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cen tury Count Rotrou III of Perche fought in the Spanish Reconąuista, taking part in the capture of Saragossa and Tudela. Could Count Rotrou have brought back the horses which madę Perche an important breeding centre and which ultimately sired the Percherons?

By the late i2th century, when a Chanson de Geste called the Couronnement de Louis was written, the ideał knight had quite a train of animals in tow. According to the Couronnement these consisted of his destrier, a roncin pack horse, a palfrey riding horse, a mule and another beast of burden. The destrier was naturally the most valuable, but the palfrey was also a specially trained animal: it was a ‘pacer’, a type of horse now mostly seen at dressage events. Its gait of ‘pacing’ was much morę comfortable for its rider than trotting, particularly over long distances, but it was unnatural and had to be taught.

THE ARMIESOF SOUTHERN FRANCE

The history of the French south or Midi dilfered from that of the north. During the ioth century the Counts of Toulouse had risen in power and there had been a considerable militarisation of the area; then, in the nth century, these great nobles started to lose control, many of their peace-keeping functions fading to the Church. Mean while the new mili tary class of milites was emerging. They were still of lowly status in the late ioth century, serving as fuli- or part-time warriors to the local fideles lords. By the middle of the i ith century, however, the milites had become a local power, though their relationship with the greater aristocracy was less ‘feudal’ than in northern France.

Until around 1180 the Southern milites and morę senior caballarios remained little morę than pro-

‘Siege of Carcassonne by Simon de Montfort's Crusaders’, early ijth century relief carving. The defenders have a cross bo w

and man-powercd mangonel while many attackers wear flat-topped ‘great helms’. (in situ Cathedral, Carcassonne)

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