By Miriam A. Bibby, PhD, FSA Scot, FRHistS
What do you visualise when you hear the word marshal? For many it will be an image of a man in a shiny badge and a cowboy hat, locking up a prisoner behind bars in an old-fashioned jail. In other words, a sheriff, an officer of the law in the USA. Or perhaps an image of a field marshal in an armoured car surveying the battlefield comes to mind.
The origin of the term marshal (and its alternative, marshall) is all to do with horse care and management. It comes from two words in old German: marha and scalc. The first word means horse (related to our word mare) and the second means servant. A marshal was originally a stable boy or groom, someone who worked with horses – quite a lowly but essential job in the days when everyone depended on horses for transport, warfare, and carrying goods.
The word came into the English language via the Normans. Maréchal is the equivalent in modern French. Similar words still exist in many modern European languages, including maarschalk in Dutch, meaning a chief commander in the military. It also became a family name. William Marshall, knight, and senior adviser to three English kings during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, was one of the best-known members of the Marshall family.
Woman farrier or marshal making shoes. Image from the Holkham Bible.
From its humble origins indicating a groom or stable boy, marshal became a title with high status, given to men who were responsible for looking after the horses of kings, knights, and the aristocracy. They were trusted and trustworthy workers, often of knightly status themselves. In the days before a veterinary profession existed, these officers, many of whom were knowledgeable about shoeing horses, were the equivalent of vets. The role of equine footcare and healthcare was usually combined, and today the French use the term maréchal-ferrant, in other words marshal-farrier, for the professionals we know as farriers.
One of the first truisms any horse-keeper learns is “no foot, no horse”. A horse that is lame can’t be used for any activity and is also likely to be suffering discomfort and pain, two things we want to prevent and treat medically when necessary. It's understandable that the footcare aspect of the responsibilities of marshals would be so important in mediaeval times.
This means it is also a well-documented area. Even when people named Marshall rose to the aristocracy, they kept reminders of the origins of their name. In the thirteenth century, Walter Marshall the seventh Earl of Pembroke had an official seal with a horseshoe and nails on it. By later mediaeval times, the head of the College of Heralds was known as the Earl Marshal, and his role included directing the processions and rituals of coronations, in which horses played an actual and symbolic part.
During the reign of Henry III, the prestigious role of King’s Marshal, or the Marshal of the King’s Horses, was created. Eventually this would develop into an equally important post: Master of the King’s Horse. Whether Marshalls in name or marshals by profession, their presence in documents is a reminder of the importance of horses in every aspect of life and the economy.
We even know how much it cost to shoe a horse. In the reign of King Edward I, for shoeing a horse with a “common shoe with six nails” the marshal-farrier was paid 1½d. (a penny halfpenny, or one and a half denier, a sum so small it would not register in coinage today!). If he used eight nails, it cost 2d. per shoe (two old pennies, tuppence, or two deniers). It cost ½d. (one halfpenny or ha’penny or ½ denier) to remove a shoe. Warhorses were a bit more expensive at 3d. (threepence or thruppence) per shoe and it cost more to remove their shoes, too, at 1d. Coursers, which were a fast type of horse mainly used for hunting, cost 2½d. per shoe.
We don’t know exactly when horseshoes began to be used. The Romans had used a type of iron covering laced onto the feet of horses and mules. These were known as hipposandals. Under Norman rulers, shoeing horses with nails became the standard. Those who shod horses were under the protection of various saints, including Eligius (also known as St Loy) and Saint Dunstan. Saint Loy was credited with the ability to remove a horse’s leg to shoe it more easily, and then put it back on. Saint Dunstan was credited with nipping the devil’s nose with hot tongs!
St Eligius, also known as St Loy, with an unusual way to shoe a difficult horse.
By 1356, the importance of the marshals was recognised when a trade association called the Marshals of the City of London was established. This put them on a footing with other important trades and guilds. Sadly, the documents of this company were lost in 1666 during the Great Fire of London so we don’t know the details of their work. However, this organisation laid the foundations for later professional bodies such as the Worshipful Company of Farriers. It also, in its way, made possible the existence of professional veterinary colleges when the two professions – equid footcare and equid healthcare – finally diverged in the eighteenth century. When the Royal Veterinary College was set up in that century, horses provided much of the focus for the college’s practitioners.
One family played a particularly important part in farriery, and at a high level. These were the Snapes, who over several generations were farriers to the Stuart monarchs. They were instrumental in setting up the Worshipful Company of Farriers in 1673. In terms of income, this was a wealthy career; the craftsmen of the WCF at this time were worth £100 at least, and up to £1,000 at best, a good amount of money at that time. Like all farriers, they will surely have earned it! It is not a job for the faint-hearted. They not only shod horses, but also provided general equine healthcare advice and treatment.
Most of the people who had the title of Marshal or Farrier were men. However, one of the interesting aspects of the development of equine footcare and healthcare is that women did play an important part in it. In mediaeval times there are references to two women called Juliana and Maud, both called La Mareschale. Women are listed as Freemen and also Masters of the Worshipful Company of Farriers. Some were widows of Masters of the Company, but they certainly knew the trade too. As Masters, they were able to train apprentices, and some of their apprentices were women. Now that many more women are training and practising as veterinary surgeons, it’s good to remember that they have long been part of the equine healthcare profession. Above: Seal of Gloucester Corporation of the date of Edward I showing horseshoes and nails.
Miriam A. Bibby, PhD, FSA Scot, FRHistS, is a writer, historian and broadcaster specialising in the history of the horse, particularly the horse in northern England and Scotland. Miriam has worked as an academic and journal editor and in heritage management. She has written, edited and contributed to several books. She is co-editor of Cheiron, the International Journal of Equine and Equestrian History. Miriam currently has three Fell ponies, a black and white cob, a cat named Oscar and a terrier named Rocky.
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