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A) Notes on the Early Carroccio In the 11th to early 13th centuries, standard carts or, in Italian, "carroccios" were made of a wheeled frame, pulled by caparisoned oxen, and accompanied by a priest. The version used by the Milanese in the 11th and 12th centuries mounted a pole like a ship's mast (I'll use "mast" and "pole" interchangeably below), with a finial like a golden apple, with two banners of "the purest white." In the middle, a plain wood cross, upon which was painted the image of the crucified Christ. A similar wheeled frame was used in many battles in the 11th-early 13th centuries. At the Battle of the Standard: Some of them soon erected in the centre of a frame which they brought, the mast of a ship to which they gave the name of the Standard. On the top of this pole they hung a silver pyx containing the Host and (the pole flew) the banners of St Peter the Apostle, and John of Beverley and Wilfrid of Ripon[.] Note the pole is "in the center of a frame," and we have such a frame supporting the massive pole -- two box-shaped frames on either side of the pole, and we have depicted these draped with covers to carry an emblem (on ours, the drapery displays the flag of Milan). At the Battle of the Standard, the finial was a pyx, and we have included that as an option too. Richard the Lionheart's standard cart at Arsuf was quite similar. The carroccio's flags in this period are not described as hung from a yard, so don't appear to have been be vexillum-like. Multiple flags are usually described as flying from the mast - at the Battle of the Standard, there were actually three flags, and there doesn't appear to have been a crucifix on the pole. Carroccios used by the Holy Roman Empire in this period flew a Draco, and were "painted gold" (likely a golden yellow). In Spain, the Cross of St Pelagius was mounted on such a cart. We've included the Draco as a finial, and the St. Pelagius cross to mount on the pole. Our wheels and frame of the cart are inspired by the Oxeburg Wagon, and we thank Nigel Tallis for bringing that vehicle to our attention. The model in the buildup image is the carroccio of Milan as described in the mid-eleventh century AD. Carroccio Parts Here's an image of the parts:  Part A: the main body (seen here from its top -- note the circular indentation to mount the pole/mast) Part B: the port (left) covered frame Part C: the starboard (right) covered frame Part D: front axle and draft pole Part E: rear axle Part F: "golden apple" finial Part G: pyx finial Part H: draco finial Part J: plain crucifix upon which was painted the image of the crucified Christ Part K: the Cross of Saint Pelagius, a holy relic used by armies of the Spanish Reconquista  Note in the above image, the main body A is now seen from its bottom -- it's a "Y" in shape. The little peg at the tail of the "Y" shape of the main body is on the underside. Note the way that the two side frames, B and C, sit on either side of the main pole. There are little brackets on parts B and C and those are there to help support the main pole. In that same image, you can see how the front axle D attaches to the peg at the tail of the "Y" shape, and the rear axle attaches behind the two brackets on the forks of the "Y" shape.  Here's a look at how the two draped frames hold up the main pole, and the way the ox yoke is attached to the end of the draft pole and to the two caparisoned oxen.  Finally, here's another angle on the assembled carroccio, and it's mounting the Draco finial (H). The pyx or golden apple finial can be used instead -- I'm not sure how widespread dracos were used outside of central and eastern Europe, one suspects they might have been seen as rather pagan! The two crucifixes provided -- the plain one as mounted by the Milanese carroccio, and the Cross of Saint Pelagius used in Spain -- have brackets on the back so they can be mounted along the length of the pole. Here we see the plain crucifix, J. Restoration of the 11th-12th century carroccio is copyright 2026 Khurasan Miniatures |