Noble Steeds I: Ancient and Medieval Quiz

Answer: Darius

Upon the death of Smerdis, there were seven contenders for the throne of Persia (late sixth century BC). According to legend, they agreed to meet at a certain location at dawn, and he whose horse first whinnied would become king. Darius' groom Oebares came up with a cunning plan.

In one version, he brought Darius' horse to the same location the night previous for a tryst with a {mare;} in another version, he rubbed his hand and arm on the genitals of a mare in heat. In any event, either from erotic memory or olfactory stimulation, Darius' was the first horse to give voice, ensuring Darius the throne.

This story is not as far-fetched as it {sounds;} among the Mongol peoples of the Eurasian steppes, it is said that an ancient means of selecting a chief was to see whose mount whinnied first at the rising sun.

Many ancient tribal peoples have engaged in forms of horse-worship which would make this methodology seem less arbitrary than it does to us moderns.

Answer: Wuzhuima

King and horse loved each other dearly, and it is said that after Xiang Yu's defeat at the hands of his old enemy Liu Bang, he wanted only to prevent his concubine and his horse from falling into enemy hands. When the king attempted to send the horse away on a soldier's raft, rather than permit itself to be separated from its master, the horse flung itself into the river to drown.

The concubine, similarly, committed suicide. This all happened in the late third century BCE.

Answer: Bucephalus

A merchant from Thessaly offered to sell the big horse to Alexander's father Philip, but Philip was on the verge of refusing the deal due to the horse's seemingly untamable nature when young Alexander piped up that he could tame the horse. Alexander had observed that the horse was so obstreperous because it was afraid, among other things spooking at its own shadow.

The stripling held the horse so that it could not see its own shadow, calmed it, and within minutes was able to ride it. He named it Bucephalus -- 'ox-head' -- because it was as big as a bull. By all accounts Alexander truly loved the animal, and wept when it was killed in battle.

After he had conquered the entire Mediterranean world, Alexander founded and named the city Bucephala to commemorate the horse's noble deeds forever.

Answer: Incitatus

The Roman emperor Caligula ('Little Boots' in {Latin;} the cognomen was given him as a result of having been dressed in a miniature legionnaire's uniform as a child), certainly loved his racehorse Incitatus ('Flyer' in Latin, so named for his speed), and gave him an ivory stable and a golden drinking vessel, among other excesses.

However, it is not known for certain that Incitatus was actually made a consul, although it is recorded that the subject was raised by the emperor (perhaps in jest and perhaps not).

Answer: Guan Yu's Chitu

Guan Yu was a general in China's famous third century 'Three Kingdoms' period. Chitu ('Red Hare') was a gift from his fellow general Cao-Cao. The big red stallion was by all accounts a magnificent beast, and well attached to his master. The horse achieved such renown that it was later worshipped as a divine being in some parts of China.

Answer: Shabdiz

Khosrow (late sixth to early seventh century) is said to have liked only three things in life: his wife Shirin, his huge charger Shabdiz, and the singer Barbad, who could sing for a year without repeating himself. It is not known whether he liked them all for the same reasons.

Answer: white

Various names are given in various sources for the mule 'so white as milk' that the prophet rode everywhere, but the Koran -- the only authoritative source -- provides no name. It is said that the mule was one of the prophets only possessions at his death, along with his arms and a single piece of land, which was left to charity.

Answer: Blanchard

According to Bullfinch, when Charlemagne has Ogier the Dane imprisoned, Ogier's gigantic horse Beiffror was given to the Abbot of Saint Faron. Later, when Ogier was pardoned, a horse was sought for {him;} he tried every horse in the emperor's stable EXCEPT Charlemagne's own charger Blanchard, but none could bear his weight, so Beiffror was returned to him.

Answer: Freyfaxi

Hrafnkell was a priest of Frey, and had dedicated half of his horse to the god, hence the name, meaning 'Frey-mane.'

Answer: Fauvel

Not much has been written about the stallion Fauvel. About a century after Richard's death, the 'Roman de Fauvel' appeared, its hero a horse or donkey named Fauvel, the name understood as an acronym for six vices (in French, with U and V considered interchangeable in medieval orthography): Flattery, Avarice, Villainy, Velleity, Envy, and Cowardice (Lachete).

But I don't know why I am telling you this, since there doesn't appear to be any connection.