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Abstract
EXCAVATIONS AT the castle complex of Cēsis, Latvia, uncovered an unusual find of large quantities of horse bones, some of which were partially articulated, along with equestrian equipment. These were associated with a destroyed building at the edge of the southern outer bailey. The horses included large males, most probably stallions, and pathology on several of the recovered vertebrae suggests these individuals had been used for riding. The size of the horses was within the range for medieval war horses, and the associated tack also pointed to prestigious riding animals. Radiocarbon dating of the bones placed them firmly within the Teutonic Order's period of rule. We conclude here that these horses fulfilled a military role in the final decades of the Teutonic Order’s rule in Livonia in the late 15th/early 16th century and that the better-known equestrian culture of late-medieval Prussia was comparable in character, if not in scale, to that in Livonia.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Dr Zigrīda Apala who led the two seasons of excavations of the ‘stable’ at Cēsis Castle and to the students who participated. We would also like to thank the National History Museum of Latvia, the Institute of Latvian History and Professor Arnis Mugurēvičs. The conservation of the horse equipment was carried out by Alaina Schmisseur (University of York), in association with the conservation department of Cēsis Castle Museum and the Lithuanian Art Museum. The AMS dating was carried out by SUERC (Glasgow) and U-series dating by Dr Stuart Black (Reading). Dendrochronological dating was carried out by Dr Māris Zunde (Dendrochronological laboratory, Institute of Latvian History). We would also like to thank Dr Gundula Müldner (University of Reading) for her additional comments. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no 263735.
Résumé
Des ossements de chevaux de la fin du Moyen-Âge au château de Cēsis, en Lettonie, et les ressources équestres de l’ordre teutonique en Livonie par Aleks Pluskowski, Krish Seetah, Mark Maltby, Rowena Banerjea, Stuart Black et Gundars Kalniņš
Les fouilles entreprises dans le complexe du château de Cēsis, en Lettonie, ont mis à jour des vestiges d’un genre inhabituel, à savoir de grandes quantités d’ossements de chevaux, dont certains étaient en partie articulés, ainsi que des équipements équestres. Ces vestiges étaient associés à un bâtiment détruit en bordure du mur d’enceinte extérieur sud. On y retrouve notamment des mâles de grande taille, sans doute des étalons, et la pathologie de plusieurs vertèbres examinées suggère que ces chevaux étaient montés. La taille des chevaux correspond à celle des chevaux de guerre au Moyen-Âge et la sellerie qui les accompagne laisse également penser qu’il s’agissait de montures prestigieuses. La datation d’indicateurs multiples sur les ossements les fait remonter sans aucun doute à la période de domination de l’ordre teutonique. Nous concluons ici au rôle militaire de ces chevaux dans les dernières décennies de la domination de l’ordre teutonique en Livonie, à la fin du 15e/début du 16e siècle, en avançant que la culture équestre mieux connue de la fin du Moyen-Âge en Prusse était de même caractère, sinon de même envergure, qu’en Livonie.
Zusammenfassung
Spätmittelalterliche Pferdefunde in der Burg Cēsis, Lettland, und die Pferdebestände des Deutschritter-ordens von Aleks Pluskowski, Krish Seetah, Mark Maltby, Rowena Banerjea, Stuart Black und Gundars Kalniņš
Ausgrabungen im Burgkomplex von Cēsis, Lettland, brachten einen ungewöhnlichen Fund einer großen Zahl von Pferdeknochen zum Vorschein, von denen einige noch Gelenke aufwiesen, und zudem Reitausrüstungsteilen. Diese wurden mit einem zerstörten Gebäude am Rand des südlichen äußeren Burghofs in Verbindung gebracht. Zu den Pferdefunden gehörten u.a. große männliche Pferde, höchstwahrscheinlich Hengste, und die Pathologieuntersuchung bei verschiedenen gefundenen Wirbeln legt nah, dass diese Tiere geritten wurden. Die Größe der Pferde lag im Größenspektrum mittelalterlicher Kriegspferde, und die zugehörigen Zaumzeuge deuten auch darauf hin, dass es sich um repräsentative Reitpferde handelte. Multi-Proxy-Datierung der Knochen ergab, dass sie gesichert aus der Herrschaftszeit des Deutschritterordens stammen. Wir kommen hier zu dem Schluss, dass diese Pferde in den letzten Jahrzehnten der Herrschaft des Deutschritterordens in Lettland im späten 15./ frühen 16. Jahrhundert eine militärische Rolle zu spielen hatten, und dass die besser bekannte Reitkultur des spätmittelalterlichen Preußen im Charakter, wenn auch nicht in der Größenordnung, mit der von Livland vergleichbar war.
