FIG. 16.
FIG. 16A.
In the Bomberg Dom we find an equestrian statue, not unknown in the history of art, which was formerly held to be that of Emperor Conrad III. At present however the opinion prevails generally that it represents "Stephen I., den Heiligen" (Stephen I., the Saint).
Stephen I., the first king of Hungary, formerly was a heathen, and was named "Najk." He reigned from 997 to 1038. His important events were the many victorious wars led against rebellious chieftains of his country, and he was canonized in 1087. His equestrian monument in Bomberg Dom was, in consequence, hardly made before the year 1087. Notwithstanding that the Huns had been defeated 500 years before on the plains of Catalania, the horse of the above mentioned monument carries, as I have convinced myself personally, Hunish horseshoes, modified, however, by blade-shaped calks just then coming into use. This is proof that, at least in Hungary, the Hunish method of shoeing was preserved an extraordinary long time. By this it has not become improbable that at least the many shoes of this kind which were found on the Lechfield come, not directly from the Huns, but from their successors, the Hungarians, whose invasions took place in the first half of the tenth century.
About the same time of the Hungarian invasions, the Normans began to disturb the southwestern part of Europe with their Viking expeditions. Their sea kings seem to have been equestrians at very early times, and to have had their horses shod, although perhaps only in winter; at least the excavation of the Viking ship in 1881 disclosed the remains of a horse which was shod. The shoeing consisted only of a toe protection—"Brodder" (Bruder, Brother)—provided with a small sharp calk, and fastened by two nails.
When later, in the year 1130, the Norwegian king Sigard Yorsalafar, during his journey to Jerusalem, entered Constantinople, his horse is said to have carried only the small toe-protecting shoes.
The art of horseshoeing, immediately after the migration of the nations, came near our improvement of the same to-day; especially near the reputed discoveries met with, which consist simply of iron protection for the margin of the hoof, fastened by nails. The heads were sunk into the shoe so as to increase its firmness. Special consideration was given to local and climatic conditions through the introduction of toes and heels.
The mechanism of the hoof also found remarkable consideration, inasmuch as they apparently avoided driving nails too close to the heel end of the shoe. Notwithstanding this early improvement in the art of horseshoeing, the Huns (as stated before) took a prominent part. It appears to have taken a long time after the migration of the nations for shoeing to become general, as is shown by various descriptions of tournaments, pictures of horses, etc.