Pre-industrial elites moved through crowds shielded by armed guards.

Evidence

Suddenly, pushing its way through the crowd comes an enclosed litter. It is being carried by four huge men and is richly appointed. Surrounding it are four other men carrying weapons. Much of the crowd makes way for the litter as it passes. Those who do not do so voluntarily are pushed aside roughly by the guards. — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 168

Categorization

• XREF: The armed, enclosed litter is a physical technology of anonymity/withdrawal from the crowd—early concrete instance of the elite insulating themselves from public contact central to the reader’s anonymity thesis.