page_title: Carriage
section_title: Medieval carriage
hierarchical_section_title: Carriage / History / Medieval carriage
caption_attribution_description: English: One of six figures from the Mughal emperor's ceremonial procession on the occasion of the Id. Physical description: A two-tiered carriage drawn by four elephants Place of origin: Delhi, India (painted) Date: ca.1840 (painted) Artist/Maker: Khan, Mazhar Ali (Artist) Materials and Techniques: Gouache Dimensions: Length: 27.5 cm, Width: 37.5 cm
context_page_description: A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping and, on those made in recent centuries, steel springs. Two-wheeled carriages are informal and usually owner-driven.
  Coaches are a special category within carriages. They are carriages with four corner posts and a fixed roof.
  Two-wheeled war chariots and transport vehicles such as four-wheeled wagons and two-wheeled carts were forerunners of carriages.
  In the twenty-first century, horse-drawn carriages are occasionally used for public parades by royalty and for traditional formal ceremonies. Simplified modern versions are made for tourist transport in warm countries and for those cities where tourists expect open horse-drawn carriages to be provided. Simple metal sporting versions are still made for the sport known as competitive driving.
context_section_description: The medieval carriage was typically a four-wheeled wagon type, with a rounded top ("tilt") similar in appearance to the Conestoga Wagon familiar from the United States.  Sharing the traditional form of wheels and undercarriage known since the Bronze Age, it very likely also employed the pivoting fore-axle in continuity from the ancient world.  Suspension (on chains) is recorded in visual images and written accounts from the 14th century ("chars branlant" or rocking carriages), and was in widespread use by the 15th century.  Carriages were largely used by royalty, aristocrats (and especially by women), and could be elaborately decorated and gilded.  These carriages were on four wheels often and were pulled by two to four horses depending on how they were decorated (elaborate decoration with gold lining made the carriage heavier).  Wood and iron were the primary requirements needed to build a carriage and carriages that were used by non-royalty were covered by plain leather.
  Another form of carriage was the pageant wagon of the 14th century.  Historians debate the structure and size of pageant wagons; however, they are generally miniature house-like structures that rest on four to six wheels depending on the size of the wagon.  The pageant wagon is significant because up until the 14th century most carriages were on two or three wheels; the chariot, rocking carriage, and baby carriage are two examples of carriages which pre-date the pageant wagon.  Historians also debate whether or not pageant wagons were built with pivotal axle systems, which allowed the wheels to turn.  Whether it was a four- or six-wheel pageant wagon, most historians maintain that pivotal axle systems were implemented on pageant wagons because many roads were often winding with some sharp turns.  Six wheel pageant wagons also represent another innovation in carriages; they were one of the first carriages to use multiple pivotal axles.  Pivotal axles were used on the front set of wheels and the middle set of wheels.  This allowed the horse to move freely and steer the carriage in accordance with the road or path.
caption: A two-tiered carriage drawn by four elephants
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