steeds and also as diplomatic gifts to forge alliances and demonstrate Habsburg power." The recipients of these bards included Sigismund I the Old, who was presented with "two coursers all covered with steel to the fetlocks and the belly, save in the spurring place". Another case was Henry VIII's so-called Burgundian bard. When the parts are interchangeable, parts of different bards can be mixed to create a full bard. Maximilian seemed to have reattached this bard's imperial eagle cruppers from the bard made fore Frederick III (and crafted by Helmschmìed and Seusenhofer, as shown in the image above) to parts from other bards for a procession in Strasbourg on 31 August 1492, described by the Venetian diplomat Andrea Franceschi as “horse armored from head to foot – an extremely glittering sight!”. According Franceschi's letter, "the animal’s breast was emblazoned with two griffins and on each of its flanks was the imperial eagle." Cataphract A cataphract was a cavalryman in full armour riding an (partially or fully) armoured horse. This type of cavalry originated from central Asia and was adopted by the eastern satrapies of the ancient Persian Empire. The Seleucid cataphract used scale armour for its flexibility and effective protection against archers and also because unlike regular metal types, it was not too heavy for the horses. See also Horses in the Middle Ages Horses in warfare Destrier Courser (horse) War elephant Notes References Broughton, Branford B. Dictionary of Medieval Knighthood and Chivalry: Concepts and Terms, (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1986). Mondadore, Arnoldo, ed. The Complete Encyclopedia of Arms & Weapons, (New York:Simon & Schuster, 1979). Stone, George Cameron (1934). A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times, Mineola: Dover Publications. External links Overview of Bards images of barding from period documents Animal armour Medieval armour Horse protective equipment