Quote:
Originally Posted by DNSB
I vaguely seem to remember stirrups were in common use in the West (by which I take it, you mean Europe) by the 8th century. Or are you referring to elsewhere/elsewhen?
I do remember laughing in one movie set in Rome where they were using stirrups. The ignominy of dismounting to fight on foot was not for them.
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There's some evidence that the Sarmatians used stirrups, and there was a Sarmatian auxiliary cavalry unit stationed at Hadrian's Wall. However, most Roman cavalry did not use stirrups, and the stirrup did not become widely used until the early Medieval period.
Re the movies, unfortunately, modern insurance requirements mean riders must use stirrups even in (supposedly) historical films set in a period where stirrups were unknown...