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The destrier is the best-known war horse of the Middle Ages. It carried in battles, tournaments, and Jousting. It was described by contemporary sources as the Great Horse, due to its significance.
While highly prized by knights and man-at-arms, the destrier was not very common.Prestwich, Michael. Armies and Warfare in the Middle Ages: The English Experience, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996, p 30 Most knights and mounted men-at-arms rode other war horses, such as coursers and .Ewart Oakeshott. A Knight and his Horse, Rev. 2nd Ed. USA:Dufour Editions, 1998, pp 11-12
Accessed 12 September 2018. It was borrowed into Middle English from Anglo-Norman destrer, whose Old French counterpart was destrier (from which the Modern English spelling derives). The word is also found in medieval Provençal (as destrier) and Italian (as destriere, destriero). These forms themselves derived from the Vulgar Latin equus dextrarius, meaning "right-sided horse" (from dextra, "right hand", the same root as dextrous and dexterity)."destrer | destrier, n." OED Online
Accessed 12 September 2018. This may refer to it being led by the squire at the knight's right side, as often before battle the destrier ran unburdened to keep it fresh for the fray; the knight rode another horse, mounting his destrier just before engaging the enemy. Alternatively, it could describe the horse's horse gait (leading with the right).Gravett, Christopher. English Medieval Knight 1300-1400, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2002, p 59
They had powerful hindquarters, able to easily coil and spring to a stop, spin, turn or sprint forward quickly. They also had a short back and well-muscled loin, strong bone, and a well-arched neck. From medieval art, the head of the destrier appears to have had a straight or slightly profile, a strong, wide jaw, and good width between the eyes.
The destrier was considered the most suited to the joust: coursers seem to have been preferred for other forms of warfare.Ewart Oakeshott. A Knight and his Horse, Rev. 2nd Ed. USA:Dufour Editions, 1998, p 11
Modern estimates put the height of a destrier at no more than , but with a strong and heavy physique. Though the term "Great Horse" was used to describe the destrier, leading some historians to speculate that such animals were the forerunners of modern draft horse breeds,Gies, Frances; Gies, Joseph (2005) Daily Life in Medieval Times. UK: Grange Books (originally published by Harper Collins in three volumes, 1969, 1974, 1990) , p. 88 the historical record does not support the image of the destrier as a draft horse.Clark, John (Ed) (2004) The Medieval Horse and its Equipment: c.1150-c.1450. Rev. 2nd Ed, UK: The Boydell Press , pp. 25, 29Prestwich, Michael (1996) Armies and Warfare in the Middle Ages: The English Experience. New Haven: Yale University Press, p. 30
Modern attempts to reproduce the destrier type usually involve crossing an athletic riding horse with a light draft type. Outcomes of such attempts include such as the "Spanish-Norman", a cross between the Percheron and the Andalusian horse; "Breed Profile", Spanish-Norman Horse Registry, Referenced August 12, 2008. and the Warlander, a cross between the Andalusian and the Friesian horse.
Descendants and reproductions
The modern Percheron draft breed may in part descend from destriers, though it is probably taller and heavier than the average destrier. Other draft breeds such as the Shire horse claim destrier ancestry, though proof is less certain.
Value
A good destrier was very costly: at the times of the Crusades, a fine destrier was valued at seven or eight times the cost of an ordinary horse. In England, the specific sum of eighty pounds (in this context a pound was 240 silver pennies, which amounted to one pound of silver by weight (2026). 9780300090604, Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300090604) was noted at the end of the thirteenth century. (1989). 9780521272155 ISBN 9780521272155 (2026). 9781860198892, Brockhampton. ISBN 9781860198892Ayton (1994) p.47 During the important military campaigns of King Edward III in the middle of the fourteenth century, the increased demand for warhorses brought about considerable price inflation: in 1339 William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton lost a destrier valued at one hundred pounds while on campaign in Flanders. (1994). 9780851155685, Boydell Press. ISBN 9780851155685 Army muster rolls included detailed inventories of the warriors' horses: fewer than 5% of the warhorses were classified as destriers, owned only by a small elite of the wealthiest knights.Ayton (1994) p.63 However, because of destriers' relative scarcity and consequent infrequent sale and purchase, reliable price information for the period has not often survived.Ayton (1994) p.41
See also
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