Rouncey Rouncey The term rouncey (also spelt rouncy or rounsey) was used during the Middle Ages to refer to an ordinary, all-purpose horse. They were used for riding, but could also be trained for war. It was not unknown for them to be used as pack horses. While the destrier is the most well-known warhorse of the Medieval era, it was the least common, and coursers were often preferred for hard battles. Both were expensive, highly trained horses prized by knights and nobles, and the poorer knight, squire or man-at-arms would use a rouncey for fighting. A wealthy knight would provide
Vision of a Knight (Raphael) choose between Virtue (behind whom is a steep and rocky path) and Pleasure (in looser robes). However, the two feminine figures are not presented as contestants. They may represent the ideal attributes of the knight: the book, sword and flower which they hold suggest the ideals of scholar, soldier and lover which a knight should combine. The most likely source for the allegory depicted is from a passage in the Punica, an epic poem recounting the Second Punic War by the Latin poet Silius Italicus. The panel was moved to England by William Young Ottley in 1800. Raphael used an