15 



may find opportunity later on to consider 

 in minuter detail the weio'ht of armour. 



At an early date we find the chroniclers 

 speaking" of the horse used in warfare as 

 Dextrariits or Alagnits Eqitus ; later on the 

 English terms "War Horse" or ''Great 

 Horse" are used indifferently as the equi- 

 valents of the Latin. The history of the 

 period between Henry H.'s accession (1154) 

 until the reign of Elizabeth (1538- 1603) 

 shows that it was the constant aim of the 

 Legislature to increase and improve the 

 stock of these horses in England. In 

 Henry H.'s reign several foreign horses 

 were imported (a.d. 1160); but there is 

 nothing to show to wdiat breed these be- 

 longed. Maddox's Histoiy of the Exchequer^ 

 contains mention of disbursements *'for the 

 subsistence of the King's horses that were 

 lately brought from beyond the sea ; " but 

 unfortunately we are not informed for what 

 special purpose they were procured. It is 

 more than probable that they were Norman 

 horses suitable for breeding stock to carry 

 men-at-arms ; for the first years of Henry's 

 reign were spent in evolving order from the 

 anarchy which England had endured under 

 his predecessor Stephen — a task which 

 implied forcible measures. The earliest 



