06-09-2009, 06:41 PM
Quote:dux bellum:2ktwtv9d Wrote:How expensive would it be for a late Vth/ealry VIth Century British king or warlord to keep and maintain even a small contingent of heavy cavalry? Hard but possible, or out of the question?
Heavy cavalry requires strong horses as opposed to our native ponies. As you need a constant supply of fresh blood if you're going to prevent your war horses devolving over just a few generations, how would you maintain suitable breeding stock?
If there were a Dux Bellorum operating a succesful body of cavalry in the late 5th/early 6th century, it could be this decline in horse-power that drastically reduced or even totally eliminated his military advantage by the mid 6th century.
I've been talking to some horse breeding friends recently...amazing what you mull over when fuelled by beer and good company.
Rosemary Sutcliffe talks about this in Sword at Sunset. One of my favorite books. it is fiction, but plausible.
