Blog #3 - The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages has proven to be a period of scarce record-keeping and often shows less historical clarity when compared to ancient times. Although furniture and common living spaces are no exception to this, the artifacts we are aware of provide a clear idea of what living must have been like during the Middle Ages. 

The first distinction when compared to modern preferences is the lack of comfort, and as one sees across anything from common living arrangements to interior layout and furniture design is that the concept of comfort had simply not been invented. The vast majority of society was too occupied with providing adequate shelter and sufficient sustenance, and thus the idea of comfort was rarely considered. Instead, furniture and storage solutions had to be designed to facilitate functionality and portability, both of which generally required durability. We see this in the common table or “board,” a simple yet solid rectangular slab of wood placed upon rudimentary supports. This was to allow for anyone within a common home to be seated for a meal, while giving the owner of the home (oftentimes a farmer) a clear sight of everyone seated. Storage was much the same, with chests being designed not only to store items in the home, but also to allow for the mobility when one has to move. This meant items had to fit both next to as well as on top of one another, a task a simple box fulfills best. When a storage solution was to withstand weathering instead, the top cover would often times be designed with a curvature to allow for rain water to drain instead of accumulate. 

These various concepts of simplicity further diffused into the layout of the Great Hall, the common living space of the middle ages. These are the oldest living spaces one can find with respect to this period, and the term really finds its meaning in the way life was at the time. People lived very communally within a home, sharing much of the same furniture and generally lacking privacy. This meant one would gather in often the only true room within a home, the Great Hall, to engage in most activities from eating to sleeping. The center of this room is reserved to construct a fire, which at the time was more essential than anything else, as it provided much needed heat and light, along with a way to cook. The idea of light plays a vital role during this time; once night has come, the only light apart from the central fire of the home would be obtained from candles, or “rushlights.” These were made from animal fat, and would burn both faint and smoky, and with obvious odors involved. Nevertheless these could be very expensive, and were thus often scarcely available to the average home. 

When examining the layout of the Great Hall, one can draw similarities with what is valued today, as open and versatile living spaces are often found in today’s architecture. Yet this traditional layout saw a shift during the middle ages, with increasing use of the chimney. This innovation must have been very welcomed at the time, as it greatly reduced the mess associated with maintaining a constant fire. It also meant however, that the Great Hall would need to be partitioned in order to allow for the chimney to stretch up into the now needed second floor of a residence. Today, with the ability of eliminating the need for a chimney we see a return to an interior layout reminiscent to that of the Great Hall, though with a more advanced idea of “central heating.” 

The Byzantine Empire was the direct continuation of the Roman Empire, with its capital city of Constantinople. The roots of roman architecture can thus be found within the Byzantine design, which again places value on regularity and perfection. With respect to Ecclesiastical structures, this can easily be observed in the layout of a traditional basilica. The long central aisle is often lined with roman pillars, and leads to an altar at the front commonly situated beneath a dome and allowing for light to gather at the front of the structure. The large central space would not feature furniture, but instead people would be standing. Wood or Stone would be the employed materials to build these structures. Colder regions favor the use of stone, with its increased heat capacity and resistance to flame, while warmer regions often relied more heavily on wooden structures.

The Romanesque Architecture began somewhere between the 6^th and 10^th century and shows no exact beginning. It is a style common to medieval Europe, and is categorized by repeating semi-circular arches known as “vaults.” This type of architecture can be found all over Europe, thus it is the first pan-European architecture since the Roman Empire. The values of roman architecture are once again observable, with great emphasis on perfection. This is now evident in the heavy use of symmetry along with the reliance on angular groin vaults through the interior structure. The Romanesque architectural style evolved into the Gothic style around the 12^th century. The Gothic style began to utilize pointed arches, along with adding intricate ribbing to the Romanesque vault.