Destrier Destrier The destrier is the best-known war horse of the medieval era. It carried knights in battles, tournaments, and jousts. It was described by contemporary sources as the "Great Horse", due to its significance. While highly prized by knights and men-at-arms, the destrier was not very common. Most knights and mounted men-at-arms rode other war horses, such as coursers and rounceys. These three types of horse were often referred to generically as chargers. The word is first attested in Middle English around 1330, as "destrer". It was borrowed into Middle English from Anglo-Norman "destrer", whose Old French counterpart was "destrier"
Destrier in battle or tournament; for everyday riding, a knight would use a palfrey, and his baggage would be carried on a sumpter horse (or packhorse), or possibly in wagons. Much speculation has taken place about the nature of destriers and about the size they attained. They apparently were not enormous draft types. Recent research undertaken at the Museum of London, using literary, pictorial and archeological sources, suggests war horses (including destriers) averaged from , and differed from a riding horse in their strength, musculature and training, rather than in their size. An analysis of medieval horse armour located in the