27 



QUEEN ELIZABETH S TIME. 



Holinshed q-Wqs a valuable account of 

 the heavy horses of Queen Elizabeth's time 

 (1558- 1 603). From his record we gather 

 that at this period the Great Horse was 

 no longer reserved exclusively for military 

 purposes, but was in general use for farm 

 and draught work. Holinshed's reference 

 to the transport required by the Queen's 

 retinue w^hen she made her frequent pro- 

 gresses through the kingdom is testimony 

 to her inordinate love of pageantry and 

 display. Coaches, according to Stowe, had 

 been introduced into England by FitzAlan, 

 Earl of Arundel, 1580 (though Queen Mary 

 had had one built for herself in 1556), but 

 this mode of conveyance does not appear 

 to have commended itself to Queen 

 Elizabeth. She was, as history tells us, an 

 admirable horsewoman, and we know that 

 she rode behind her Master of Horse when 

 she went in state to St. Paul's. The 

 following passage from Ralph Holinshed's 

 Chronicle will be found in book ii., chapter 

 i. of the folio edition printed in London, 



1587:- 



" Our horses, moreover, are high, and, although 

 not commonhe of such huge greatnesse as in other 



