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 "I prefer to die rather than to incur dishonour" ("malo mori quam foedari"). The symbolism of these and the other animals and plants have been much discussed by art historians. For centuries the identity of the knight has been a subject of discussion among the most renowned art historians, including Bernard Berenson and Lionello Venturi. The portrait is now considered most likely to show Francesco Maria I della Rovere, the Duke of Urbino and nephew of Pope Julius II, during whose reign it was painted. Nevertheless, a more recent interpretation identifies the knight as the Venetian patrician Marco Gabriel, who