Late-Medieval Horse Remains at Cēsis Castle, Latvia, and the Teutonic Order’s Equestrian Resources in Livonia

Abstract

EXCAVATIONS AT the castle complex of Cēsis, Latvia, uncovered an unusual find of large quantities of horse bones, some of which were partially articulated, along with equestrian equipment. These were associated with a destroyed building at the edge of the southern outer bailey. The horses included large males, most probably stallions, and pathology on several of the recovered vertebrae suggest these individuals had been used for riding. The size of the horses was within the range for medieval war horses, and the associated tack also pointed to prestigious riding animals. Radiocarbon dating of the bones placed them firmly within the Teutonic Order's period of rule. We conclude here that these horses fulfilled a military role in final decades of the Teutonic Order's rule in Livonia in the late15th/early 16th century, and that the better-known equestrian culture of late-medieval Prussia was comparable in character, if not in scale, to that in Livonia.

In search of the ‘great horse’: A zooarchaeological assessment of horses from England (AD 300–1650)

“…First, the tendency for zooarchaeological assemblages to consist predominantly of single bones rather than complete skeletons from burials makes interpretation of in-life activity difficult (Pluskowski et al, 2009). Even when articulated elements are available, separating horses used in combat from general riding horses remains inconclusive (Pluskowski et al, 2018). The second problem relates to depositional context.…”

“…Due to this combination of factors, and in spite of the well-known connection between the Later Middle Ages and use of horses in warfare, the medieval warhorse has seen minimal zooarchaeological study, though some work on continental site-specific assemblages has examined this (Hanot et al, 2020;Pluskowski et al, 2009Pluskowski et al, , 2018. This study addresses this gap by compiling and analysing 2000 individual horse bones dating between the 4th and 17th centuries AD from archaeological sites across England.…”

The Baltic Crusades and ecological transformation: The zooarchaeology of conquest and cultural change in the Eastern Baltic in the second millennium AD

“…At the same time there is evidence for continuity, in isotopic terms, between the early and the later medieval period corresponding to osteological observations. The management of most horses continued unchanged, although some individuals appear to have been given special treatment in this region (Scull et al 2018) as well as central Livonia (Pluskowski et al 2018). This corresponds to written data for the treatment of breeding animals and warhorses (Ekhdal 1998).…”

“…Grunwald; Wolski, 2008: 75, 79-81) and within destroyed buildings (e.g. at Cēsis castle; Maltby et al 2018;Pluskowski et al 2018). In total these represent a fraction of the documented equine population, but they do provide vital data on the relative stature of animals across the study area.…”

Horses in Lithuania in the Late Roman–Medieval Period (3rd–14th C AD) Burial Sites: Updates on Size, Age and Dating

“…We assume that the small horses were locals, and the large ones were bred by the Order’s brothers. The size of the large horses from Memelburg corresponds to the size of the horses found in the Order’s castle in Cēsis (Latvia), and also in the Order’s castles in Poland, as well as in Viljandi castle in Estonia [ 85 , 89 , 90 ]. Different types of horses are also found in medieval Poland.…”