Horses in the Middle Ages seems to disappear from record during the 17th century. Many modern draft breeds claim some link to the medieval "great horse," with some historians considering breeds such as the Percheron, Belgian and Suffolk Punch likely descendants of the destrier. However, other historians discount this theory, since the historical record suggests the medieval warhorse was quite a different 'type' to the modern draught horse. Such a theory would suggest the war horses were crossed once again with "cold blooded" work horses, since war horses, and the destrier in particular, were renowned for their hot-blooded nature. Throughout the period, horses were rarely
Knight of the Swan a Swan Knight without a name. Wolfram's and Konrad's were used to construct the libretto for Richard Wagner's opera "Lohengrin" (Weimar 1850). Another example of the motif is Brangemuer, the knight that lay dead in a boat tugged by a swan, and whose adventure was taken up by Gawain's brother Guerrehet (Gareth or Gaheris) in the first Continuation to Chrétien de Troyes' "Perceval". The "Swan-Children" appears to have been originally separate from the Godfrey cycle and the Swan Knight story generally. Paris identifies four groups of variants, which he classifies usually by the name of the mother of the swan