Fig. 81.—Saddle-cloth. Sixteenth Century.
Charles V., in consequence of frequent attacks of gout, was soon compelled to renounce riding. When he went into the country, or on a journey, he was generally followed by a litter and a chair. Mules bore the litter, in which he could recline, while bearers carried the chair, which was
ENTRANCE OF THE QUEEN ISABEAU OF BAVARIA INTO PARIS.
From a Miniature in Froissart’s Chronicles, National Library, Paris.
provided with a movable back; its four uprights could be fitted with a sort of canopy of canvas or leather.
In 1457 the ambassadors of Ladislaus V., King of Hungary, presented to Marie of Anjou, Queen of France, a chariot which excited the admiration of the whole court and the inhabitants of Paris, “because,” as the historian of the times says, “it was branlant (suspended), and very rich.”