Origins of the True Stirrup
Jessica Hemming
Origins
In this section we will be concerned primarily with the origins of the true stirrup—made of iron, set in pairs, and capable of supporting the full weight of a rider. At various times and in various places, stirrup-like items of horse equipment, made of leather or rope or wood, have been used to aid mounting (in which case only one is needed) or to provide some basic rest for the feet. Some of these constructions are simple loops in which to place the big toe (obviously, the rider must be barefoot); others are open platforms. Both kinds of supports are known from parts of India from at least the 1stand 2nd centuries CE. It is likely that they also existed elsewhere and earlier. The modern terms stirrup in English and étrier in French both derive from Germanic words for ropes or leather straps, suggesting simple mounting aids in perishable materials (Old English stigrāp “climbing rope,” a combination of stigan “to climb” plus rāp “rope”; Old French estr(i)eu from Frankish *streup).[1]
The iron stirrup is another matter. From a technological point of view, its prerequisites are (1) sophisticated metalworking techniques that produce a quality of iron that stands up well to stress and (2) a robust saddle with a wooden framework inside it called a “tree.” While it may seem obvious that only a culture that rides horses extensively would invent stirrups, it must be observed that a great many equestrian cultures managed very well without them for centuries. In fact, the greater a rider’s skill, the less need he or she has for the assistance of stirrups. This creates something of a paradox in the search for the peoples responsible for their invention.
The earliest firm evidence for stirrups comes from China and adjacent parts of Korea: a ceramic figurine of a riderless, saddled horse with paired stirrups was unearthed near Nanjing and has been dated to c.322 CE; actual sets of stirrups have been found in several graves of the 4th and early 5th centuries, although these all seem to have been made of composites of wood with metal plating (mostly bronze, which is not as strong as iron).[2] By the 5th century stirrups appear to have become widespread over the entire the region, most likely including Japan as well.
However, in their adoption of cavalry more generally, the Chinese had been profoundly influenced by the nomadic cultures of the Eurasian steppe with whom they came into regular contact (and conflict) particularly to the north and north-west. The steppe peoples were supreme equestrians; they were also highly mobile and interacted with all the ancient, settled civilizations that bordered the steppe zone. At various times such groups actually replaced—at least temporarily—the ruling elites in some of these great civilizations (this happened, for example, in Korea, China, and Persia, and then later in northern India and on the Anatolian Peninsula).[3] Remarkably, ancient Chinese records indicate that an