blog History for Fantasy Writers: Wagons, Carts and Trucks

[skip.knox]

Thanks. I'm glad you found something of use in there.

 

[Puck]

No mention of chariots?

Not really a medieval thing. Even for the Romans, chariots were mainly used for important people to wave to the crowds from the back of one in ceremonial processions or in circuses for racing. The Romans didn't regard the chariot as a practical military weapon and it wasn't really practical for transporting trade goods (stuff being likely to fall off the back and all).

The heyday of the chariot as a military weapon was really during the bronze age - before cavalry proper came on the scene.

 

[skip.knox]

I don't have a specific reference, but I'm pretty sure it's in Leighton. Alas, I no longer have that book and cannot search it. As I remember, it was a simple matter of lifting the bed off the carriage and either using it directly or setting the bed on a frame of skis or skids.

 

[skip.knox]

There were large transports, but pretty much only on water. There were too many difficulties with overland. The wagons had no suspension, so they broke down under heavy loads, especially the wheels. The animals needed to haul transport added to cost. The roads themselves might turn muddy--most dangerous were potholes.

Water was just plain cheaper. I know, for example, that millstones were shipped. These could be very large and very heavy. Marble is another example of moving large, heavy loads. Horses, too, could be and were shipped.

So you had two choices. Locate your furnace next to ample resources, or locate it near water. The latter had one more difficulty, though. There were other products more profitable than your coal or limestone. So, getting room on the boat might be problematic.

Hope that helps!