If it helps at all, the startcart 2 folder has a sprite sheet with a knight in the same poses. Beyond that, I think only the small versions have any indication of what they're for, and that's in the form of the ninjoe animations in startcart 1.
My guess based on the general feel of all the animations is this. Starting from 1 as the left most in row 5 and going left to right, it looks like 1-2 is idle animation, 3-6 is running,7 is jump, 8 is fall, 9-11 is somehow blocking (makes more sense with a shield), 12 is climbing a ladder (meant to be flipped back and forth), 13-15 is throwing the shield in celebration, and 16 is sliding down a wall