower bar. The surviving short section of the left-hand lower arm shows a meander pattern. There is a scar at the apex of the lower bar where an extension has broken off.81

Brian G. Scott NMW/ PAS Cymru

PA 2010.210.1

“near Brecon,” Wales

length 6.8

max width 4.2

PAS

SWYOR4A95EC

Sherburn in Elmet, North Yorkshire

length 5.5

max width 3.1

PAS

WMID014C52

Ladbroke, Warwickshire

length 5.1

max width 4.7

Abbreviations ALN ARL BM DCM NMD NMI NMW PAS PAS Cymru

Right-hand motif panel only, surface heavily corroded, possibly with traces of a rack similar to NMI E186:63, and a circular eye. Redknap claimed that there are fine graved lines on the surface, but the evidently heavy corrosion layer throws this into some doubt. Right-hand motif panel only, heavily corroded, with the voids unusually reduced in shape to circles or ovals. The head of the deer is featureless, although the four-lobed rack is prominent. Most of the right-hand motif panel only, very crudely formed with the rack merely a series of four notches in the upper arm.

Alnwick Castle Armagh Robinson Library, Beresford Collection British Museum Down County Museum National Museum of Denmark National Museum of Ireland National Museum of Wales Portable Antiquities Scheme (England) Portable Antiquities Scheme (Wales)

* = Broken piece, estimated value that assumes that the missing section was the mirror image of the survivor. ** = piece too badly damaged for more than an approximation of one measurement only. *** = rough estimate from published photo.

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Acknowledgements I am most grateful to Maeve Sikora, Matt Seaver, and Margaret Lannin, National Museum of Ireland, to Mary Cahill, former Keeper of Irish Antiquities and Andy Halpin, former Assistant Keeper of Antiquities, National Museum of Ireland, and to Greer Ramsey, National Museums Northern Ireland, all for their unfailing kindness and help in facilitating my research on Irish cheek-pieces over the years. And to Paul Mullarkey, National Museum of Ireland for the same, and for sharing his XRF analyses of cheek-pieces in the collections there, for taking the leather sample for C-14 dating and for much helpful advice and discussion; to Anne Pedersen, National Museum of Denmark, Mark Lodwick, National Museum of Wales and Mike King, Down County Museum, for supplying me with images of the “Dunshaughlin,” Brecon and Holm Bay, Co. Down, specimens respectively; to Ronald McCormick, the finder of the Holm Bay piece, for providing information on its precise provenance; to Neil Jackman, Abarta Heritage, for drawing my attention to the Lamb Alley jug; to Colm Donnelly and Stephen Hoper for organising and carrying out the C-14 determination, and to Paula Reimer for helpful discussion; to Rena Maguire for Fig. 10a; to Justine Bayley, Fiona Beglane, Cormac Bourke, John Clark, Finbar McCormick, Clare McCutcheon, Rena Maguire, Griffin Murray, Raghnall Ó Floinn, Paul Rondelez and Robert Webley for many helpful comments and much advice; to His Grace, The Duke of Northumberland for permission to reproduce Fig. 5a, and to Eve Reverchon, Alnwick Castle, for facilitating my study of the group of seven cheek-pieces there; to the Governors and Guardians of Armagh Robinson Library for permission to reproduce Fig. 5b, and to Carol Conlin for facilitating my study there; to Lloyd de Beer, British Museum, and the staff of the British Museum, for organising and facilitating my study there.

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Blades, N.W. Copper alloys from English archaeological sites 400-1600 AD: an analytical study using ICP-AES. Unpublished PhD thesis, Royal Holloway, University of London, 1995. Bourke, C. “The silver brooch from Demesne, Rathlin Island.” In Rathlin Island: an archaeological survey of a maritime landscape, ed. W. Forsythe and R. McConkey, 143-150, Belfast: Northern Ireland Environment Agency, 2012. Clark, J. “Curbing horsepower: the archaeology of curb bits in medieval England – and elsewhere.” In The Horse in Premodern European Culture, ed. A. Ropa and T. Dawson, 177-92. Leiden: de Gruyter, 2019. Cole, G.A.J. Memoir and Map of Localities of Minerals of Economic Importance and Metalliferous Mines in Ireland. Dublin: The Stationery Office, 1922. Collingwood-Bruce, J. A Descriptive Catalogue of Antiquities, Chiefly British, at Alnwick Castle. Newcastle upon Tyne, 1880 (printed for private distribution). Craddock, P.T., J.M. Wallis, and J.F. Merkel. “The rapid qualitative analysis of groups of metalwork: making a dream come true.” In Pattern and Purpose Insular Art, ed. M. Redknap, N. Edwards, S. Youngs, A. Lane and J Knight, 117-24, Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2001. Eames, E.S. and T. Fanning, Irish medieval tiles. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1998. Eogan, G. “Irish Antiquities of the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Early Christian Period in the National Museum of Denmark.” Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 91C (1991): 133-176. Gahan, A. and C. McCutcheon. “Medieval pottery.” In Late Viking age and medieval Waterford: Excavations 1986-1992, ed. M.F. Hurley and O.M.B. Scully, 285-336, Waterford: Waterford Corporation, 1997. Harbison, P. The High Crosses of Ireland: an iconographical and photographic survey, 3 vols. Bonn: Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Monographien 17.1–3, 1992. Hicks, C. “A Clonmacnois workshop in stone.” Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 110 (1980): 5-35. Heyworth, M. “Metallurgical analysis of the dress accessories.” In Dress Accessories 1150–1450, ed. G. Egan and F. Pritchard), 387-395. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1991 (new edition 2002). Hourihane, C. Gothic Art in Ireland 1169–1550. New Haven and London: The Paul Mellon Centre, 2003. 291

