Auriga - wagon driver from 1570s

Salvete Omnes,
 German Empire of the Holy German Empire was famous for many things in the XVI century, book publishing & print making being the most famous of all of them.
Costume Books were extremely popular, it seems, and some have been surviving in their full glory in the museums and library collections around Europe and other places.
One of these costume books is Habitus - produced by Hans Weigel from Nuremberg, then the 'mecca' of book and printmaking &  publishing in the Holy Empire and Christian Europe of XVI century.
French National Library on line or Gallica provides us the easy access to this magnificent volume. 
Auriga or a German carraige, wagon, basterna or cart 'driver' - tough character dressed for the task which was to drive a wagon pulled by a team of hitched horses while seated in a saddle astride one of the cart horses.
He is armed with what appear to be a 'langes messer 'or a 'long knife' (kord in Polish).
His long, leggings like-boots (perhaps going back to the Eurasian Scythian long boots-trousers ) are of interest.
whether walking along his horse team/s or riding astride they were in need to protect themselves from the cold and rain, and in the age of scarce & sparse means and rather very few belongings they would protect their regular pants from the elements and their mounts sides (be it muddy or dusty etc), and thus such leather boots must have been of great help and protection. Rooster's(?)  feathers adorn his sturdy hat.

Medieval driving - in this XV century example

Below some examples & details that come from the period iconography -  second half of the XVI century - showing wagon/carriage drivers driving their teams from the saddle

Holy Roman Empire - border town of Gorlitz/Zgorzelec - this is perhaps a freight wagon with a trader with his dog resting on top of his merchandise?

town  of Przemysl - Polish-Lithianian Commonwealth - driving what appears to be a 'kolaska' or light open carriage used by the gentry and well-to-do burghers for short trips to and from a town - be it church-going, shopping & business or sightseeing.

 a Low Countries wagon from 1589 not unlike later settlers' wagon in the Americas

European military and nobility relied on use of wagons and horse-drawn carriages to move and carry persons, supplies,

ever growing artillery parks needed drivers too;

and thus wagon drivers were to be found in every army and entourage of the period in rather large numbers.

detail of Pieter Bruegel the Elder's painting - various types of wagons and carts

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