We saw a great big opossum in our yard the other morning, hoovering up some oyster crackers that I'd thrown out there. Enlarge him to cow size, put a saddle over his shoulders, and he'd be a great steed for your fantasy characters!


Tempting eh? Especially if your crit group has dinged you for unrealistic horse details. I mean, little, tiny, minor details!

Still, I can't see my hot male protag riding a possum, so I guess I'd better stick with horses.

pic

Here's a pic of two people on a horse. It's a detail from a page of a treatise on vices, by a Genoese follower of Pisanello, circa 1380-1400, collection of the British Library; reprinted from Pisanello: Painter to the Renaissance Court, by Luke Syson and Dillian Gordon.

The VP forum has had a discussion on knights abducting ladies, and how they would both fit on a horse. Rather than clog up the forum with my lengthy two cents, I put it ( back here. )
Has anyone ever seen a medieval period picture showing two people on one horse? That would resolve the question... but I have a feeling a pic like that would be hard to find.

Music: Medieval Harp: Four Italian Dances

(added 12/31 - gah, format of this entry got screwed up somehow between yesterday and today. Sorry. I fixed it; hope it stays right this time.)