a better charger and steed

[Coffee Break]

Hello everyone. I encountered this expression, "a better charger and steed", but am struggling to understand it. Could you please let me know what it means in the following sentences:

[Max speaking] “Do I really complain all that much?” He was holding Clara’s hand.
[Clara speaking] “You always complained, Max.”
[Margo speaking] “But he complains even more now, all the time” came back old arthritic.
[Max speaking] “It’s the Jewish way. Clara, if I were younger,” he began, “if I were younger and had better knees and a better charger and steed—”

- André Aciman, Eight White Nights, Third Night

This is a novel published in the United States of America in 2010. This novel is narrated by the nameless male protagonist. The protagonist meets Clara at a Christmas party in Manhattan. Two days after the party, Clara came to the protagonist's house at 8 o'clock in the morning and drove him to her friend, who knows a lot about recorded music. His name is Max, who is the grandfather of Inky (Clara's ex-boyfriend and childhood friend). So together they talk in his house with his wife Margo.

Here, I wonder what the underlined expression means.
I looked the words up in the dictionary and found that "charger" can mean "a horse trained for battle" and "steed" can mean "a spirited horse", but I am not sure what those words mean in this context.

In case this might be helpful, in the sixth chapter (Sixth Night), there appears the same expression again:

Last night she’d lowered the collar of my turtleneck and kissed me there. Hands groping everywhere, all the while I’m reining in Sir Lochinvar, charger and steed, till we kissed by the blessed bakery of blessed memory. Happy, happy, happy hour.

I would very much appreciate your help.

 

[Ostap]

Yes, the second quote was helpful. In both cases, "steed and charger" refers to a single horse. In one case, it's an unspecified one; in the other, a specific one -- Sir Lochinvar.

 

[Coffee Break]

@Ostap,

Thank you very much for the explanation.
So "steed and charger" refers to a single horse!

Actually, while searching about this text further, I found this poem, where "Sir Lochinvar" and his "steed" appear:

Lochinvar

So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war, There never was knight like the young Lochinvar. So boldly he enter’d the Netherby Hall, Among bride’s-men, and kinsmen, and brothers and all: Then spoke the bride’s father, his hand on his sword, (For the poor craven bridegroom said never a word,) “O…

www.poetryfoundation.org

O young Lochinvar is come out of the west,
Through all the wide Border his steed was the best;
And save his good broadsword he weapons had none,
He rode all unarm’d, and he rode all alone.
So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war,
There never was knight like the young Lochinvar.

So I am wondering whether it might have to do with this poem, but I am not sure...

Also, this is just my small question, but if "charger" and "steed" mean the same thing, what would be the effect of repeating the similar words to mean "a horse"...?

 

[Ostap]

So I am wondering whether it might have to do with this poem, but I am not sure...

It must. I didn't know about that poem, but apparently it's pretty famous and the protagonist in your original post named his horse after that knight.

Also, this is just my small question, but if "charger" and "steed" mean the same thing, what would be the effect of repeating the similar words to mean "a horse"...?

A horse is a neutral term, denoting an animal. Charger and steed describe the horse's qualities, what kind of horse it is: a horse used for battles and for riding.

 

[Tarheel]

Taking an educated guess, I think Clara said, "You have always complained, Max." And Margo is the old arthritic one.

 

[Coffee Break]

@Ostap and @Tarheel,

Thank you very much for the explanations.

Taking an educated guess, I think Clara said, "You have always complained, Max." And Margo is the old arthritic one.

Yes, I think so too!

So "a charger" and "a steed" are words used to refer to a horse, but they are words to indicate the functions of the horse: by "charger," the horse is used for battles; and by "steed", the horse is used for riding.

So he is talking about a single horse, which can be used as a military horse and a riding horse at the same time, because "a" appears once in front of "charger" and "steed".

I sincerely appreciate your help.

 

[Tarheel]

@Coffee Break Let's not beat a dead horse, okay?

(At this rate you'll never finish that book.)