Early Period Medieval Bridle

This is the documentation for a early period medieval bridle which was made to be used in SCA Equestrian activities. This project was also entered in the Ice Dragon Pent in 2010.

Background

The use of bridles to control and guide a horse by the rider has been documented back into ancient times. The first archeological proof of the existence of a bridle is an antler and rope bit found dating well into the ancient world. Bridle design has changed little over the centuries, generally consisting of a control device in the mouth (bit), a piece of rope, leather or cloth, to hold the bit in the horse's mouth and on its head (headstall), and lines that run from the bit to the rider's hands (reins).

Bridle parts

The focus of this study and project was to replicate a bridle from the early Middle Ages, specifically the 11th Century. Many of the sources include illuminated manuscripts, paintings from the period, and the Bayeux Tapestry. The latter provides an excellent view of life in the 11th Century and has been used by recreationists for many years as a source of research into life after the 1066 Norman conquest of England which is depicted in the Tapestry. (In the remainder of this article, the Bayeux Tapestry will be referred to as "the Tapestry" for brevity.) It includes numerous scenes depicting horses and their equipment. The bridle created in this project is meant to closely represent the bridles found in the Tapestry.

 

Because of the degrade-able nature of the materials, few extant bridles from the period are available for examination. In his book, The Medieval Horse and Its Equipment, John Clark discusses bridle remains from the digs near London. These date into the early Middle Ages, and give us a glimpse of what bridles were made of during this period. Buckles, bits, bridle bosses (circular pieces of metal used to secure parts of the bridle and serve as decorations), and fragments of leather are pieces that were discovered during these digs. From this source, we know that buckles were used, and what types of bits were in use during this period. We also confirm the use of leather for headstall and reins pieces.

 

Bits consist of two main types, the snaffle bit and the curb bit. The common O-ring snaffle bit (as shown above in the bridle parts illustration) consists of a ring that attaches to the mouthpiece. The mouthpiece can be jointed or solid. The reins attach to the rings which works directly on the horse's mouth. Snaffle bits can have different attachments for the reins and headstall, but essentially work the same despite these small differences. The second type of bit is the curb bit (shown on the right). This consists of a shank which attaches to the rings that connect to the mouthpiece. The reins are attached at the end of the shank, usually to smaller rings on the bottom. Again the mouthpiece can be jointed or solid. The example shows a common mouthpiece for a curb bit - the port. This raised portion of the bit acts upon the roof of the horse's mouth when activated, and also provides a space for the horse's tongue. This bit works on exerting leverage to the horse's mouth, and also acts on the top of the horse' head, called the poll, by pulling down on the headstall.  Usually this bit is used with a chain or piece of leather that passes under the horse's chin, called the chinstrap.

 

A third type of bit is really a combination of the two main styles and is called the Pelham bit. It has two sets of rein attachment rings. One activates direct pressure on the mouth as in the snaffle. A second set attaches to the lower rings, for leverage pressure on the mouth that is generated by the curb portion of the bit. 

 

Bit types have changed very little over the centuries. Evidence from archeological digs and paintings of the period reveals that snaffle, curb and pelham bits were in use throughout the Middle Ages. The Bayeux Tapestry reveals that the curb bit was used frequently by the Anglo-Saxons and the Normans, as it is the most common style found in the work.  

Snaffle bit recovered from London digs
 as documented in Clark's book, The Medieval Horse and Its Equipment.^[1]

 

Pelham bit shown in 16^th century^[2]

The example of a curb bit on the left comes from the Bayeux Tapestry.

 

 



Pelham bit shown in
Gaston Phoebus'  "The Hunting Book"^[3]

The headstall consists of a simple strap that attaches to the bit and holds the bridle on the horse's head. Some have additional features, such as a nose band, which encircles the horse's muzzle area, and a brow band, which passes over the horse's forehead. (See illustration above.) Others include a throatlatch, which passes under the horse's neck in the throat area (hence the name), and aids in keeping the bridle on the horse's face. Some bridles have a bridle boss attachment which secures the brow band and/or throatlatch to the main part of the headstall.  

 

Throatlatches become very common throughout the middle of the period and are usually found on most modern bridles. (Note the presence of throatlatches in the pelham examples above.) But an examination of the Bayeux Tapestry reveals that throatlatches were not in use during the 11th century. There appears to be only one example of a throatlatch in the many bridles displayed in the Tapestry. (Note the depiction from the Bayeux Tapestry above which has no throatlatch.) Inversely, the use of nosebands in the Tapestry is very common, while later period sources usually show bridles without nosebands. Brow bands are common in most sources. This piece prevents the headstall from sliding back onto the horse's neck which would have created painful, unintended pressure on the bit, and rendered the horse uncontrollable. So rarely are bridles found without them. (All the examples above show the use of brow bands.) A variation of a browband is a design where the ears are encircled by leather, similar to eared headstalls in use in modern day western riding.

