Christopher Gravett est un historien britannique spécialiste de l'histoire militaire du Moyen Âge, particulièrement les armes et les armures. Gravett a écrit un certain nombre de livres et agit comme conseiller pour les projets cinématographiques et télévisuels. Il est conservateur en chef au Royal Armouries, Tower of London.
Roger of Hoveden, who died about 1201, wrote:
"No athlete can fight tenaciously who has never received any blows: he must see his blood flows and hear his teeth crack under the fist of his adversary, and when he is thrown to the ground he must fight on with all his might and not lose courage...Anyone who can do that can engage battle confidently."
Boys were taught to ride at an early age. The Carolingian comment: 'You can make a horseman of a lad at puberty, after that, never ', was echoed by the remark: 'He who has stayed at school till the age of twelve, and never ridden a horse, is fit only to be a priest.'