A Modern Medieval Home Companion

Being a page of suggestions and techniques for bringing Middle Ages decorative motifs into your own home

• Introduction & philosophy
• Sources of Information
• Projects
• Other Resources & Merchants
• Final Notes

Introduction:

• Finding information about how the medieval folk decorated their homes (this will mostly be nobility, of course)
• Deciding what you want it to look like
• Making or buying similar items.

The most famous era for adapting medieval decoration to the household was the Gothic Revival, which more-or-less peaked during the Victorian era.  This period of time saw the blossoming of interest in the Middle Ages as a source of inspiration, from churches to chairs.  It continued with the efforts of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (and similar inspired women) of artists, up through the Arts & Crafts movement which widened into the graceful forms of Art Nouveau (far less medieval, but still romantic) and the Mission/Craftsman style of the early part of the 20th century.  I mention all of these different artistic styles because you can find items that are medieval-ish inside each group.  Careful selection will allow you to build the look you're hoping for.

An excellent example of Gothic Revival is Cardiff Castle in Wales.  (The site is confusing; go to "The Present" and then "Photo Gallery.")  The interior shots are amazing, such as the "Winter Smoking Room."  There's also a lot of more modern Gothic revival (and actual medieval artifacts) at Hearst Castle -- see the lampshade at the end of this page.

You could contrast these images of Victorian Cardiff with the Ricardian's fascinating reconstruction of Barley Hall.  Go through the Virtual Tour: you'll see that Gothic Revival is  very, very different from Medieval Reality!

Sources of Information:

You should decide what level of Medievalism you want.  There are a lot of items sold as "medieval" that would be more accurately described as "20th century."  Not to say that they are not nice pieces, but they haven't anything in common with the Middle Ages except for the name.  One site I found which advertised medieval items had *nothing* similar to anything that I had ever seen in archeology books or medieval illustrations.  You may also want to decide if you want some silly medievaloid items, such as this cat castle.  Or you may want to go for the Victorian version, which I'm rather fond of as well.

To some people, medieval decor looks "churchy."  This is because most surviving examples (or imitations) of medieval architecture are in gothic style churches.  However, like the chalice, which was initially used for regular drinking, this is only because the Church continued using the older style far longer than the secular world.

If you wish to be more toward the accurate side of the scale you should familiarize yourself with medieval items.  Overall accuracy isn't needed, but a candlestick that looks very medieval will contribute more to the overall look than one that is only somewhat medieval.  Early medieval seems to involve a lot of bright painting on walls, but I have been unable to find good sources to share with you.  Here are some later medieval interiors from contemporary paintings.
These links will open another browser window so you can read and look at the same time.

• Early 1300s; a musician plays.  Note the carved ceiling, carved and blue-painted walls; the silver grey hanging which conceals them, the gold-fabric draped bench with two tall spires (you can see more of the carving next to the King's leg) and the damask linen tablecloth on which sit golden dishes.
• Tres Riches Heures: January, 1412-16.  The deep blue hangings with soldiers and narrative on them, the trestle table covered with white linen, the red hanging canopy, fancy plates and glasses.  Underfoot is a blue striped cloth on the dais, and the rest of the floor is covered with a braided rug, probably wheat straw or similar.
• Isabeau of Bavaria's bedroom, illustrated on the right/above.  Note the colored rafters, fine wood ceiling, blue and gold hangings, red bed with curtains, smaller red bed (probably a lady in waiting's bed), the cushions the ladies sit on, one chair next to the window which no one is using, the window seat in stone, the beige rug, blue floor tiles.  You can also see wires or cords which suspend the bed canopy -- look to the left of the canopy.
• VanEyck: The Arnolfini marriage portrait, 1434.  This is from the National Gallery in London; you can click on the picture to enlarge any area.  Note the bed with its hangings knotted up to keep them out of the way, the candlestick, mirror, and carved furniture.
• Van derWeyden: Annunciation, about 1450.  Note the bed with hangings, the finely carved bench and chest, the shutters on the window, candlesticks, ewer, and the tiled floor.
• A wealthy man at dinner; sometime during the 1400s.  Note the white tablecloths, the woven floor covering, the trestle table legs, the green hangings on the wall around the fireplace, the curtain over the door.  The tall side table/cabinet on the left has a fringed edge on its cloth.

