For many centuries of the Middle Ages, agricultural work was done by hand or with the help of oxen. The invention of the plow made productivity higher, and these plows were often pulled by oxen (Bennett 140). Still, there was another animal that was stronger and faster than oxen, the horse. Medieval farmers needed to find a way to efficiently include horses in their farming, to make for a much faster and easier way to plow the land or haul a wagon. Medieval farmers first attempted to yoke horses how they yoked oxen, but this ended up crossing the necks of the horses, which would impede the breathing and choke the horses (Augustyn). This style led to a lot of inefficiency from the horses, but suddenly, one of the more crucial innovations of the Middle Ages became prevalent in the agricultural world.
In Europe during the 12th century, the horse collar was finally invented and came to popularity. This metal horse collar had leather padding and sat on the shoulders of the horses, so it did not interfere with the breathing of the animals. This allowed the horses to be able to use their full strength when plowing or pulling a wagon, which was an amazing help to farmers in the Middle Ages (Johnson). The horse collars were known to be much more productive, and according to Debora Johnson, "With the horse collar, a horse could provide a work effort of 50% more foot-pounds per second than an ox, because it could move at a greater speed, as well as having generally greater endurance and the ability to work more hours in a day," (Johnson). Clearly, this invention was a major help to the agriculture and economy of the Middle Ages. Even the Luttrell Psalter (pictured below) illustrates images of the horse collar being utilized in Medieval agriculture. The invention of the horse collar helped better the productivity of the agricultural world all throughout Europe for centuries to come. The horse collar was one of the most important inventions of the Middle Ages, and the impact of this invention changed the agricultural world forever.
Sources:
Augustyn, Adam. “Horse Collar.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/technology/horse-collar.
Bennett, Judith M. Medieval Europe: A Short History. 11th ed., McGraw Hill, 2011.
Johnson, Debora. “Horses in the Middle Ages.” Horses Hints, Horse Hints, http://horsehints.org/MiddleAgesHorse.htm.
Interesting how yoking a horse makes them choke, but yoking an ox doesn't.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing to see how such a seemingly simple invention became one of the most important inventions of the middle ages. It shows how important the horse and particularly farming was to the development of humanity.
ReplyDeleteI knew horses were better plow animals than oxen but I did not know the horse collar made them so much more efficient. Without horse collars I am not sure the farmers of Europe would have gotten as plentiful as they did. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteThis is new information to me! I did not know that the horses were more useful than the oxen and that the horses were often preferred over them. I liked to read the cause for the invention and to see how the artifact solved the problem at hand. Do you know how long the horse collar was used for? Good job on this blog, it was truly a good read!
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense that images of the horse collar would have been depicted in the Luttrell Psalter's illustration of everyday life in the estate. This blog was great in showing us that this invention was clearly so prevalent that it was a staple of medieval life. I wonder where the agricultural world would be today without the horse collar?
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