Quote:
Originally Posted by MarjaE
Off the top of my head, the first Roman literary reference to stirrups is in the Strategikon, from the late 6th century. And the first archaeological evidence is of Avar Stirrups in the early 6th century. Some authors have argued that leather stirrups may have predated metal ones, and wouldn't be preserved.
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There is a fair amount of controversy about when stirrups where first used and a lot depends on your definition of stirrup. For example, at some point some used a loop of rope that they put their toe through. Is that a stirrup?
Mostly, when someone misuses stirrup in a historical book, they are pretty obvious about it and it's rarely the only mistake they make. There are certain mistakes that show that the author doesn't know the time period and didn't bother to research it much. Classic example is some using a repeating rifle in a western that was set prior to the Civil War.