130 



A HISTORY OF CAVALRY. 



[period II. 



"This victory of Charles Martel, followed by the 

 successes of his son Pepin, expelled the Saracens from 

 the boundaries of France, and Charlemagne, his grandson, 

 put a final check to their progress in Western Europe by 

 driving them out of part of Spain, and annexing the 

 territory between the Pyrenees and the Ebro to his 

 empire, under the name of the Spanish March." ' 



Some years subsequently, in the reign of Charles the 

 Bald, the cavalry formed the principal portion of the 

 army. In a battle fought between the king and Robert 

 le Fort, who had command of the troops of the Duke of 

 Brittany, the most important force on each side was the 

 cavalry. Charles had a large body of Saxon horse, 

 which had been sent to his assistance by his brother 

 Louis of Germany. This corps he placed in front of his 

 line to withstand the attacks of the Breton cavalry, who 

 appear to have been very skilful horsemen. The late 

 Dukes of Brittany had bestowed much attention upon 

 their army, and had organised a mounted force somewhat 

 similar to those of the ancient Parthians. They W' e 

 armed with javelins, and were formed up in small bands, 

 which rode up and manoeuvred around the enemy, care- 

 fully avoiding the charge, throwing their javelins at 

 a moderate distance, and retiring swiftly. If pursued, 

 they threw their missiles while in flight with such skill 

 as rarely to miss their aim. They soon dispersed the 

 Saxons, and then used the same tactics against the in- 

 fantry, who, armed with pikes and swords, which were of 

 no use at a distance, were badly defeated by troops with 

 whom they could not come to close quarters.^ 



Charlemagne was the greatest monarch of the dark 

 ages, his empire consisting of France, part of Spain, nearly 

 all Italy, Germany, and a portion of Hungary. From 

 his death until the crusades, the world, so to speak, was 

 occupied and disputed by the three great empires, or 

 nations, of the Greeks, the Franks, and the Saracens.' 



The defeat of Abderrahman, and the successes of 

 Charlemagne, had virtually put a stop to the increase of 

 the Saracen power in Spain, whither it had extended after 



1 Gibbon, v. 19, ^ Rocquan, i. 214. " Gibbon, v. 364. 



