130 THE HORSE IN HISTORY 



In the British Museum there may be seen 

 to-day a French metrical history of the deposition 

 of Richard II. which informs us that the king 

 owned " many a good horse of foreign breed." 



Mr J. P. Hore, the well-known authority, is of 

 opinion that " the thoroughbred English horse 

 was characteristic of the nation " in the reign of 

 Richard II., and adds that " horses were then 

 recognised and their praises sung." 



There is no doubt that between 1377 and 1399 

 the interest taken in horses in this country by 

 persons of almost every class developed rapidly. 

 The agricultural community in particular had 

 by then begun to turn its attention seriously to 

 the rearing of a better stamp of horse, and we 

 know that Chaucer, who lived from 1328 to 1400, 

 tells us that his famous monk had "full many a 

 daintie horse in stable." 



Chaucer's interesting references to the various 

 sorts of horse in use in the fourteenth century are 

 numerous, and they serve to show that persons 

 of different rank rode horses of different stamp. 

 Thus on that fine April morning when the motley 

 party of pilgrims set out from the Bell at South- 

 wark upon their hasty journey we find the 

 Knight mounted on a big and powerful horse — 

 naturally a knight wearing armour needed such 



