Coubles is a Franco-Provençal term—particularly attested in the French-speaking area of Switzerland—, which designates caravans of donkeys and mules. The coubles operated over a vast cultural region that comprised the Rhône Valley, the Jura, the French-speaking area of Switzerland, the Savoie region, central Switzerland, Piedmont, Lombardy, Liguria, and Provence. The caravans or mule companies sometimes comprised twenty or so animals that were selected on the basis of their strength, endurance, and hardiness. The coubles transported various goods between the plains and the mountains: salt, textiles, wine, spices, chestnuts, hides for tanning, cheeses, curing materials, minerals, and so on. Each load was packed according to strict rules and in the most suitable containers, and no journey was undertaken unladen. In the fifteenth century, utilitarian finery became more ornate and decorated saddlery expressed the power of the convoy, which was often exposed to attacks by thieves and wild animals. The name ‘phalera’ originates from the military decorations awarded in Antiquity to soldiers and their horses. Initially, these discs of copper or brass were worn in groups of three—one on the animal’s forehead and the other two on its temples to link the various parts of the harness. Used in pairs, the mule discs served as blinkers to protect the animal’s eyes during bad weather or to restrict their sight while travelling on perilous paths. They were generally round and flat—more rarely they were rounded or arched—and had an attachment mechanism and holes in which the straps, chains, and decorative braid could be passed. Like the many sound-producing elements attached to the collars, reins, and other straps, the discs enabled the caravans to be seen form afar due to the reflections from the sun. But their identification role went further: engraved with an iron stylus or chisel, they identified the mule driver, the herd, and sometimes the convoy’s destination. The lunes de couble were long considered to be the symbols of the ancient corporation of travellers.