PERCHERON PROTOTYPES 39 



No mention is made of the introduction of Arabian 

 stallions. Curiously enough, in a fine edition of this 

 work published some years ago, profusely illustrated 

 with drawings by the celebrated artist Gustave 

 Dore, the French and the English knights, and even 

 royalty itself, when mounted are invariably shown 

 astride stoutly built white or gray chargers. On 

 such a horse Dore delineates Eichard Coeur de Lion 

 himself in his famous conflict with the Sultan Sala- 

 din. Another drawing, entitled "Glorious death of 

 Jacques de Maille," shows that famous Ejiight of 

 the Temple going to his death as a noble steed of 

 the same type sinks to the earth pierced by many 

 arrows. Again in the plate entitled "The Battle 

 of Antioch," the European knights are seen gallop- 

 ing into action mounted on great wide-quartered 

 horses of the same general conformation. So in 

 the picture of "200 Knights Attacking 20,000 Sara- 

 cens" the big, white chargers are everywhere in evi- 

 dence. Most curious of all, perhaps, is the fact that 

 Dore in drawing upon his imagination to illustrate 

 the celebrated "Apparition of Saint George on the 

 Mount of Olives" depicts the patron saint of Eng- 

 land mounted on a white horse of the same type and 

 fitted out — ^very properly for a steed used in navi- 

 gating the air — with a pair of wings! 



War Horses of the Middle Ages. — ^Histories deal- 

 ing with the Dark Ages are lamentably lacking in 

 horse lore. Breeds were not discussed much in those 

 days; only types were mentioned. The draft horse 

 had then no place. The war horse dominated every- 



