Horse in Majesty

WRITTEN IN FRENCH

« The noblest conquest that man has ever made is that of this proud and fiery animal who shares with him the fatigues of war and the glory of battle; he also shares his pleasures, in hunting, in tournaments, in running, he shines, he sparkles. ». The memorable opening of Buffon's great text celebrates the intimate and lasting communion that binds horse to man. Supporting the various evolutions of Western civilization, but also its imagination, the horse is, in all eras, a mirror of its Time, a double of the man it accompanies in its conquest of the world.

Bringing together seventy-four international authors of reference in each discipline, privileging renewed themes nourished by studies and works of art that are often unpublished, this book explores the subject in its multiple dimensions: political, diplomatic, academic, artistic, military, scientific, spectacular, real or mythical. It endeavours to highlight the extraordinary richness of equestrian civilisation in Europe, from the dawn of modern times when a profound upheaval in the place and uses of the horse in civil and military society took place, until the eve of the First World War.

Exhibition "Horse in Majesty. At the Heart of a Civilisation", presented at the Château de Versailles between 2 July and 3 November 2024.

French
584 pages / 500 illustrations

Co-publishing Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon / Lienart éditions