![]() In the early middle ages, the family wasn’t the only one you might find sleeping in the great hall. In some cases if the castle was a little larger there would be a second chamber in which the eldest son and his family could sleep, or it would be used as a guest room or sleeping chamber for the steward of the castle. The tour guide explained to us that for superstitious reasons, they would sleep sitting up in the bed, for lying down was a position of the dead. I remember when I visited a castle in Ireland the bed was extremely short, and I wondered if the people were lacking in stature back in the middle ages. In some instances the noble family’s bed would be very short. Servants often would have rough woolen blankets or their capes to curl up in. ![]() In addition they often had fur coverings as blankets to keep warm. The bed was usually a four poster bed, draped with a canopy for additional privacy and in the winter months, warmth. The mattress could be a fine cloth usually stuffed with feathers or down. On top of the rope would be the mattress. Ropes would be woven from one side to the other of the bed frame to form what we now use a box spring for. The noble family would have a bed, its posts made of wood. In some instances the noble family would be lucky enough to have a permanent wooden partition to give them more privacy than the curtain. In the early middle ages, and some cases the later middle ages as well, the family would sleep at the upper end of the great hall, separated only by a curtain from the rest of the castle folk. In the solar, their bed would serve not only as a place for sleep and *wink* play, but as a seat as well. In most cases there was only one bed chamber, and that may even double as the solar, where the noble family could entertain guests, take a bath, do their business and get away from the hustle and bustle of the castle. There weren’t an abundance of bed chambers. Have you ever wondered about where everyone in a medieval castle sleeps? Medieval castles were a lot different than castles of today or even castles of the Regency period.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |