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The October Horse sacrifice is part of a complex of meanings surrounding equine mutilation in Europe.<ref>Miller, "'Tails' of Masculinity," p. 970–971.</ref> It appears notably in the [[medieval Welsh literature|medieval Welsh]] narrative of ''[[Branwen ferch Llŷr|Branwen]]'' when Efnisien, one of a set of twins, mutilates the horses of the King of Ireland, including cutting "their tails to their backs." A similar act of horse disfigurement as an insult occurs in the Old Icelandic [[Hrólfs saga kraka|saga of Hrólf Kraki]].<ref>Malcolm Jones, "Saints and Other Horse Mutilators," ''Fauna and Flora in the Middle Ages: Studies of the Medieval Environment and Its Impact on the Human Mind'' [=''Beihefte zur Mediaevistik'' 8], papers delivered at the International Medieval Congress, Leeds, 2000–2002 (Frankfurt, 2007), n.p.</ref>
In the medieval period, the actual docking of the tail of a knight's horse carried a message of emasculation, defamation, and domination.<ref>Miller, "'Tails' of Masculinity," pp. 958–959 ''et passim''.</ref>
In one of the most striking incidents, on [[Christmas Eve]] 1170, four days before [[Thomas Becket]] was martyred, an enemy cut off the tail of one of his horses and taunted him with it as a threat.<ref>Miller, "'Tails' of Masculinity," p. 958.</ref> On the Becket altarpiece of Hamburg, one of two known medieval depictions of the scene, the mutilator makes a phallic gesture with the horse's tail.<ref>Miller, "'Tails' of Masculinity," pp. 994–995.</ref> A legend then arose that the descendants of the perpetrator grew tails and earned the insulting nickname ''caudati'', the "tailed ones," which spread to attach itself to all [[Kent|Kentishmen]]; Greek-speaking Sicilians hurled the insult at the English generally in an incident during [[Third Crusade|Richard the First's crusade]] (1198–92).<ref>Miller, "'Tails' of Masculinity," p. 960.</ref>
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