Ride the chariot

From: Andrew Solovay <asolovay_at_...>
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 12:59:35 -0800

David Dunham wrote:
> Tim:
>
>> Heortlings know of Chariots too, but don't appear to use them -
>> again this might be because the terrain is unsuitable, or for the
>> other reasons for not harnessing horses.
>
> I think the Heortlings have outgrown chariots -- most militaries
> seemed to use them for a while and then drop them in favor of
> cavalry. (Not that the Heortlings are big on cavalry...) Chariots are
> still used in several rituals, but are considered archaic by most
> tribes.

Just FWIW--Roman chariots were mentioned earlier in the thread; Romans, in fact, outgrew chariots just the way David describes. By the time of the Caesars (and I don't know how much earlier), the chariot was strictly ceremonial--you'd ride in one in your Triumph (or race one at the circus), but you wouldn't take the damned thing onto the battlefield. (As I understand it, one big factor was breeding a horse that was strong enough to carry a rider in battle--a pair of smaller, weaker ponies could draw a chariot.)

Even in the Iliad, there's a sense that Homer knew what a chariot *was*, but didn't really know what it was *for*--the heroes ride the chariot out to the battlefield, park it, get out, and fight on foot.

Making it HW-relevant--I wonder if that progression occurred in the Godtime? e.g. Perhaps young Orlanth used a chariot while building the Storm Tribe, but when he actually ruled the tribe, he and his thanes fought on horseback or foot. (Perhaps the transition ocurred when Elmal joined the tribe, and either: (a) taught Orlanth how to ride, or (b) brought a breed of horse strong enough to take a rider instead of pulling a chariot?) So heroquests to the Stagnant Age might involve chariots, but quests to the Storm Age or Darkness wouldn't.