Practical Advice on Equine Care from Jordanus Rufus, c. 1250 CE
Practical Advice on Equine Care from Jordanus Rufus, c. 1250 CE

Author(s): Jennifer Jobst
Subject(s): History, Middle Ages, 13th to 14th Centuries
Published by: Trivent Publishing
Keywords: Jordanus Rufus; horse care; hippiatric treatises; medieval veterinary medicine
Summary/Abstract: While ostensibly a book on veterinary medicine for horses, the highly influential De medicina equorum by Jordanus Rufus (c. 1250), also provides insight into horse care and training practices in the mid-thirteenth century. This paper presents an English translation of Rufus’ work, based on Brigitte Prévot’s analysis of the early fourteenth century Paris BNF, MS Fr. 25341, the first Old French translation of the original Latin. The English translation allows us to compare Rufus’ practices to both ancient and modern horse care techniques, demonstrating both the strong oral tradition of horse care and training techniques, and how little both have changed in nearly 800 years.

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