Barding

lamellar horse barding as illustrated on Wujing Zongyao Barding (also spelled bard or barb) is body armour for war horses. The practice of armoring horses first developed extensively in antiquity in the Asian kingdoms of Parthia and Pahlava. After the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC it likely made its way - along with cataphract technology - into European military practices via the Seleucid Empire and later the Byzantine Empire. Though its historical roots lie in antiquity in the regions of what was once the Persian Empire, barded horses have become a symbol of the late European Middle Ages chivalry and the era of knights. Examples of armour for horses could be found as far back as classical antiquity. Many historians believe that cataphracts, with scale armour for both rider and horse, influenced the later European knights, via contact with the Byzantine Empire. During the Late Middle Ages as armour protection for knights became more effective, their mounts became targets. This vulnerability was exploited by the Scots at the Battle of Bannockburn in the 14th century, when horses were killed by the infantry, and by the English at the Battle of Crécy in the same century where long-bowmen shot horses and the then dismounted French knights were killed by heavy infantry. Barding developed as a response to such events.…

lamellar horse barding as illustrated on Wujing Zongyao]] Barding (also spelled bard or barb) is body armour for war horses. The practice of armoring horses first developed extensively in antiquity in the Asian kingdoms of Parthia and Pahlava. After the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC it likely made its way - along with cataphract technology - into European military practices via the Seleucid Empire and later the Byzantine Empire. Though its historical roots lie in antiquity in the regions of what was once the Persian Empire, barded horses have become a symbol of the late European Middle Ages chivalry and the era of knights. Examples of armour for horses could be found as far back as classical antiquity. Many historians believe that cataphracts, with scale armour for both rider and horse, influenced the later European knights, via contact with the Byzantine Empire. During the Late Middle Ages as armour protection for knights became more effective, their mounts became targets. This vulnerability was exploited by the Scots at the Battle of Bannockburn in the 14th century, when horses were killed by the infantry, and by the English at the Battle of Crécy in the same century where long-bowmen shot horses and the then dismounted French knights were killed by heavy infantry. Barding developed as a response to such events. The full bard was developed by Lorenz Helmschmied and Konrad Seusenhofer for Maximilian I, who used them extensively for propagandic and aesthetic purposes, as well as diplomatic gifts. Surviving period examples of barding are rare; however, complete sets are on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Wallace Collection in London, the Royal Armouries in Leeds, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Horse armour could be made in whole or in part of cuir bouilli (hardened leather), but surviving examples of this are especially rare. ==Gallery== File:Italian - Chamfron - Walters 511368.jpg|A chanfron made in Italy in the early 16th century File:Horse suit of armor DSC02190.JPG|Fragments of a set of armour with a criniere (protecting neck), peytral (protecting chest) and the croupiere (protecting hind quarters). This set was created by Lorenz Helmschmied and Konrad Seusenhofer for Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and later also used by his son Maximilian I. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. File:German - Horse Peytral with Flame-Like Apertures - Walters 511380.jpg|Peytral with decorative openings, early 16th century, Germany File:René d'Anjou Livre des tournois France Provence XVe siècle Barthélemy d'Eyck.jpg|This 15th-century depiction of a tournament shows fully caparisoned horses, from Le Livre des tournois by Barthélemy d'Eyck.

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