Institute for Medieval Studies

Session	1041
Title	I Know You by the Bit You Wear: The Role of Equestrian Equipment in Medieval Society
Date/Time	Wednesday 6 July 2022: 09.00-10.30
Sponsor	Trivent Medieval
Organiser	Anastasija Ropa, Department of Management & Communication Science, Latvian Academy of Sport Education, Riga
Moderator/Chair	Jürg Gassmann, Independent Scholar, Wexford
Paper 1041-a	The Horned Saddle in Late Antiquity: Practical Reflections on Its Possible Forms and Their Interplay with the Physical Dynamics of Riding (Language: English) Timothy Dawson, Independent Scholar, Tilbury Index Terms: Archaeology - Artefacts; Technology
Paper 1041-b	Horse-Drawn Medieval Winter Transportation: Sleds and Sledges (Language: English) Kathleen Haak, Independent Scholar, Lexington, Kentucky Index Terms: Archaeology - Artefacts; Daily Life
Paper 1041-c	Être femme et cavalière, XIIe-XIIIe siècles (Language: Français) Adeline Dumont, Independent Scholar, Aveyron Index Terms: Daily Life; Social History
Abstract	Can a medieval horse be known by the tack it wears? As much as dress often defined social class in medieval society, so could decoration or lack of it allocate the animal that wore the tack to the class of elite or low-priced animals. Tack was also function-specific, saddles for war and jousting being different from riding in later medieval Europe. In this session, participants look at different types and items of equestrians equipment that would have been used for various purposes, such as transportation in winter and warfare. The contributions span across the medieval world, from Ireland, France, and Germany to Iran.