Work Out Like This Medieval Knight

Jean II Le Maingre, who was also known as Boucicaut, was a French knight and military leader in 15th-century France. He is well-known for his outstanding military skill and he was considered back then as the “embodiment of chivalry.” He was a man who always prepared his body (and probably his mind, too) for war.

Boucicaut traveled from Prussia to the Ottoman Empire, fighting in conflicts that helped define the map of medieval Europe. And he couldn’t have done so without a stringent, self-imposed exercise circuit, ideal for someone traipsing around in a clattering metal outfit.

And because he always made his body ready for battle, it wouldn’t be surprising if he did fitness feats that cannot be achieved by an average human being.

Boucicaut’s most astonishing fitness feat, though, was scaling a ladder while clad in his 60-pound suit of armor, taking each rung with both hands at the same time, without his feet to support him.

What was his workout like? Find out over at Atlas Obscura.

(Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons)