RomanceEverAfter

Romantic Tales - Medieval

Medieval Castles & Their Decor

The Victorians were notorious for displaying clutter.  In modern day homes, furniture, flowers, paintings, photographs, nick knacks and a myriad of other items fill every room.  This was not the case in a medieval home.  The modern visitor to a medieval castle would view it as extremely sparse in its furnishings.

A Good Night's Sleep?

For those living within the castle walls, a good night's sleep meant sleeping on a pallet*.  In a later period, the lord and his family were the only individuals fortunate to have a bed.  The beds, of course, did not have a contemporary box spring mattress.  Instead, leather thongs were strung across a bed frame.  A feather mattress was placed over the bed frame of the medieval period.  The bed was then covered with bed linen and a colorful wool blanket or fur coverlet.  Guests to the lord's castle would be expected to bring their own bed linen.

*a small makeshift bed or mattress made of straw

Bed curtains would be hung from the ceiling or from a four poster canopy bed.  The curtains provided additional protection from cold drafts and afforded privacy to the sleeping person.

Beds also served another purpose other than sleeping.  Beds would be used as seats.  It was common to place the bed by the fireplace, particularly in the lord's chamber. 

Tapestries - Beauty & Function

Castles were naturally cold, drafty and damp places to live.  The bare stone walls of the first castles were soon to be covered by beautiful tapestries.  Not only were these tapestries magnificent pieces of artwork displaying historical and mystical scenes, they served to insulate against the cold and damp.

In time, eastern rugs, paneling, wainscoting, and plastering would replace the tapestries.  The enhancements not only made the castle more comfortable, but enhanced the beauty of the castle.

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