Wild Horses and Their Relatives in the Middle Ages - (Byzantium: A European Empire and Its Legacy) by Anastasija Ropa (Hardcover)

About the Book

In the medieval times, wild horses appear as assets - potentially useful animals to be tamed, - as beasts hunted for consumption or pure fun, as pests and, sometimes, as sources of danger.

Book Synopsis

Wild Horses and Their Relatives in the Middle Ages offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary exploration of the presence, perception, and treatment of wild and feral horses across medieval Europe and adjacent regions. Drawing on archaeological evidence, genetic studies, medieval legal codes, hippiatric treatises, chronicles, and visual culture, the book interrogates the ambiguous status of wild horses in the historical record and challenges modern assumptions about equine domestication.

Anastasija Ropa traces the biological and legal distinctions between wild and domestic horses, and examines how medieval authors and artists depicted equine life. From breeding advice in hippiatric treatises to frescoes showing horse hunts, these sources reveal how horses were embedded in medieval economies, landscapes, and imaginations-not only as laborers and companions but also as symbols of status, wilderness, and power.

Review Quotes

"A detailed, interesting and engaging book that presents a thorough review of medieval thought on the status of horses, both wild and domestic." --Peter Mitchell, University of Oxford, UK

"A fascinating blend of evidence includes etymological considerations blended seamlessly with genetic, literary and manuscript evidence. Eclectic sources encompass studies from multiple languages. The book's comparative content spans the globe, from medieval Iceland to Wales and Ireland, through northern Europe to Kiev and the Eurasian steppes, with a nod to North American Mustang lore." --Gloria Allaire, University of Kentucky, USA

About the Author

Anastasija Ropa, PhD, is a scholar of history, literature and language, whose first book, Historical Horsemanship in Medieval Arthurian Romance, brought together her fascination with history, Arthurian legend and horses. Formerly lead researcher at the Latvian Academy of Sport Education, she is also a horse owner and trainer, who implements historical methods of horsemanship in her daily routines. She is also co-editor of the pioneering Cheiron: The International Journal of Equine and Equestrian History and of Rewriting Equestrian History book series.