Several years ago my good friend, known in the SCA as Aelisia of Cambrewell, agreed to be my running-mate as candidates for the Baronage of Glymm Mere. We were both ready for the job and capable for what lay ahead, but as I look back on the past three years I can confidently state that... Continue Reading →
On Making a Six-Board Chest
Six-board chests, or blanket chests, were common and utilitarian pieces of furniture listed frequently in household inventories and seen in the backgrounds of medieval domestic images. They are relatively simple to make and can be inexpensive, yet sturdy and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. In the SCA, they are very useful for the dual purposes... Continue Reading →
Pierced panels: Gothic tracery in frame-and-panel construction.
My friend Holland (Alasdair MacRoibert in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)) is an accomplished professional woodworker. So I (and others) had been encouraging him for some time to enter pieces in competition and to seek other opportunities for showcasing his work. When a Request For Proposals for new thrones for the SCA Kingdom of... Continue Reading →
Rope Beds Reconsidered: Research and Reproduction of a Portable Medieval Rope Bed (Part one)
Once I began to have a more "authentic" encampment at Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) events, a good friend who had retired from camping gave me his rope bed. A rope bed can be defined as a bed frame wherein the mattress is supported by a net of interlaced ropes. The ropes provide a supportive,... Continue Reading →
Glastonbury Chairs: Ecclesiastic Faldstools of the early sixteenth century
Overview Among my earliest projects of researching and reproducing medieval furniture were a pair of faldstools in the ‘Glastonbury’ style, based on the two extant examples constructed circa 1530 and now residing in Wells, Somerset, England. The extant chairs are believed to be based on earlier examples witnessed in Rome circa 1500. These faldstools were... Continue Reading →
