Technology of the Medieval and Early Modern Worlds

Technology of the Medieval and Early Modern Worlds — page 9
Technology of the Medieval and Early Modern Worlds the mounted warrior supreme in medieval warfare It initiated complex social changes to sustain the great expense of the knight his armor and his steed in a society close to the subsistence line Using scattered artistic and archaeologi cal evidence historians have constructed an approximate chronology of technologi cal innovation in medieval Europe The war saddle with a single girth was introduced by the 6th century and the iron stirrup was com mon by the 7th having probably been known earlier in the East The curb bit vitally impor tant for controlling a warhorse probably dates from about the same time According to liter ary evidence iron horseshoes date from the end of the 9th century and based on picto rial evidence spurs date from the 11th By the 12th century the European knight was using a war saddle with high wraparound cantle and pommel that protected the genitals and held him securely in his seat the saddle itself was secured to the horse by a double girth that held it firmly in place WATER POWER The Romans pioneered the use of waterpower in the later empire and some of their tech niques probably survived The type of water 14