destrier
/ˈdɛstrɪə
/ /dɛˈstriːə /noun
A medieval knight’s warhorse.In her ground-breaking work on the medieval warhorse, Ann Hyland notes the importance of ‘destriers [warhorses], coursers, rounceys, palfrey and packhorses’....
- As to your comment about horses, there were all different sizes - knights and kings typically rode the massive destriers, but their pages and attendants frequently rode the smaller palfreys.
- However, the one demonstration he excelled at was portraying a knight's destrier (the Latin term for a warhorse).
Origin
Middle English: from Old French, based on Latin dextera 'the right hand', from dexter 'on the right' (because the squire led the knight's horse with his right hand).