Jinete

 ( Equestrianism ) 

Jinete () is Spanish language for "Equestrianism", especially in the context of light cavalry.

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Etymology The word jinete (of Berber zenata) designates, in Castilian and the Provençal dialect of Occitan language, those who show great skill and riding especially if this relates to their work. In Portuguese, it is spelled ginete. The term jennet for a small Spanish horse has the same source.

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Medieval Hispanic light cavalry As a military term, jinete (also spelled ginete or genitour) means a Spanish light horseman that wore leather armor and was armed with , a spear, a sword, and a shield. They were a type of mounted troop developed in the early Middle Ages in response to the massed light cavalry of the Moors.

Philippe Contamine (1984). 9780631131427, Blackwell. ISBN 9780631131427

Often fielded in significant numbers by the Spanish, and at times the most numerous of the Spanish mounted troops, they played an important role in Spanish mounted warfare throughout the Reconquista until the sixteenth century. They were to serve successfully in the Italian Wars under Gonzalo de Córdoba and Ramón de Cardona.

Charles Oman describes their tactics thus:

In addition, Philippe Contamine records they used the tactic of feigned flight ( tourna-fuye).Contamine (1984), p. 58

Jinetes existed in considerable numbers. During the period 1485–9, Castilian armies mustered between 11,000 and 13,000 jinetes.Contamine (1984), p. 135 Some of these were provided by the Military Orders. The Master of Santiago provided 300, while the Master of Calatrava was responsible for a further 450.Contamine (1984), p. 163) In May 1493, a number of standing companies were established in Castile called the guardas viejas (veteran guard). These included five captaincies of 100 jinetes.Contamine (1984), p. 172 In 1496, the guardas reales (royal guard) of Castile included 130 jinetes.Contamine (1984), p. 167 Out of 600 cavalry in the Spanish expeditionary force to Italy in 1495, 500 were jinetes.Oman (1987), p. 52

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Contemporary usage In Mexico, jinete can mean "rodeo", hence "cowboy".

In Castilian, it is used adjectivally of a rider who knows how to ride a horse, especially those who are fluent or champions at equestrian practices, such as the gaucho, the huaso of the plains, the cowboy, Vaquero, or charro among others. It is also used in the Spanish Army to designate personnel belonging to the cavalry arm.

In its original Spanish title The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez is Los Cuatro Jinetes del Apocalipsis. Canción de jinete is a poem by Federico García Lorca.César García Alvarez (1977). Canción de jinete (in Spanish). Revista Chilena de Literatura (9/10 ): 171–178.

The novel El jinete polaco by Antonio Muñoz Molina was published in 1991.Elizabeth Amann (Autumn 1998). Genres in Dialogue: Antonio Muñoz Molina's El jinete polaco (in Spanish). Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispánicos 23 (1): 1–21.

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External links

• Lanza Gineta: Spanish Light Cavalry of the Early Italian Wars

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