07-26-2006, 05:53 PM
"That cavalry was almost never used in English vs Saxon as Norrthern Europen horses were 8 - 10 hands only. I had read that the Brits had horses but the Saxons et al were not that bothered. I get the impression from the book that the author believes that these ponies were used to get to a battle then everyone waded in on foot. So much for the Arthurian knight "
Sounds fishy to me. We do know that the Romans had cavalry units in Britain (Sarmatians, anyone?). It seems very likely these units brought cavalry-sized horses with them. While breeding cavalry horses is a specialized business, it is reasonable to assume that there was a limited supply of cavalry sized horses for at least a while after the Romans pulled out of Britain. But even mounted infantrymen would give a general more strategic mobility than he might otherwise have, and would still be a useful advantage.
Sounds fishy to me. We do know that the Romans had cavalry units in Britain (Sarmatians, anyone?). It seems very likely these units brought cavalry-sized horses with them. While breeding cavalry horses is a specialized business, it is reasonable to assume that there was a limited supply of cavalry sized horses for at least a while after the Romans pulled out of Britain. But even mounted infantrymen would give a general more strategic mobility than he might otherwise have, and would still be a useful advantage.
Felix Wang
