Jump to content

Tumbrel

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Quercus solaris (talk | contribs) at 01:11, 5 May 2023 (dump). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

19th-century illustration of a tumbrel conveying prisoners to the guillotine

A tumbrel (alternatively tumbril) is a two-wheeled cart or wagon typically designed to be hauled by a single horse or ox. Their original use was for agricultural work; in particular they were associated with carrying manure. Their most infamous use was taking prisoners to the guillotine during the French Revolution.[1][2] They were also used by the military for hauling supplies.[2] In this use the carts were sometimes covered. The two wheels allowed the cart to be tilted to discharge its load more easily.[3][2] Many tumbrels also had hinged tailboards for the same reason.

The word is also used as a name for the cucking stool and for a type of balancing scale used in medieval times to check the weight of coins.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Tumbrel".
  2. ^ a b c "Tumbrel". Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  3. ^ "Tumbrel". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2011-05-01.
  4. ^ Chris Marshall. "The Medieval Tumbrel". Retrieved 2014-02-04.
Stub icon

This vehicle-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Tumbrel&oldid=1153234957"