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Frankish Heavy Cavalry

Type Object Region Western Europe Time c. 600–700

Frankish heavy cavalry was a 7th-century Western European system of armored shock cavalry centered on fully armed noble knights and their retainers, …

Timeline

  1. c. 600–650Austrasia and the Rhine border · RhinelandAfter stirrups spread to Western Europe, Frankish noble cavalry could stably use lances and swords from horseback for shock charges; iron armor, shields, and horse barding formed an early heavy cavalry equipment combination.
  2. c. 626–687East of the Rhine and the Elbe border · GermaniaMerovingian kings and mayors of the palace led heavy cavalry against Avar nomadic horsemen on the eastern front and suppressed Saxon revolts on the northern front; battles such as Tertry (687) proved shock cavalry's tactical advantage over infantry and light horse.
  3. c. 687–700Austrasian noble estates · AustrasiaThe model of lords providing their own armor and horses with retainers campaigning alongside became fixed, linking military obligations to land grants; the mayor of the palace Pippin family used this to accumulate military strength, paving the way for the Carolingian cavalry system.

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