Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Cavalry
(1,492 words)

1. General considerations

While the early modern infantry developed as a weapon against late-medievalknight contingents, the cavalry stood in the latter’s tradition. As a weapon type of the land combat forces it gave force to the (Clausewitzian) “principle of movement” of the army campaigns, by carrying out its marches and combats on horseback (Horse) (Ital. cavallo, hence cavalleria; Ger. first "Haufen zu…

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Kloosterhuis, Jürgen, “Cavalry”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_022077>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20160907



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