A history Question.

[Wishazu]

hey everybody, ive recently comissioned a freelance illustrator to do a piece of artwork for my clan featuring a cavalry archer. We want the picture to look quite realistic but we need to know when the stirrup was invented seeing as the warrior in the piece will be from around 200-400 ad.

also any other information that you think will be relevant will be much appreciated. thanks

[Hurin_Rules]

I believe toe stirrups would have been invented by then (in India, I believe), but I doubt they would have been in use in the Mediterranean. I took some time for stirrups to diffuse to the west, and their spread was gradual during the early Middle Ages. Some historians have surmised that the Visigoths may have had them at Adrianople, but I don't think there is any hard evidence of this. IIRC, stirrups didn't come into general use in the west until the early Middle Ages.

You might want to read the chapter on The Stirrup and Mounted Shock Combat in Kelly DeVries book, Medieval Military Technology.

[Wishazu]

thankyou very much mate :)

[teja]

Just a comment, no matter if it is useful

Some historians have surmised that the Visigoths may have had them at Adrianople, but I don't think there is any hard evidence of this.

The forces beating down Valens and his roman army there had been called the 3 tribe confederation (translated into English, so it might spell different). However it was had been forged by 3 groups:

1st The Visigoth forces under Fritigern as a main force with almost common Germanic armed men. In opposite to the Ostrogoths the Visigoth had not as much effort into mounted warriors.

2nd A mixed up random group and people that became Horde earlier by the trouble the Huns made in the east. Here you found a reasonable mounted force of Ostrogoth steppe riders, on the move since the Huns destroyed the very big Ostrogoth Empire of Ermanric and did not resigned to their new heirs.
Next part was a very big pack of Alan steppe riders on their way west, since the Huns had conquered their homes before the year 375. In a consequence you can find them in RTW BI as a regular mounted archers unit to build for the Goths too.
With them there was a small pack of Huns still on the move that had not been happy with the situation and powers with the original Horde of the Huns.

This coalition beat up the Romans at Adrianople and had been lead by Fritigern. Up to this time most Visigoths settled more as farmers but as cattle-breeders in their homes and used more conventional kind of warfare. With this success and the fact they had been forced to stay in nearly constant move of their Nation until they settled down in southern France and Spain later on, they occupied a lot of the steppe warfare.

[PseRamesses]

Stirrups was invented in China around 300 AD. A simple form attached on one side it allowed easier mounting. Around 5th and 6th century their use, now on both sides, was widely spread thoughout China.
Exactly when and where the stirrup was introduced in Europe is a question of controversy. The most common theory is that the Avars (sp?), a nomadic steppe tribe living around Hungary used them in the late 6th century. The Franks made use of them in the early 8th century.
An interesting note is that the stirrup was a tool for easier mounting NOT manouvering. For a long while schollars has deemed the whole cavalry of the ancient world as pretty useless and only useful for flanking and pursuing and that the introduction of the stirrup was the whole reason for knights being so powerful. This theory has been proven wrong - utterly.
The Romans did use, from Julius Caesars time, a special saddel (sp?) that had a wooden padded frame and attached to it where 4 horns, 2 in the back and 2 in the front, that "locked" the rider in a secure position. This meant that the rider was secured when handeling weapons like lancers, spears or bows and that he had a more comfortable ride in rugged terrain. So the Romans didn´t use stirrups simply because they didn´t need them. Their saddle was a good enough tool.