![]() The authors of the sixteenth century, and later, are unanimous on this. In contrast to a fairly widespread belief, these exercises had an aesthetic, rather than military purpose. These exercises were primarily what today we call “school jumps” or “airs above the ground.” On these occasions, as well as during the pageantry that preceded the fighting in jousts and tournaments, horses and riders performed exercises designed to show to the bystander the energy of the animal and the courage and skill of the rider. It is no coincidence that some of the pages of the first equestrian treatise ever printed, Gli ordini di cavalcare (The Orders of riding 1550) by Federico Grisone, were devoted to how to present a horse in the presence of a prince or a king. Equitation was also an integral part of the rituals of the courts. With the horse’s strength and elegance and the splendor of his trappings, he contributed to make the nobility shine before common people during public cavalcades and feasts. The horse held an essential symbolic function in defining the identity of the aristocratic classes and played a central role in most public events. In the late Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, horseback riding had a strong social importance. Techniques Biagio d’Antonio Tucci, The Triumph of Camillus (detail), 1470-1475,
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