The Importance of Cavalry in Feudal armies.

>>2501853
i don't know shit about the middle ages compared to roman history

but i CAN tell you that Rome absolutely influenced dark age-middle ages army composition/equipment broadly. so cavalry were likely the most important element, but then again would be nothing without a large group of spearmen to fall back to or rally behind

The Normans pioneered heavy cavalry and managed to take England, Sicily and crusade around in the late 11th century, swinging far above their weight like their viking ancestors.

The golden age was the 12th century, knights faced few threats on the battlefield, were given land to support them and held significant political power, this is when books on King Arthur and chivalry arose.

In the 13th century they faced calamity at the hands of Saladin, Mongols, crossbows and schiltrons and their role declined.

By the 14th century and into the 15th, hired men at arms made up the bulk of well equipped soldiers accompanying knights who were now more an officer class, also the longbow became prominent.

In the early 16th century there was still a need for armored cavalry but these were all but hired like the gendarmes and without any special status.

>>2502342

>The golden age was the 12th century

what about Sirmium? and if anything at least in Hungary's case they proved very important in countering the Mongols.

>>2502878
>Sirmium
Byzantium had heavy cavalry too.

>Mohi
The knights were slaughtered and the Mongols suffered most casualties from crossbows. They complained in the secret history of the Mongols that they didn't get any loot (because of castles).

>>2501853
They relied on them to provide manpower first and foremost for all sorts of things - battles being comparatively rare to begin with. It had a lot to do with their politics, with most everything else a secondary consideration. As the Carolingian Frankish empire deteriorated and broke apart, the tribal levy of all able-bodied Franks was discontinued in order to keep weapons out of the hands of commoners who were increasingly styling themselves as Franks. So aristocratic households and their servants took over and were given lands in order to support themselves in return for loyal service to another house. Cavalry was the domain of the noble in Germanic and Roman military tradition, so over time that's what many of these households preferred to fight as.

>>2501853
Specify a period and take this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Army_of_Hungary