The New Murrey and Blue blog

“….At Bosworth in 1485, Richard III’s fall from his horse marked the collapse of his kingship….”

Hmm, that’s debatable. According to the Tudorised so-called “history ” that’s dominated relentlessly ever since 1485 , Richard’s downfall began from the moment he stole his elder nephew’s throne, murdered both nephews, executed Hastings and others without trial, etc. etc. None of which really happened, of course, it all came from the Tudors’ Monster Book of Day Dreams. Richard’s demise came about because Tudor-supporting traitors turned on him in battle, and quite literally stabbed him in the back. That’s the Tudors for you. Richard was the true king and was set to become one of our greatest rulers, but thanks to treachery we were dumped upon by the truly awful House of Tudor.

But I’m being picky here, because the article from which I’ve taken the above quote is actually about warhorses like Richard’s, their breeding, phenomenal cost, training, desirability and so on.

One of the images we all grow up with is that of the knight in shining armour, thundering along, fully armed, on his magnificently caparisoned horse. Well, it’s an image I grew up with anyway. Remember King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table? But these romanticised images weren’t far from the truth, and in the 14^th century particularly the tournament circuit was tantamount to being able to see the greatest “stars” in action. These real-life knights were hero-worshipped. However, while tournaments were peaceful occasions (mostly) the knights had trained all their lives for war, and they needed horses to match their ability.

So please read/watch/listen to the following link to learn much more: (https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/warhorses-medieval-battlefield-how-they-were-trained/) The article is itself “….taken from a HistoryExtra podcast, and you can listen to the full conversation….”

by viscountessw