Apparently, there is a minor resurgence of interest in medievaloid furnishings; a large decorating magazine is about to come out with an issue on it (Feb-Mar issue of Classic American Home), and an online magazine has contacted me about some of my material on the subject.  The market may soon be flooded with medieval items.  All to the good, I say, but be cautious: a lot of these are likely to be rough and unfinished.  It's clear from what survives that the best of Medieval art was elegant, finished and sophisticated.  Caveat Emptor.

Projects & things I've done

• Painting the Walls  In the early middle ages, walls were often whitewashed and then painted with bright designs.  You might not want to do this to your entire house, but a little goes a long way.  This is a guest bathroom that I painted -- very restrained compared to medieval versions.  Here is the large photo of the dining room in my new house.  By the end of the middle ages, it seems that painted ceilings and ornate tapestries were more common than wall painting.  Watch this space for a medieval image, as soon as I can get my scanner working again.
• Window Treatments -- Buying stained glass is expensive, and it is heavy.  Here I have used the product called "Gallery Glass" to put stained-glass designs on plexiglas, which can then be propped up in the window, or hung, depending on your circumstance. Picture 1: Rabbits; Picture 2: Unicorn.  Gallery Glass is somewhat like "painting" with colored Elmer's Glue, but you get much better results.  The curtains are sheets from Sheridan sold around 1996 with millefleur patterns on them.   New article on how to do this!
  
• Other decorative elements: see the picture of my living room; elements described below
• Hangings: Give a very medieval 'feel' and are easy.  These help with noise insulation as well as being decorative.  They are of a uphostery fabric that I got from an online fabric store.  See one of these on the left side, and in the picture below.  These have self-fabric tabs, but metal rings would be easier to draw across the rod, because these rods aren't very stable, and sometimes they fall down.
• Candlesticks -- wrought iron, not too fancy, and tall.  Flanking the fireplace.
• Gothic Revival furniture: you can't tell in the picture, but there are some medieval elements in carving on the small green chair between the hanging and the fireplace.  This chair will soon be recovered in a fabric with a medieval unicorn pattern.  I scored this from my mother; it was her grandmother's. (Note: Unicorns are fun, but try and stay away from the sort that look like a fat white pony with a horn [I call this the My Little Pony Unicorn look.]  The medieval view of unicorns were more like white goats or deer with a horn.)
• More revival furniture, this time modern: the X -shaped chair in the left foreground; these can be bought for not a horrible amount through some catalogs.  These were via the AAFES catalog; I'm searching for other sources because you can only use that catalog if you're in the Service.  You can pay through the nose ($300-1K) for something like it at Design Toscano.  See the picture below for another shot.
• Bench: foreground right: made for me by a friend in the medieval plank style.
• Art: On the left wall are prints from the Tres Riches Heures; above the fireplace, a brass rubbing that my Aunt did; over the TV armoire (craftsman style) is a griffon and a medievaloid tryptic of the Virgin Mary.
• Couches: If you were lucky, in the middle ages, you got a cushion on your chair or bench.  So we went with modern couches that we liked.
• More Decorative Elements: The one at the top of this page, to the left of the picture annotated above:
• Rug: heraldic designs.  Found at an off-price store such as TJ Maxx, Ross, etc.  Looped wool. 
• Console table: found at a thrift store.  I think there was a small medieval revival in the 1970s, possibly called "Spanish Medieval"; this is one of the less painful results.
  
• Manuscript page: I can't give you a good source for this one, as it was my grandfather's, but there are places that sell manuscript pages.  Do your homework first.  Here is the homework that my husband did which mentions this piece, when he replicated it with another song.
• Candelabra: From Pier One, 6 years or so ago.
• Electric lights: these I bought 10 years ago through Bloomingdales.  Their bases are gothic tracery in iron.  I haven't seen them anywhere recently, but if you look long enough, you probably can find something that you like.
• Bookend busts of Dante and Beatrice.  Also conned out of my mother's stash.
• Items not in the photos of my house:
• Electric Chandelier -- pictured slightly above to the right.  I bought it off eBay for $100, I believe it to have been made around 1930.  I think of it as "Wizard of OZ Gothic Revival."
• Candle Chandelier -- hoop with pierced bits.  I don't own this; I saw it for sale on an antiques auction site.  Someone moderately good with tools could replicate this one.  Possibly not in pink like this example.
  
