At the Battle of Bouvines (1214) the Emperor Otto was taken out of the battle when his horse was struck by an arrow, causing the horse to bolt. I intend to use this in one way or another and thought I'd ask here to get a sense of the parameters and possibilities.
So, an armored knight--this is 13thc so no plate armor, but an emperor would be wearing good stuff--is riding his war horse, an animal trained for combat. The creature would sure have at least some armor as well, since I know crusader horses were armored as long as a hundred years prior.
We can suppose the arrow penetrated the armor--a close shot, which isn't unlikely. Or we can suppose the horse was struck in a vulnerable point.
Either way, my first thought was this: would other knights, hearing of this incident, think Otto was an incompetent horseman for letting his mount ride off the field of battle? Or would they nod and in effect say yep that happened to my buddy and to my cousin. IOW, what might I make of this bare historical fact?
I'd also like to know if it's reasonable to say that Otto should have been able to turn the horse around and re-enter. I know, it depends on the nature of the wound.
Speaking of which, what sort of wound is likely? Bad enough to make a charger run, but not so bad as to bring the horse down. Just in case I want to get specific about the scene.
I have this notion that I might foreshadow the catastrophe earlier by showing Otto to be a rather poor horseman (makes for yet another contrast with Frederick of Hohenstaufen). But that doesn't work if pretty much any horse becomes uncontrollable if wounded (seems unlikely, but ... specifics!)
TIA
So, an armored knight--this is 13thc so no plate armor, but an emperor would be wearing good stuff--is riding his war horse, an animal trained for combat. The creature would sure have at least some armor as well, since I know crusader horses were armored as long as a hundred years prior.
We can suppose the arrow penetrated the armor--a close shot, which isn't unlikely. Or we can suppose the horse was struck in a vulnerable point.
Either way, my first thought was this: would other knights, hearing of this incident, think Otto was an incompetent horseman for letting his mount ride off the field of battle? Or would they nod and in effect say yep that happened to my buddy and to my cousin. IOW, what might I make of this bare historical fact?
I'd also like to know if it's reasonable to say that Otto should have been able to turn the horse around and re-enter. I know, it depends on the nature of the wound.
Speaking of which, what sort of wound is likely? Bad enough to make a charger run, but not so bad as to bring the horse down. Just in case I want to get specific about the scene.
I have this notion that I might foreshadow the catastrophe earlier by showing Otto to be a rather poor horseman (makes for yet another contrast with Frederick of Hohenstaufen). But that doesn't work if pretty much any horse becomes uncontrollable if wounded (seems unlikely, but ... specifics!)
TIA