The handbarrow, also spelled hand-barrow and hand barrow, is a type of

human-powered transport Human-powered transport is the transport of person(s) and/or goods using human muscle power. Unlike animal-powered transport, human-powered transport has existed since time immemorial in the form of walking, running and swimming. Modern technol ...

. It was originally a flat, rectangular frame used to carry loads such as

salt cod Dried and salted cod, sometimes referred to as salt cod or saltfish or salt dolly, is cod which has been preserved by drying after salting. Cod which has been dried without the addition of salt is stockfish. Salt cod was long a major export of ...

, cheese and

guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of Seabird, seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant ...

. It has handles on both ends, so two people are needed to use it. In

Dutch cheese markets Dutch cheese farmers traditionally take their cheeses to the town's market square to sell them. Teams (''vemen'') of official guild cheese-porters (''kaasdragers''), identified by differently coloured straw hats associated with their ''forward ...

, official porters (''kaasdragers'') still use traditional barrows, albeit with straps, to transport cheese. A special handbarrow was built to move the Stone of Destiny around

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. Modern usage has expanded the definition to include the

wheelbarrow A wheelbarrow is a small hand-propelled vehicle, usually with just one wheel, designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles at the rear, or by a sail to push the ancient wheelbarrow by wind. The term "wheelbarrow" is mad ...

or any wheeled cart or box propelled by hand. Alkmaar, cheese market-1

Scholars such as Lynn Townsend White Jr., Albert Leighton and Andrea Matthies suggest it may have inspired the invention of the wheelbarrow. The addition of a wheel meant it only required one person. (

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially re ...

is sometimes credited as the inventor, but a crude form of the wheelbarrow was in use in England in the early 14th century, predating da Vinci by a century.) The

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...

word ''barwe'' means handbarrow,

litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. Litter can also be used as a verb; to litter means to drop and leave objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups ...

stretcher A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...

, the last two being similar in construction to the handbarrow, only with the "cargo" being a person.

References

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