 

Bridle bosses which attach the browband and throatlatch, when used, are usually solid pieces of metal riveted or otherwise attached to the leather. (Examples can be seen in the bridles pictured above.)Sometimes, simple rings are used to which the leather is attached. Both methods are commonly found throughout the period.  

An example of what appears to be ring
 attachment from the Bayeux Tapestry -
 note the color of the horse's skin showing through the ring

 

The noseband can be similarly attached, using rings, but is more commonly found attached by sewing or riveting directly to the headstall. The reins are usually attached by sewing onto the bit rings, riveting or through the use, in later periods, of special bit/rein attachments. (See illustration below which depicts several types of these rein attachments that were used in later period.)

 

Illustrations showing elaborate rein attachments
 as well as rein chains in pic #7.^[4]

While cloth bridles were commonly found in China and Japan during the feudal period, and rope was used in more primitive times, the most common material for bridle construction in the Middle Ages was leather. In the later years of the period, reins were armored, i.e. covered in metal, to prevent being cut by an opponent. More commonly, the reins were made of leather which ended in chains which were attached to the bit. These rein chains were lighter than armored reins, and still afforded protection to the rein in the area most likely to be cut, where they directly attached to the bit. These chains were also more durable and resistant to rot or damage when the horse dipped its muzzle into the water to drink. Repeated dippings of leather rein ends can result in rotting and breaking of the reins where they attach to the bit. This style of rein chains survived into the common age, in western riding, though since the 1960's has been less commonly seen in use. Reins were also later decorated in the heraldic colors of the rider, matching the barding (cloth covering) on the horse's body.

 

The Project

 

The object of this project was to replicate a bridle that would have been used in the 11th century.   My research into medieval horse equipment has focused on the early period styles and methods.  Before exploring later styles, I felt it was important to understand how this equipment evolved through the period. Hence my focus on early period equipment. It was also my intent to make a complete set of equipment, as authentic as possible, to use on my horses in SCA equestrian activities. I hope to encourage more research into this area by others in the program, and hope that they, too, will make authentic reproductions for use, thereby enhancing the equestrian program in Æthelmearc.

 

The bridle I decided to make would be patterned as closely as possible to those depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, as this is the earliest reliable source for bridles of the period. Obviously, it would consist of a leather headstall. Research shows that a brow band was commonly used, as was a noseband.  Both snaffle and curb bits were depicted in the Tapestry. I choose to use the combination bit, the Pelham, as it would prove more versatile, being able to be used in a variety of horses. Some ride better in a snaffle, while others required a stronger bit such as the curb. I wanted to make a bridle that would be useable on more than one horse.

 

(Note:While I would have liked to use hand forged reproductions of the metal parts such as the buckles and bit, since I have yet to acquire that skill, I had to be satisfied with commercially made recycled pieces.  I tried to find pieces that were as close as possible to what would have been used in period.) 

 

Leather was attached in the bridle in several ways throughout the period. Sewing and riveting were common, and both methods were depicted in the Tapestry. I decided to sew the leather in my project. Thus the reins are attached to the rings and the headstall to the bit through sewing, using waxed linen thread, a commonly used item in modern horse equipment. In the medieval period, waxed linen thread or animal sinew was commonly used. I also sewed the single buckle of the project to the headstall.

 

This leads me to the subject of the option of changing the headstall size. An examination of depictions of bridles in the Tapestry and many illuminated manuscripts show that, unlike modern bridles, there were not adjustments by use of buckles along the sides of the headstall, at least not in early period bridles. Because of this, some researchers believed that the headstall had no adjustment and bridles must have been made specifically for each horse - in other words, fitted for individual horses. This is both impractical and too expensive to seem feasible. In modern days, a well supplied riding stable has separate bridles assigned to individual lesson horses. This is usually for the benefit of trainers and students, who have to ensure the right equipment is on the right horse, and prevent having to re-adjust bridles to fit each horse prior to use. A nicely designed tack room contains individually labeled bridle racks with the horse's name for easy identification of that horse's bridle.  Most "backyard" stables don't have this luxury, instead use a bridle for several horses, adjusting the fit as needed. 