• Choosing fabrics: This is a page done for costuming, but it will give you an idea of some aethestics.  The middle ages were *not* an age of mud-brown.  At least, not if you were well-off.
  
• In larger suburban areas, there are stores where you can go with a bunch of friends and glaze your own ceramics, which are then fired for you.  We're not talking life-size ceramic Elvises here, but plates and trivets and suchlike.  You can use your own medieval motifs on these to your heart's content.  This is one near me, and here's another I used to go to in California, but there are many different chains that do the same thing.
• Costuming Your Pets: Ok, I admit this is a bit over the top. Certainly Aricebo and Sicorro think so.
• How one Restaurant did things: Burger King gets gold stars.

Other Resources & Merchants:

Stop by a fancy fabric store with a "tapestry" section, such as Calico Corners, or the fabric section of Ethan Allen.  They are unlikey to have "picture" tapestries, but will have millefleur, medieval animals, etc.  These fabrics can be ordered as yard goods and used to put medieval flavor around -- pillows, throws, etc, for not too much money; yes, the fabric tends to run about $25-50/yard, but you can get four large throw pillows out of just one yard of fabric.  Even cheap throw pillows (say, at Bed, Bath & Beyond) will cost you $20 - $40 each; making your own is a bargain, and you could buy the fabric with a friend and share it.  I hope to get some photos of samples from these fabric stores to post here, so that you can print it out and take it to your favorite fabric store.

Last, but not least, there are medieval recreationist suppliers that do more concentration on this era.  Not all of those listed through the Juried Merchant's List are excellent, but there certainly are some good ones there.  I particularly like Historic Enterprises, Gaukler Medieval Wares, and Billie & Charlie.  Most of these folks do jewelry and clothing, but sometimes have household items.  One lady contacted me; she makes tiles in medieval patterns.  Don't ignore trying to find what you want on the Web!

Other Web links: Essay on medieval folding chairs. Compilation of links about medieval lighting -- lots of pictures of extant items.  Here's the BBC's own version of how to have a gothic interior.

It's Only My Opinion:

Walls: Some folks like making the inside of their houses look like exposed stonework.  My belief, based on the images of noble and middle class houses from the high middle ages, is that this was not a desired effect -- the desired affect would look much like white-painted wallboard or plaster!  Possibly with half-timbering in it.  So that's the look that I'm most interested in.  You can find webpages about how to do this, if it's what you want.

What to put on walls: Medieval folks would have had hangings from floor to ceiling, if they could afford them; either plain or colored fabric, or full-scale tapestries if they were very wealthy.  I am not so partial to that look, so I'd rather have prints of medieval tapestries or illuminations. 

About tapestry reproductions: You can buy small tapestry panels, but I'm also not enamored of them.  Why?  Because the effective image quality is terrible. This may be difficult to explain.  Think of a 10-foot-high medieval tapestry.  It's been woven very finely.  Then you take this image and shrink it down to 3 feet high, but the threads aren't much smaller than the original.  You now have a very "pixilated" version of the original image.  That's why I'd rather have a print of the original than a small-scale fabric copy.  Actually, what I'd really like to have is a 10-foot-high photo of the tapestry printed onto canvas, so I could hang it like the real one, but although the set designers for Harry Potter seem to have found one for the Gryffindor common room, I don't know where I could find one myself.  And it would probably cost too much money, sigh.  So good-quality paper prints, it is.   (I've written a new page all about tapestry reproductions, posters, with examples.)

Sometimes you can find prints very cheaply.  I have a piece of christmas wrapping paper that is the Mon Seul Desir tapestry, which a friend found; I think he got several sheets of it for about $5. (Look for these in the wrapping & stationery departments of high-end department stores like Macy's.)  Sometimes you'll find wrapping paper with calligraphy on it; you could put such a thing on a lampshade to imitate the Hearst Castle use of manuscripts (left).

I also have some brass-rubbings in frames, which would have probably horrified a medieval person - they're for a grave, for goodness' sake!  But they don't have strong funeral associates for modern folks anymore, and often have interesting images.

Final notes: