Killers on Horseback

If the words medieval warfare call to mind any single image Roman Empire and early modern Europe were dominated by foot soldiers, the corresponding role in those of the Middle Ages was played by men on horseback. h e armored knight, mounted on a colorfully caparisoned [decorated] warhorse, is an indelible symbol of medieval Western Europe.”12 Yet that mounted, armored i ghter did not exist at the start of the medieval period. Although there were cavalry units in the early Middle Ages (from the 500s through the 900s CE), their members wore minimal armor, so they are frequently called “light cavalry.” Also, in part because of that general lack of effective protection, they rarely, if ever, took part in direct charges against enemy infantry or horsemen, a tactic military experts call shock action. h e reality is that it took several centuries for wellarmored knights, or “heavy cavalry,” to evolve.