Reiters (German: Reiter, or horserider, shortened from the original 'Schwarze Reiter' or'black riders' called for the colour of their armour) were a type of cavalry, which appeared in the armies of Western Europe in the 16th century in place of the outmoded lance-armed knights, at the same type that cuirassiers and dragoons began to attain typological distinction from other kinds of cavalry. The reiters raised firearms to the status of primary weapons, as opposed to earlier Western European heavy cavalry relying primarily on hand-to-hand weapons.