It is sometimes erroneously claimed that medieval knights, weighed down in their plate armour, could only mount horses with the aid of some mechanical device. This myth is found not only in some popular accounts of the Middle Ages but is also in the works of modern academics. It has been repeatedly claimed that it originated in the work of Mark Twain. However, even this is nothing but another myth in itself. A further re-examination of written and other sources demonstrates the idea can be traced back to earlier satirical reports of the mid-19th century. Although these are the earliest known references to an armoured figure being ‘hoisted’ so far discovered it would appear that later publications, as well as plays and films, using the idea, allowed it to blossom into an, apparently, accepted ‘historical fact’. This article attempts to trace the history and development of this myth.

有时人们错误地声称，中世纪的骑士身披板甲，只能借助某种机械装置来骑马。这个神话不仅存在于中世纪的一些流行叙述中，而且也存在于现代学者的著作中。一再声称它起源于马克吐温的作品。然而，即使这也不过是另一个神话。对书面和其他来源的进一步重新检查表明，这个想法可以追溯到 19 世纪中叶的早期讽刺报道。尽管这些是迄今为止已知最早的有关“被吊起”的装甲人物的参考资料，但似乎后来的出版物以及戏剧和电影都使用了这个想法，让它发展成为一个显然被接受的“历史事实” .