 |
|
| The TEUTONIC KNIGHTS 1 - WAR HORSES and CROSSBOWS |
|
The military prowess of the Teutonic Knights in Europe rested upon several factors, one which was their heavy calvary that depended upon large war horses of size and strength to easily carry a full armored knight. The origin of the north European war horses of the Teutonic Order is a breed derived from Arabian steeds brought back from the Holy Land and the larger horses found principally in the Germanic states. Farms breeding this large war horse for the Teutonic Knights are recorded in 1322, and by 1400 there were at least 30 in Prussia. At this time, the Order owned at least 16,000 large war horses, where price for the very best chargers could be 70 marks. War horses were rarely stallions, almost always were raised from sterilized colts and were only ridden in battle. By the late 13th century, the Lithuanians had captured enough Teutonic war horses, that they had stud farms of their own. Lithuanian knights were now riding into battle in full plate armor on large war horses. The crossbow was a favorite Teutonic, Knight weapon and so deadly that that Second Lateran Council of 1139 prohibited their use when Christians were fighting Christians. The famed longbow made from seasoned yew did not become a weapon in the arsenal of the Teutonic Knights, although they were well aware of the extraordinary English longbowmen, because of the extensive training and practice required by the archer. The horn crossbow was faster to use and more resistant to winter cold and remained the dominant weapon throughout the Northern Crusades and the Livonian Wars. Great strength and elasticity was provided by ganoid and head scales from the giant sturgeon and billy goat horns both of which were worked into the bow with sinew. c.1400 there were approximately 4500 crossbows and one million crossbow bolts in Prussia, one out every three soldiers had a crossbow. Genoese crossbowmen were among the famous mercenaries in Europe and were recruited by the Teutonic Knights on more than one occasion. The composite horn crossbow evolved into the steel crossbow in the early 15th century and could achieve an astonishing draw weights of 500kg. Firearms were used by the Teutonic Knights as early as 1362 and bombards were used against them by the Lithuanians in the 1380s.
Lean More - War Horses and Crossbows of the Teutonic Knights |
References and additional reading, please visit -  . . MEDIEVAL WAR 1 - Best Links
 . . MEDIEVAL WAR Videos 1WEAPONS & AMOUR, CASTLES & SIEGE, KNIGHTS, MILITARY ORDERS |
|