Death in the dunes. The case of disastrous charge of military orders at la Forbie (ad 1244)

Radosław Andrzej Gawroński

doi:10.21697/sc.2025.32.1.2

Published: 2025-05-19

Vol. 32 No. 1 (2025)

Death in the dunes. The case of disastrous charge of military orders at la Forbie (ad 1244)

Radosław Andrzej Gawroński

Saeculum Christianum. Historical Writings

Section: Rozprawy i Artykuły

https://doi.org/10.21697/sc.2025.32.1.2

Abstract

Using the battle of La Forbie as an example, the author investigates how European knights responded to the feigned retreat tactics of Muslim horse archers. The study utilises speed data from modern horse breeds and knightly cavalry performance data derived from Renaissance-era Italian horse training manuals to interpret surviving written accounts. By noting that horse biomechanics have remained largely unchanged over the centuries, with the speed of an animal being influenced by limb length, the author proposes a novel method for analysing battle dynamics. Simulations of cavalry movements indicate that the defeat at La Forbie was largely caused by the necessity of charging through deep dunes.

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Gawroński, R. A. (2025). Death in the dunes. The case of disastrous charge of military orders at la Forbie (ad 1244). Saeculum Christianum. Historical Writings, 32(1), 16–29. https://doi.org/10.21697/sc.2025.32.1.2

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Radosław Andrzej Gawroński

r.gawronski@uksw.edu.pl

Affiliation:

Institute of Archaeology, University of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński in Warsaw Poland

Bio Statement (e.g., department and rank)

Radosław Andrzej Gawroński PhD, archaeologist, specializing in military history, Roman and barbarian archaeology, university professor at the Institute of Archeology of the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw.