Does use of the couched lance predate middle ages Europe?

[Old_Scratch]

And how much of an impact did it really have on warfare? The "invention" of the couched lance in medieval Europe is one of those things that just sounds either misleading or entirely inaccurate, like the "invention" of the longbow.

A couple books I've seen put it as a major turning point where cavalry became nigh unstoppable. But did it really have that much more of an effect than an uncouched lance, or was the couched lance even a new invention?

Some authors tie it in with stirrups and specialized saddles which made it possible, but that never really sounded right to me. Cavalry charges were nothing new, so how can stirrups or simply bracing your lance under your arm really make that much of a difference?

Here is an interesting read on the subject where the author does numerous tests using doing couched lance charges both with a saddle and stirrups and without, and the results are interesting, I think.

http://www.classicalfencing.com/articles/shock.php

I have to agree with the article that shock cavalry tactics, and even the couched lance were nothing new by the middle ages and weren't unknown or impossible in the classical period. What do you think?