View source for Rouncey

{{Short description|Historic term for a type of horse}}
[[Image:Battle-poitiers(1356).jpg|thumb|350 px|A 15th century miniature depicting the [[Battle of Poitiers (1356)|Battle of Poitiers]]. A variety of [[Horses in the Middle Ages|horses]] can be seen.]]

During the [[Middle Ages]] the term "'''rouncey'''" (also spelt '''rouncy''' or '''rounsey''') referred to an ordinary, all-purpose [[Horses in the Middle Ages|horse]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Original Horse Bible: The Definitive Source for All Things Horse |last=Reeve |first=Moira C. |last2=Biggs |first2=Sharon |date=2011 |publisher=Bowtie Press |isbn=9781933958750 |location=Irvine, CA |pages=50}}</ref> Rounceys were used for [[Equestrianism|riding]], but could also be trained for [[Horses in warfare|war]]. It was not unknown for them to be used as [[pack horse]]s. The horse, which was also referred to as {{lang | la | runcinus}}, is believed to have been a [[harrowing]] animal on account of its proportions as found in demesne stock-listings before it became an exclusively riding animal.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Horses, Oxen and Technological Innovation: The Use of Draught Animals in English Farming from 1066-1500 |last=Langdon |first=John |date= 4 July 2002 | orig-date = 1986 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0521267722 |location=Cambridge |pages=296 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JqochLSK2rcC | edition = revised  | series= Past and Present Publications | quote = {{lang | la | Runcinus}} - a rouncey, the most common term for horses found in the Domesday survey. It is felt by some that the rouncey was primarily a riding or pack horse at this time, although [...] its proportions in the demesne stock would seem to point to its use as a harrowing animal. After Domesday, {{lang | la | runcini}} are infrequently found among demesne or peasant stock listings, and gradually they seem to have come to represent a class of riding animals only.}}
</ref>

==Use in warfare==
While the [[destrier]] is the most well-known warhorse of the Medieval era, it was the least common, and [[courser (horse)|coursers]] were often preferred for [[Medieval warfare|battle]].  Both were expensive, highly trained horses prized by [[knight]]s and nobles, while a poorer knight, [[squire]] or [[man-at-arms]] would use a rouncey for fighting.  A wealthy knight would provide rounceys for his [[retinue]].<ref name="Oakeshott">[[Ewart Oakeshott|Oakeshott, Ewart]]. ''A Knight and his Horse'', Rev. 2nd Ed. USA:Dufour Editions, 1998</ref><!--this cite p12--><ref name="Gravett">[[Christopher Gravett|Gravett, Christopher]]. ''English Medieval Knight 1300-1400'', Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2002, p 59</ref>

Sometimes the expected nature of warfare dictated the choice of horse; when a summons to war was sent out in [[Kingdom of England|England]] in 1327, it expressly requested rounceys, for swift pursuit, rather than destriers.<ref name="Prestwich">[[Michael Prestwich|Prestwich, Michael]]. ''Armies and Warfare in the Middle Ages: The English Experience'', New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996, p 318</ref> Small sized rounceys were also preferred by mounted archers.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Handbook of Medieval Culture, Volume 1|last=Classen|first=Albrecht|date=2015|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG|isbn=9783110266597|location=Berlin/Boston|pages=682}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Horses in the Middle Ages]]
* [[Irish Hobby]]
* [[Palfrey]]

{{wiktionary | rouncy}}

==References==
<references/>
{{mil-hist-stub}}
{{horse-stub}}

[[Category:Warfare of the Middle Ages]]
[[Category:Warhorses]]
[[Category:Types of horse]]