Riassunto
Resti equini tardomedievali presso il castello di Cēsis in Lettonia e le risorse equestri dell’Ordine Teutonico nella regione della Livonia di Aleks Pluskowski, Krish Seetah, Mark Maltby, Rowena Banerjea, Stuart Black e Gundars Kalniņš
Gli scavi eseguiti nel complesso del castello di Cēsis in Lettonia hanno portato alla luce una insolita quantità di ossa equine, alcune delle quali parzialmente articolate, insieme a finimenti equestri. I reperti erano associati a un edificio distrutto che sorgeva al limite dei bastioni meridionali. Tra i cavalli figuravano grandi esemplari di maschi, probabilmente stalloni, e la patologia di svariate vertebre recuperate indica che questi animali venivano usati per cavalcare. Le dimensioni di questi esemplari corrispondevano a quelle dei cavalli da guerra medievali e anche i finimenti indicavano trattarsi di prestigiose cavalcature. La datazione multi-proxy delle ossa li fa risalire senza alcun dubbio al periodo di dominio dell’Ordine Teutonico. Concludiamo affermando che questi cavalli ricoprirono un ruolo militare negli ultimi decenni di dominio dell’Ordine Teutonico in Livonia tra la fine del XV e gli inizi del XVI secolo e che la meglio nota cultura equestre della Prussia tardomedievale era paragonabile per le caratteristiche, se non per le dimensioni, a quella della Livonia.
Notes
7 Selart Citation2015.
8 Kreem Citation2002; see also chapters on Livonia in Pluskowski forthcoming 2018.
9 Benninghoven Citation1963.
10 Ekdahl 1991; 1998.
11 Maltby et al forthcoming 2018 for Livonia and Makowiecki et al forthcoming 2018 for Prussia. See also Bliujienė Citation2009 for a long-term Baltic overview of horses.
12 Apala Citation2007; Citation2010a–Citationc.
13 The geophysics within the castle grounds were conducted by David Thornley (University of Reading).
14 Caune 2007.
15 Numbers in (-) refer to archaeological contexts and numbers in <-> refer to individual finds.
16 Banerjea and Badura forthcoming 2018.
17 The MNI is calculated from the MNE (minimum number of elements) by summing the zones of each element to find the most abundant, then taking the number for the most abundant element to represent the MNI for the species overall (see Hambleton Citation1999).
18 Levine Citation1982.
19 After Silver Citation1969.
20 Vitt Citation1952.
21 Makowiecki et al forthcoming 2018.
22 Maltby et al forthcoming Citation2018.
23 Makowiecki et al forthcoming 2018; see also Ekdahl 1998.
24 Maltby et al forthcoming Citation2018.
25 Maltby forthcoming 2018.
26 Baker and Brothwell Citation1980, 118–9; Daugnora and Thomas Citation2005; Levine et al Citation2005.
27 Eg Daugnora and Thomas 2005; Pluskowski et al 2010; Janeczek et al Citation2014.
28 Rannamäe Citation2010, app 4, 109.
29 Pluskowski et al 2010.
30 Breiding Citation2005; Pyhrr et al Citation2005, 32.
31 Walmsley et al Citation2002.
32 This was reported in the newspaper Pēdējā Brīdī, 26 September, 1927, in an article with the title ‘Zelta meklēšana’ Cēsu pilsdrupās turpinās (The ‘search for gold’ continues at Cēsis Castle).
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35 Britton et al Citation2008.
36 Reynard and Hedges 2008.
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44 Ibid.
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46 Kohn et al 2013.
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48 REE = Rare Earth Elements as defined by the IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) which are the lanthanides with scandium and yttrium.
49 Kirsanow et al 2008; Reynard and Hedges Citation2008.
50 See Scull et al (forthcoming Citation2018) for a similar interpretation of a horse bone sample from the Teutonic Order’s castle at Mała Nieszawka (Nessau) with a depleted δ13C value relative to other Prussian horses.
51 Kleimola Citation2005, 51.
52 Tomsons Citation2017.
53 Black forthcoming Citation2018.
54 Maltby et al forthcoming 2018.
55 This depends on the size of the castle; at the extreme end of the spectrum, the central convent of Marienburg in Prussia housed up to an estimated 1000 horses in the mid-15th century in various parts of the complex (Jóźwiak and Trupinda Citation2012, 440, n 19).
56 LUB, 11/160, 126–9.
57 Hartmann Citation2008, 190.
58 Dunsdorfs and Spekke Citation1964, 60.
59 LGU, 2, 259–60.
60 Russow Citation1853.
61 LUB, 12/133, 226.
62 Bennett Citation1995.
63 Maltby et al forthcoming 2018; Makowiecki et al forthcoming Citation2018.
64 Ekdahl Citation1991; Citation1998.
65 Kupisz Citation2012, 73, 75.
66 Rackham Citation2004.
67 Eg London, Cowie et al Citation1998; Windsor, Bourdillon Citation1993; Witney, Wilson and Edwards Citation1993.
68 Motro et al forthcoming.
69 Wolski Citation2008, 75, 79–81.
70 Shiroukhov Citation2012.
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72 LaMotta and Schiffer Citation1999.