Folia archeologica 52.

Vörös István: Ló az Árpád-kori Magyarországon

216 VÖRÖS ISTV ÁN 141-142.). Due to the hard frost, in the spring of 1242 in Hungary '[...] the lean soil could not supply enough food even for the tough, enduring Tartarian horse accustomed to hardship

' (PAULER 1899, II. 183.). Kajdanus arrived only with a part of his army to Spalato, 'because for all of his cavalry, the grass would not be enough, being the beginning of March and hard frost most of the time

' (Spalato 39., in.: TE. 189.). Johannes de Piano Carpini (-1252) wrote in 1247, that when they reached the limits of the land of the Tartars, they left their own horses behind because 'their own horses were unable to scrape out the grass from under the high snow, [...] and the Tartars have no hay, no straw and no fodder'. During their journey, they were given fresh Tartar horses three-four times a day. Crossing the land of the Cumanians they would change horses live-seven times, with the exception of crossing a wilderness, when 'they received better and stronger horses who could endure the strained service' (NKF. 1965. IX.

5. 93-94., IX.21. 98.).' AN OUTLOOK ON LATER PERIODS OF HUNGARIAN HORSE HUSBANDRY According to a Polish description by the end of the Árpád-Dynasty period, 1308 'the horses of the Hungarians (as well as the Cumanians mentioned together in the chronicle) are small, strong and fast. The horses of the honourable and the nobles (principes et nobilis) are large and beautiful' (BOROSY 1962, 154, 139. footnote). During the reign of King Lajos (Lewis) the Great, the 'berber-ЫоосГ

, and Italian horses 'ennobled with Old-Castiglian blood' could get into Hungary (Hankó 1936. 181.). Bertrandon de la Brocquiére used to stay in Hungary during the years 1432/33. He wrote, that between Kecskemét and Pest, 'many horse breeding run into one another, [...] the horses live like wild beasts, completely free'

. 'Most of them originate from the Transylvanian Mountains covering the borders of Hungary. [...] almost all of them are good riding horses. Their drawback, however, that they are sort of rusty and can be shoed with difficulty'. The large horse - 'equus magnus' appeared in Hungary only by the beginning of the 15th century (1428.). Äccording to the description of Miklós Oláh, on the territory of 16

T

H century Hungary horses were raised on the meadow of the Cumanians and 'the horses are excellent, fast and of apparent beauty; the ones raised in Transylvania, Sekler-land and the land of the Olahs are considered the best. Some of them even surpass the Turkish horses that are distinguished for their fast speed and beauty' (OLÁH 2000, 35, 47.). At the beginning of the 1 7

T

H century, Turkish/Arab horses were driven from Hungary to Germany and Spain (

ÉBER Í996, 57.). By the end of the 18th century, the itinerary of the English journeyman R. Townson commented on the eastern type Hungarian soldiers' horses and the common breed of Eastern peasant horses being very different. In the 19

1'

1 century, efforts were made to supply needs of the army by a stock of horses called 'remonda' (substitute for soldier/army) The basic types of the Hungarian stable are shown on Table 11. I he skeleton of the Csengele horse is the first complete skeleton of an Arab type horse known so far. More than halfa century ago, in 1936 at the Kecskemét City Museum there was another erected horse skeleton from the Migration Period, found at the Late Avar period cemetery at Gátér-Kisszállás, close to the city of Kecskemét. The skeleton was conserved and erected by Dr. Béla Nádaskay in 1905 (Fig. 8.). The skeleton belonged to a four years old small stallion with 127.0 cm withers height. Both of the skeletons were set on a so-called „internal frame", the trunk and the limbs are in perfect anatomical order, but the neck and the head protrude almost straight forward. István Vörös Translated by: Katalin T. Bíró