Trestle Table Entertaining In Middle Ages Style

The trestle table design goes back to ancient Roman and Greek times, they were the folding table of the age. The top rested on a base of some sort and it all collapsed for easy storage. They became popular in the Middle Ages when castles and forts were meant for defense and the people who lived in them would gather in a common room to eat. After dining the table would be cleaned and put away. The royals would retire to their chambers and the staff would pull up some straw and blankets and sleep where the table was.

During the Middle Ages the dormant table was a stationary trestle table covered with a carpet or a runner. In Medieval times monasteries had very long trestle tables in their refectory or group dining room and they later became known as refectory tables. In late Middle Ages this type of table was the preference for banquets and feasts held in castles and large estates. These tables were crafted from solid wood for royalty and noblemen. What a fine commission for a woodworker in those times.

One trestle table was recorded to be 54 feet in length. Hence the advent of the refectory table, the name coming came from the room in the monastery or castle were used. This new type of table was known as a "joined" table because it was put together by the type of carpenter known as a joiner.

They were often made of maple, oak or pine. A modern style of the refectory table is know as the extension top or a draw table with leaves that are stored under the top and can be pulled out to extend the ends.

Today the trestle table can be seen in designs of outdoor furniture like picnic tables to handcrafted Amish dining tables. Americana is a well-known and loved traditional Amish style as are Shaker and Arts and Crafts Mission style. Like the table of the Middle Ages, the Mission style is braced together using a stretcher beam and keyed tenon through the center of every trestle.

The Amish create their tables out of native woods like the early Mediterranean and Europeans. They like to use red oak, hickory, quarter-sawn white oak, walnut, cherry and maple. The modern Amish table is very versatile and is well-suited for seating a wide range of styles like formal dining chairs such as a Windsor or Mission slatted back to solid wood benches as were used in the Middle Ages.

Wood furniture in the Middle Ages was not stained or sealed. It was wiped with oily rags to pick up the scraps of food and dust that accumulated. Body oils from hands and grease from foods would soak into the wood. Just eating would be the seal that the table would naturally get.

With its two pedestals fastened to a horizontal stretcher with stout tenons and locked into place with wedges the trestle table is born. For a little Gothic twist, add an arched stretcher with cut stopped champhers in the legs and the stretcher.

Get a gorgeous trestle table to your home. A gorgeous choice of any trestle tables would add a fantastic look to your dining area. Head online and find your table now.