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Notes on Contributors

Gail Brownrigg is an independent scholar with a special interest in the history of harness, and has presented work in this area at numerous conferences, including the conference of the European Association of Archaeologists and the International Medieval Congress. She has published on Roman and medieval horse harness, focusing on the origins of the horse collar. Jennifer Jobst has a long-standing interest in the training methods and techniques of the late-sixteenth century, and in the possibilities of their practical application in modern dressage. Her work on the performance outlined in Grisone’s Gli Ordini Calvalcare (1550) has resulted in several workshops and publications, highlighting the similarities between Grisone’s choreography and the modern dressage test. More recently, her interests have expanded to include horsemanship and training in the Middle Ages and ancient times, as well in the Mamluk Empire. Felipe Vander Velden is an anthropologist and associate professor at the Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil. He has a long-standing research interest in the relations between Amerindian peoples and introduced (European) animals in lowland South America – including the horse. Anastasija Ropa is guest lecturer at the Latvian Academy of Sport Education and affiliated researcher at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Latvia. She completed her doctoral research at Bangor University (Gwynedd, UK) on the Grail quest in medieval and modern literature. Anastasija is also a horse-owner and has been working as volunteer in riding schools since 2010. Her latest publications address the issues of gender in modern and historical horseracing, the price and value of medieval horses, and the role of horses in medieval romance.

Notes on Contributors

She has recently published a monograph Practical Horsemanship in Medieval Arthurian Romance. Alexia-Foteini Stamouli (University of the Peloponnese, School of Humanities and Cultural Studies, Department of History, Archaeology and Cultural Resources Management) is a scholar whose interests include Byzantine Hagiography (Middle and Late Byzantine period), Byzantine History (Late Byzantine period), Rhetoric (descriptions and praises). She has published articles and presented papers at international conferences in her areas of expertise. She is a collaborator of the National Hellenic Research Foundation, Institute of Historical Research. Miriam A. Bibby is an archaeologist and historian specialising in the history of the horse, particularly the horse in northern England and Scotland. She is currently engaged in specialist research at the University of Glasgow into the history and influence of the Galloway horse. Miriam was formerly a tutor, year convenor and course developer for the University of Manchester’s networked learning course in Egyptology. While at Manchester, she gained her M.Phil. on the topic of the horse in ancient Egypt and in 2000 she founded Ancient Egypt magazine. She has presented at numerous conferences and her work has been published in many journals and magazines. Miriam has also worked as a museum curator and in heritage management. Hylke Hettema studies at the Leiden University’s Institute of Area Studies. Her research interests focus on the Arab identity, Early Islamic history, equine history and Orientalism in the premodern and modern period. Mattia Caprioli specialises in the arms and armour of the Eastern Roman soldiers in the reconquered Western provinces between the sixth and the seventh centuries. A re-enactor since 2011, in 2016 he founded the re-enactment group “Numerus Italorum,” focused on the Eastern Roman field army in Italy during the second half of the sixth and the first half of the seventh century.

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Annamaria Fedele currently researches horse burials among Lombards and Avars, demonstrating a distinction between the Germanic and the nomadic ritual. She has studied horse history from an archaeological perspective, focusing on the Lombards and other medieval nomadic cultures. Brian G. Scott is the former Keeper of Conservation at the Ulster Museum, Belfast. He has written extensively on early metallurgy, with special emphasis on iron and steel, and is also a specialist on Irish Later Bronze Age equitation, as well as on early artillery, having published the definitive studies of the late-sixteenth and seventeenth centuries cannon in the City of Derry~Londonderry and on the mortar campaign during the 1689 Siege.

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