5 ms·

Interesting ideas. The cart driver sitting on the leftmost rear horse as a reason for driving on the right I can buy. However, I have a harder time with the ide

by markbnj 11y ago

Interesting ideas. The cart driver sitting on the leftmost rear horse as a reason for driving on the right I can buy. However, I have a harder time with the idea that "feudal, violent societies" preferred to walk on the left in order to maintain the best position for using a sword against an oncoming opponent. The author doesn't locate this observation in time, other than to mention "feudal," but I don't believe that a large enough percentage of the people using the roads, at any time, carried swords for this to be a determining factor in forming the custom.

azernik 11y ago
I agree. The author does bring up a more general explanation, though, which I have heard before - about right-handers preferring to mount or dismount a horse on the left side, and it being safer to do this on the shoulder rather than the center of the road.
pron 11y ago
Right, but the percentage of horse-riders carrying a sword was probably larger.
- markbnj 11y ago
  >> Right, but the percentage of horse-riders carrying a sword was probably larger. I would tend to grant that point even without study, however swords were rare and expensive. The author would have to be more specific about the period, but I remain skeptical of his theory.
phaemon 11y ago
I've heard that theory before, but I've not seen any evidence for it, and it seems directly contradicted by this quote from Boswell's "Life of Johnson" (early 1700s): "He related to me the following minute anecdote of this period: 'In the last age, when my mother lived in London, there were two sets of people, those who gave the wall, and those who took it; the peaceable and the quarrelsome. When I returned to Lichfield, after having been in London, my mother asked me, whether I was one of those who gave the wall, or those who took it. NOW it is fixed that every man keeps to the right; or, if one is taking the wall, another yields it; and it is never a dispute.'"
vacri 11y ago
The 'mount a horse on the left' argument seemed far stronger.
shoo 11y ago
This kind of sword-handedness argument reminds me of a similar argument for deciding the directionality of spiral staircases: > Spiral staircases were a clever defence in medieval > castles. They were almost always built with the spiral > in the same direction (clockwise, when looking up from > the bottom) so that the defending swordsman, who would > either be coming down the stairs or backing up in > reverse, could freely swing his sword. Conversely, the > attacking swordsman (ascending the stairs) would have > his swing blocked by the wall. > This, of course, assumed that both attacker an defender > were right-handed, which most were. http://www.thejanuarist.com/clan-kerr-and-the-legend-of-the-spiral-staircase/ http://www.thejanuarist.com/clan-kerr-and-the-legend-of-the-... (there's a little more discussion there about left-handed swordsmen and left-handed spiral staircases!)
- copsarebastards 11y ago
  Right, but it's worth noting that's the opposite situation from road customs: it's much more believable because a significant portion of people traversing spiral staircases in castles were carrying swords. EDIT: Having now read your linked article, I'll add that the spiral staircase story is more believable due to primary sources. :)
gregsq 11y ago
Keeping to the right is a deferral that visitors to the UK can find confusing on occassion. Visitors can find it odd that while keeping to the left on roadways, the right is used when on foot and in need of order of movement. On tube escalators for example, where allowing overtaking on the left is giving the right of way. The deferrers right is against the wall. Thus we play to their strengths, and contain ours as a courtesy.
- zhte415 11y ago
  Surely standing on the right is to facilitate the right hand holding the hand grip, which corresponds to the article's suggestion that keeping to the left facilitates the right hand (to draw a sword/mount a horse).
  - gregsq 11y ago
    Well maybe but we always favour the right. It isn't really our right hand we are favouring but the others to our lefts right. In that lies the deferral. Standing still on the right provides a courtesy to the freedom of right handedness to the left. Those of age carrying heavy shopping can stall the left side but have use of their stronger side to manage. Those with heavy luggage can lift with the right while steadying themselves with the left railing. Those who are quick don't need either side except for balance and the left side is good enough for that. It seems like the most sensible thing to do. On the one hand the weakest have the benefit on the right, and on the other the strongest or in need of it have the left.

by markbnj 11y ago

azernik 11y ago

I agree. The author does bring up a more general explanation, though, which I have heard before - about right-handers preferring to mount or dismount a horse on the left side, and it being safer to do this on the shoulder rather than the center of the road.

pron 11y ago

Right, but the percentage of horse-riders carrying a sword was probably larger.

markbnj 11y ago
>> Right, but the percentage of horse-riders carrying a sword was probably larger. I would tend to grant that point even without study, however swords were rare and expensive. The author would have to be more specific about the period, but I remain skeptical of his theory.

phaemon 11y ago

I've heard that theory before, but I've not seen any evidence for it, and it seems directly contradicted by this quote from Boswell's "Life of Johnson" (early 1700s): "He related to me the following minute anecdote of this period: 'In the last age, when my mother lived in London, there were two sets of people, those who gave the wall, and those who took it; the peaceable and the quarrelsome. When I returned to Lichfield, after having been in London, my mother asked me, whether I was one of those who gave the wall, or those who took it. NOW it is fixed that every man keeps to the right; or, if one is taking the wall, another yields it; and it is never a dispute.'"

vacri 11y ago

The 'mount a horse on the left' argument seemed far stronger.

shoo 11y ago

This kind of sword-handedness argument reminds me of a similar argument for deciding the directionality of spiral staircases: > Spiral staircases were a clever defence in medieval > castles. They were almost always built with the spiral > in the same direction (clockwise, when looking up from > the bottom) so that the defending swordsman, who would > either be coming down the stairs or backing up in > reverse, could freely swing his sword. Conversely, the > attacking swordsman (ascending the stairs) would have > his swing blocked by the wall. > This, of course, assumed that both attacker an defender > were right-handed, which most were. http://www.thejanuarist.com/clan-kerr-and-the-legend-of-the-spiral-staircase/ http://www.thejanuarist.com/clan-kerr-and-the-legend-of-the-... (there's a little more discussion there about left-handed swordsmen and left-handed spiral staircases!)

copsarebastards 11y ago
Right, but it's worth noting that's the opposite situation from road customs: it's much more believable because a significant portion of people traversing spiral staircases in castles were carrying swords. EDIT: Having now read your linked article, I'll add that the spiral staircase story is more believable due to primary sources. :)

gregsq 11y ago

Keeping to the right is a deferral that visitors to the UK can find confusing on occassion. Visitors can find it odd that while keeping to the left on roadways, the right is used when on foot and in need of order of movement. On tube escalators for example, where allowing overtaking on the left is giving the right of way. The deferrers right is against the wall. Thus we play to their strengths, and contain ours as a courtesy.

zhte415 11y ago
Surely standing on the right is to facilitate the right hand holding the hand grip, which corresponds to the article's suggestion that keeping to the left facilitates the right hand (to draw a sword/mount a horse).
- gregsq 11y ago
  Well maybe but we always favour the right. It isn't really our right hand we are favouring but the others to our lefts right. In that lies the deferral. Standing still on the right provides a courtesy to the freedom of right handedness to the left. Those of age carrying heavy shopping can stall the left side but have use of their stronger side to manage. Those with heavy luggage can lift with the right while steadying themselves with the left railing. Those who are quick don't need either side except for balance and the left side is good enough for that. It seems like the most sensible thing to do. On the one hand the weakest have the benefit on the right, and on the other the strongest or in need of it have the left.