Gothic Cavalry

This heavy cavalry is generally armed with spear or sword, making them equally fearsome in close combat.

The use of cavalry forces by the Goths was probably a heritage of the period spent living with the peoples of the steppes when they settled north of the Black Sea in present-day Ukraine. The Gothic cavalry was made famous by the Battle of Adrianople (378) when they destroyed Emperor Valens’ Roman legions. In a clever maneuver they surrounded the enemy, managing to strike down Valens and most of the elite Roman units. This battle was a major turning point for the Romans, who from that time on would integrate many “barbarian” troops within their armies, particularly Goths, who were still basking in the glory of this great victory. Several historians have also pointed out a change in European military tactics: the end of the infantry’s predominance in favor of cavalry forces, which reigned over the battlefields of the medieval period.