Quote:
Originally Posted by ArmchairGeneral
I really don't know, but I think knights were more effective in massed charges than one on one, especially considering their warhorses were the direct ancestors of today's workhorses; not very fast, not very maneuverable. More of a heavy tank than a cruiser. Good for charging against a line of similar heavy cavalry, or crushing a line of infantry. Not especially good for single combat, outside of the lists.
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No no no no no no! There was no heavy cavalry charging into heavy cavalry. That never happened, or if it did, then rarely and by accident. Heavy cavalry is an offensive weapon, used sparingly because of how grave it would be if a lot were lost.
They were usually held back until some kind of line was established, maybe the enemy was being throw of balance a little at first, an only then would they charge in for the coup de grace. There was no Exacalibur-like scenes of two heavy cavalry opposing forces just smashing into each other, that is myth. It would be too wasteful. They were used to break infantry lines, and there were rarely a lot of them.
Its just too costly to risk them otherwise. Look at what happened at Crecy when heavy cav. charged senselessly and ended up taking really rough casualties. Nearly all of the French nobility was slaughtered! An upheaval in the social order of a good part of Western Europe.