A recent study has shed light on the origins of horses used by medieval English knights in jousting tournaments. Researchers from the University of Exeter and the University of Leicester analyzed horse remains found in an open field near Buckingham Palace. Using this, the study offers insights into the extensive horse trading network of medieval Europe.
You might wonder about the significance of the study and the reasons behind it. While historic documents show horses owned by England’s medieval elite to be often imported from Spain and Italy.
However, archaeological evidence supporting this claim has been scarce due to the rarity of horse remains from the period. Consequently, excavations at a site near Westminster Abbey in London uncovered the skeletal remains of 70 horses. This discovery provided a unique opportunity to study these animals.
The horses discovered at the site displayed characteristics indicative of their use in jousting tournaments. They were large and physically robust, and their teeth showed signs of wear. This is consistent with the use of bits commonly employed by elite equestrians of the Middle Ages.
Moreover, analysis of oxygen and strontium isotopes in the horses’ teeth revealed that many of them originated outside of Britain. The analysis traced their potential origins to Scandinavia and the Western Alps.
Far-reaching horse trading network
The team behind the new research found evidence challenging previously held assumptions.
Speaking to Science.org, Oliver Creighton, an archaeologist at the University of Exeter and one of the authors of the study, revealed that the evidence garnered suggested a far-reaching horse trading network in medieval Europe. The horses at the excavation site likely came from as far away as northern Italy and Switzerland, indicating their extensive mobility during their lifetimes.
Enamel strontium, oxygen, and carbon isotope analysis of 15 horses gave information about the likely place of birth, diet, and mobility during the first approximately 5 years of life. The results also show that at least seven horses originated outside of Britain in relatively cold climates, potentially in Scandinavia or the Western Alps.
“The Elverton horses stood out compared with other medieval horse remains. “These animals are big and physically robust for medieval horses,” said Creighton. “Their vertebrae were sometimes fused, damage typical for animals that carried heavy loads— such as knights in armor— on their backs.”
“One horse sported wear on its teeth, suggesting it was controlled by a bit that was typically used by elite equestrians in the Middle Ages. Add in the site’s location and historical evidence of a nearby jousting arena, and “the evidence really points to them being jousting horses,” the archaeologist added. “There’s a vast amount of prestige involved.”
Richard Thomas, an archaeozoologist at the University of Leicester who wasn’t involved in the research, remarked that the research enables the telling of new stories about these horses and the people who rode them. “We can tell stories about the horses and the people who rode them.” The paper is helping with this,” he says.
The details of the study were published in the journal Science Advances.
