Destrier

Destrier
Dextrarius
The knight’s warhorse. The destrier was probably a very powerful breed of horse capable of great strength and good speed and maneuverability. The warhorse was valued anywhere from Ј1 to more than Ј100 during the century, and was a valuable way that commanders paid their troops. In addition to the pay they received, the horses taken on a campaign were divided up amongst the nobility and the soldiers, sold or shipped home for additional income. The price of such a horse in modern terms was approximately analogous to an automobile. The best mounts were known as coursers, and fetched the higher prices. Knights generally rode palfreys between engagements, then mounted their destrier when they were required to be in armour, since the palfrey would fare poorly under such great weight, and was a walker more than a hunter, as the destrier seems to have been.
Warhorse. (Because a squire would lead the horse using his right hand.)
♦ Charger, warhorse.
(Prestwich, Michael. Armies and Warfare in the Middle Ages: The English Experience, 347)
Related terms: Dextrarius

Medieval glossary. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • destrier — [ dɛstrije ] n. m. • 1080; a. fr. destre « main droite » (→ dextre), le destrier étant conduit de la main droite par l écuyer quand le chevalier ne le montait pas ♦ Cheval de bataille au Moyen Âge (opposé à palefroi, cheval de cérémonie). « Ça,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • destrier — war horse, c.1300, from O.Fr. destrier (12c.), from V.L. *dextrarius led by the right hand, from L. dextra, fem. of dexter (see DEXTERITY (Cf. dexterity)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • destrier — [des′trē ər, des trir′] n. [ME destrer < OFr destrier < ML dextrarius < VL * dextrare, to lead (by the right hand) < dextra, right hand: see DEXTER] Archaic a war horse; charger …   English World dictionary

  • destrier — DESTRIER. s. mas. Vieux mot qui signifioit un cheval de main, de bataille. Il étoit opposé à Palefroi, qui étoit un cheval de cérémonie …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • destrier — DESTRIER. s. m. Cheval de main. Il est vieux …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Destrier — This article is about the destrier, a type of war horse. For information about other Medieval horses, see Horses in the Middle Ages. Mounted on a destrier, William Marshall unseats an opponent during a joust. The destrier is the best known war… …   Wikipedia

  • Destrier — Destriers sur le Codex Manesse …   Wikipédia en Français

  • destrier — (dè stri é l r ne se lie jamais ; au pluriel, l s se lie : des dè stri é z agiles) s. m. Dans le langage de la chevalerie et des guerres du moyen âge, cheval de bataille. •   J errais de plaine en plaine Au gré du destrier, BEAUMARCHAIS Mar. de… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • destrier — noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo French destrer, destrier, from destre right hand, from Latin dextra, from feminine of dexter Date: 14th century archaic warhorse; also a charger used especially in medieval tournaments …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • destrier — /des tree euhr, de strear /, n. Archaic. a war horse; charger. [1250 1300; ME destrer < AF, var. of OF destrier, lit., (horse) led at the right hand < VL *dextrarius (equus), equiv. to L dext(e)r right hand (see DEXTER) + arius ARY] * * * …   Universalium

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