Paper short abstract:

The practice of attributing proper names to equids, which is documented throughout the Portuguese medieval period, associated with the medieval belief that horses were not perceived to recognise a name as such, raised a question: Why call them by name, if they supposedly did not understand it?

Paper long abstract:

Our intention with this poster is to show the logic behind the attribution of proper names to equids. This practice, which is clearly documented throughout the Portuguese medieval period, associated with the medieval belief that horses were not perceived to recognise a name as such, raised a question that serves as the starting point for the analysis we intend to present: Why call them by name, if they supposedly did not understand it? Based on a hitherto unpublished source compiled during the reign of King Manuel I of Portugal (1495-1521), exhaustive in detail and information about the equines in the royal stables, we have identified and substantiated seven different logical templates for giving an equine a proper name. From these, we have concluded that this practice of naming animals shows us, on the one hand, the imminently practical nature of identifying/distinguishing a particular equine and, on the other, a possible attempt to grant them some individuality, based on the affective bond between man and animal and, perhaps, even a certain anthropomorphisation of particular equids.

Paper Download (1.1 MB)