Did the Huns have stirrups in 461 CE?

Question

The Huns were horse archers, but the stirrup was not used in Europe in the 5th century - or was it?

Answer 1

As noted both the Avar and Huns are credited for introducing the stirrup tp Europe although it was not widely adopted until later. Sometimes innovations take a while to become the norm.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/asia/huns/
""""""""''Who Were the Huns?: The Huns were a group of nomadic (roaming) herdsmen, warlike people from the steppes (grasslands) of North Central Asia north of China (Mongolia) who terrorized, pillaged, and destroyed much of Asia and Europe from the 3rd through 5th centuries. The use of the stirrup gave the Huns a technological advantage over other warriors of the time. Stirrups are loops hung from a saddle that support a horse rider's feet; these let the Huns brace themselves on their horses while wielding swords or shooting arrows"""

http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/oldwrld/armies/stirrups.html
"""""Invaders from Central Asia, such as the Huns, brought the stirrup to Europe, where it seems to have been valued as much for aiding in mounting as for stabilising a rider in the saddle. In fact, the words for stirrup in Old High German, Old Saxon, and Old English are all derived from words for climbing. When used with the contoured saddle, stirrups afforded a mounted warrior considerable stability, thereby allowing him to deal powerful blows with a sword, axe, mace, or lance. When using the lance in the couched position*, a mounted man could deliver a blow whose energy was derived from the force of the charging horse. But how often this was done outside of tournament jousts is difficult to say, as the Bayeaux Tapestry from c. 1080 shows mounted Normans and English hurling spears and lances at each other, rather than charging home with their weapons couched. """

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/07/0711_russiatombs.html
"""''Known as the Huns of Asia, the Xiongnu (or Hsiung-nu) were fierce warriors. They were among the first to use a stirrup as they rode into battle on harnessed horses, shooting arrows and spears—a style of warfare that enabled them to easily defeat Chinese armies who fought in chariots and on foot. """

Peace.......................

Answer 2

We don't know for certain because there is no actual literary evidence by the Romans (the chief historians of the Huns) regarding the use of stirrups. It's popularly thought they had them because the Huns were horseback archers, but it is not necessarily a requirement to have stirrups in order to shoot arrows.

The Avars (related to the Huns) are the first recorded people to bring the stirrup into Europe in the 7th cent. AD.

Answer 3

Yes...an ancient form of stirrup was used by many different ancient societies...at least the ones who had the use of horses. [ie: India 500 BCE; 'Huns' (now 'Hungarians', under Atilla), 5th C. CE; Sweden in the 6th C. CE; China, approx. 4th C. CE] etc.
They weren't used in Western Europe until the 8th C. CE., [accept when referencing the Romans, who did use a form of stirrup]... The Sarmatians, [one of a large tribe of Scythians, (who later became known as 'Russians' or 'slavs')], also used the stirrup and were 'drafted' by the Romans into their military because of their expertise in horsemanship in battle.
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