View source for Tumbrel

{{Short description|Two-wheeled cart or wagon}}
[[File:La dernière charrette de Thermidor.jpg|thumb|300px|Nineteenth-century illustration of a tumbrel conveying prisoners to the guillotine]]

A '''tumbrel''' (also '''tumbril''' and originally {{lang|fr|tomberel}}) 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.{{r|smith|berkebile1978}}

Their most infamous use was taking prisoners to the [[guillotine]] during the [[French Revolution]].<ref>{{cite Merriam-Webster|tumbrel|access-date=1 August 2025}}</ref><ref name=dictionary.com>{{cite Dictionary.com|tumbrel|access-date=1 August 2025}}</ref> They were also used by the military for hauling supplies.<ref name=dictionary.com/>{{r|smith|berkebile1978}} In this use, the carts were sometimes covered. The two wheels allowed the cart to be tilted to discharge its load more easily.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/608785/tumbrel|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|title=Tumbrel|access-date=1 August 2025}}</ref><ref name=dictionary.com/> Many tumbrels also had hinged [[wikt:tailboard|tailboards]] for the same reason.

The word is also used as a name for the [[ducking stool]]{{cn|date=August 2025}} and for a type of balancing scale used in medieval times to check the weight of coins.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukdfd.co.uk/ceejays_site/pages/tumbrel1.htm|work=UK Detector Finds Database|title=The Medieval Tumbrel|first=Chris|last=Marshall|access-date=1 August 2025}}{{user-generated source|date=August 2025}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="berkebile1978">{{Cite book |last=Berkebile |first=Donald H. |title=Carriage Terminology: An Historical Dictionary |year=1978 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press |isbn=9781935623434 |ol=33342342M |pages=272, 286}}</ref>

<ref name="smith">{{cite book |title=A Dictionary of Horse Drawn Vehicles |first=D.J.M. |last=Smith |year=1988 |publisher=J. A. Allen & Co. Ltd. |isbn=0851314686 |ol=11597864M |pages=161, 166}}</ref>

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{{Horse-drawn carriages}}
[[Category:Carts]]
[[Category:Animal-powered vehicles]]

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