Most likely, in the medieval period, bridles were not made exclusively for each horse as the cost would be too high. After considerable research, I found several examples from the Maciejowski Bible which reveal a buckle and strap adjustment at the top of the headstall, behind the horse's ears. The examples shown come from the source, Medieval Costume, Armor and Weapons.
 

I decided to incorporate this design into my own project. I would also include a brow band and noseband. The noseband would be attached directly to the headstall in the fashion I had found in the sources and replicated by other researchers. The leather for the noseband passes through the looped attachment to the bit, and is stitched together. There is no adjustment so I measured several horses to ensure it would be large enough, but not too large as to be floppy, when used on a variety of horses. 

Noseband attachment shown in the source, Medieval Costume, Armor and Weapons.  Note also the stitching clearly visible.

A common method of attaching the brow band to the headstall is by sewing it directly onto the headstall, or attaching it by means of a bridle boss or ring, as noted above. Because I was trying to make this bridle fully adjustable, I had to look deeper at the concept of browband attachment and design. If I affixed the browband permanently through the use of sewing or riveting, it would not allow for adjustment of the browband when the headstall was shortened or lengthened for use on different horses. I considered a design by another researcher for her conjectural medieval bridle, which incorporated a sliding design using a ring attachment (shown at the right).^[6]

This design uses a throatlatch, so I could not replicate it exactly as shown, but altered the design slightly to work on my throatlatch-less bridle. Once completed, it tested out to work on a variety of horses. The ring attachment is clearly visible in the Tapestry and therefore is a period application.

The final project not only looks like a period piece, but it functioned quite well when tried out on a real horse.

Author's horse Rex
wearing the bridle

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Endnotes:
1. John Clark, ed.  The Medieval Horse and its Equipment 1150-1450. (Woodbridge: Museum of London, 1995).  49.
2. Clark, John, The Medieval Horse and Its Equipment.  45.
3. Illuminated Manuscripts, Medieval Hunting Scenes (AThe Hunting Book@ by Gaston Phoebus), trans. J Peter Tallon. (Barcelona: Printer Industria Grafica, 1978).64.
4. Wagner, Drobna, and Durdik. Medieval Costume, Armor and Weapons. Plate 28, Part IX.
5. Richard Barber  & Juliet Barker.  Tournaments, Jousts, Chivalry and Pageants in the Middle Ages.  (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2000) 174.
6. How to make bridles By Madonna Contessa Ilaria Veltri degli Ansari, http://ilaria.veltri.tripod.com/bridle.html

Sources:

Ayton,  Andrew. Knights and Warhorses: Military Service and the English Aristocracy under Edward III. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1994.

Barber , Richard & Juliet Barker.  Tournaments: Jousts, Chivalry and Pageants in the Middle Ages, Woodbridge: The Boydell Press,2000.

Clark,  John ed. The Medieval Horse and its Equipment, c. 1150‑c.1450. NY:Woodbridge: Museum of London, 1995.

Davis, R.H.C.  The Medieval Warhorse: Origin, Development and Redevelopment.  NY: Thames and Hudson,1989.

Dent,  Anthony Austen. The Horse Through Fifty Centuries of Civilization. NY: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1974.

Illuminated Manuscripts, Medieval Hunting Scenes ("The Hunting Book" by Gaston Phoebus), trans. J Peter Tallon. Barcelona: Printer Industria Grafica, 1978.

Pyhrr, LaRocca, and Breiding.  The Armored Horse in Europe, 1480‑1620.  NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005.
Rud, Morgan.  The Bayeux Tapestry and the Battle of Hastings 1066. Copenhagen: Christian Eilers, 1992.
Wagner, Drobna, and Durdik.  Medieval Costume, Armor and Weapons. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc, 2000.
Wilson, David A. The Bayeux Tapestry.  London: Thames & Hudson, 1985.
Website: Atlantian MOAS site (links), Jan 2009, <http://moas.atlantia.sca.org/wsnlinks/index.php?action=displaycat&catid=56>
Website on 13^th Century Horse Equipment, Jan 2010,  <http://www.mountedknights.com/conroi/13thCenturyMilitaryHorseEquipment.pdf>
Website - Article: How to make bridles By Madonna Contessa Ilaria Veltri degli Ansari, 2005, Jan 2010, <http://ilaria.veltri.tripod.com/bridle.html>
Website: The Bayeux Tapestry, March 2010,<http://hastings1066.com/>
Website: Britain=s Bayeux Tapestry at the Museum of Reading, March 2010, http://www.bayeuxtapestry.org.uk/