Destrier (from which the Modern English spelling derives). The word is also found in medieval Provençal (as "destrier") and Italian (as "destriere", "destriero"). These forms themselves derived from the Vulgar Latin "equus dextarius", meaning "right-sided horse" (from "dextra", "right hand", the same root as "dexterous" and "dexterity"). This may refer to it being led by the squire at the knight's right side (or led by the right hand) or to the horse's gait, (possibly leading with the right). The word "destrier" does not refer to a breed, but to a "type" of horse: the finest and strongest warhorse. These horses were
Young Knight in a Landscape overpainted. The realism and detail of Carpaccio does in fact show Northern influence. The painting shows a young knight, surrounded by a rather crowded series of symbols. The heron caught in the sky by a hawk might hint at this knight's death in battle, also alluded to by his posture, which recalls that of a funerary statue; an alternative theory is that this is a memorial portrait of a person already dead. The other knight with a lance might then be the same person during his life. In the left lower corner is a white ermine and a scroll stating