85 



hi^ cavaln^ destined for war against Scotland, with Horses from the 

 continent ; and there is an account of a debt of twenty-five thousand 

 florins from this prince to the Count of Hainault, tor Horses which the 

 latter had provided. The ckxtarii, or managed Horses, for parade at 

 the tournament, then in high vogue, were generally procured from 

 France. 



From the Norman conquest, and throughout the reign of the Plan- 

 tagenets, the current of fashion ran constantly in favour of the great, 

 or managed Horse, and the amusements both of the court and people, 

 in which the Horse was a prime instrument, were universally of a mar- 

 tial nature; this may indeed be called the era of the great Horse ; nor is 

 it clear that such a practice as horse-racing at all prevailed, unless per- 

 haps, in the casual rencontres between individual horsemen at their 

 public meetings. 



There is an old Latin tract extant, which describes Smoothjidd, planus 

 campus^' re ^- nomine (now Smithheld),as it was in the reign of Henry II, 

 a amooth field both in condition and natne. This field had been then 

 probably long used, both for the show and exercise of Horses, and had 

 become the chief theatre in the kingdom for the exhibition of fashion- 

 able horsemanship, as well as for the sale of all sorts of Horses. Ac- 

 cording to the above writer, Smoothfield was situated without one of 

 the gates of the city, and every Friday, the present market day for 

 Horses, exclusive of festivals on other days, there was a fine shew of 

 Horses for sale, of every variety in use, moving up and down in the 

 gayest condition. There were to be seen pacers or amblers and trotting 

 Horses, quickened by their jockeys to the best of their performance; 

 managed Horses dressed in the highest style of the times; draught 

 Horses of every description, and even young unbroke stock with mares> 

 in foal. Smithfield was at that period the general mart, and we must 

 consequently suppose, of much more <;onsiderable geometrical extent 

 than at this day : it doubtless communicated with the then adjoining 

 fields. 



Persons of the highest rank, in those days, attended the Smithfield 

 meetings and sales, and the young men of the first families there mixed 

 with the citizens' sons in tilting matches, and mock fights, after the man- 

 ner 



