Beds and Mattresses of Europe in the Late Middle Ages

The beds of Medieval Europe were often very different from what we use today.

During the middle ages in Europe, people would lie on the floor on piles of leaves or straw covered with animal skins, or in a type of box that was filled with leaves and moss.

People would also put carpets on the ground or on a bench against the wall. They would then put on them mattresses filled with feathers, wool or hair, and put animal skins on top for a covering. As far as history can tell, Europeans slept in bed naked, wrapping themselves in pieces of linen that were pulled across the mattress.

In the 1200s, the sophistication of beds improved, at least for the wealthy. Bedsteads were constructed from wood and highly decorated with inlaid, carved and painted ornamentation People of this time also had folding beds. These were used as places to sit during the day, and on top they featured cushions topped with silk and leather. For the nighttime, a sheet and pillows were put on the bed and silk-topped animal skins were used as coverlets.

Curtains were attached to the ceiling or from a wooden arm coming out of the wall. For reasons that are not clear, metal beds were higher at the head than at the foot, and this sloping shape was popular until the 1300s. Also in the 1300s, woodwork became less important, and the emphasis changed to the richness of the materials hanging around the bed. Silk, velvet and even gold cloth were used.

In the 1400s, the tester bed arrived on the scene. The bed is hung from the ceiling or attached to the walls, a form which developed later into a room within a room, encloded by double curtains in order to exclude all drafts. The space between the bed and the wall was referred to as the ruelle, and intimate friends were received there.

Also in the 1400s, beds became larger. The mattresses were typically filled with pea-shucks, straw, wool or feathers. During this period, great personages were in the habit of moving much of their property with them, not excluding beds and bed accessories. For this reason, beds were often just frameworks to be covered. However, around the start of the 1500s, bedsteads were being made heavier with more decoration, since great personages stayed in the same location for longer periods of time.

For detailed mattress ratings based on over 4,500 actual owner experiences, visit Mattress Ratings.