Introduction to Historical Woodworking

Draft Status: Incomplete (12th July 2001)

  1. Introduction

    2. This article is an attempt to collect together some information that is of interest those with a desire to make reproductions of mediaeval and renaissance furniture. I have not extended the article to cover building techniques, though many of the same techniques are used in both building and cabinet making.

    During the period begining in about the 10th century, and extending through to the 16th century, the use of wooden structures increases as a common element of day to day life. The most commonly depicted items of furniture in art works are tables ( often of a trestle construction), with sitting benchs, stools and chairs also being common. Early examples of chests were probably used for storage and transport[VicAlbert]. There are large extant collections of furniture, some of the most interesting at Paris (Musée National du Moyen Age, previously Musée de Cluny), and at the Victoria and Albert Museum (London).

  2. Tools

    3. The mediaeval woodworker had access to almost the same set of standard hand tools available today, and construction methods were also extremely similar. One might chose to avoid power tools, but bow-saws, chisels, wooden block planes and hand brace-drills, are entirely period equipment. Evidence for this appears in art works of all periods, particulary those depicting the patron saints of an activity or where woodworking guilds were the donors of religious works of art, and thus were themselves often depicted as a donor group.

    Of course

  3. Techniques

    4. Fully developed joinery and cabinet making techniques are not in use during the earlier parts of the SCA period, and really first come into common use around the 15th century. Before this period most furniture of a simple slab construction held together with wooden nails or "dowels". This type of construction gives a solid product, the only fault of which is a predisposition to cracking and splitting. This occurs because the large wooden slabs tend to expand and contract and this causes them to split over several seasons.

    Panelled cabinet making resolves this problem, by replacing the large fixed slabs of wood with a system of stiles, rails and posts. Panels are suspended in the spaces between the rails and stiles allowing the wood to expand and contract without splits and cracks developing.

    The most common constructions use mortise and tenon jointing with the panels set in channels cut into the rails and stiles using a chisel or other similar routing tool. Routing tools are a specialised plane used to remove a central part of a piece of timber.

    Basic Joints and Fastenings

    1. mortise and tenon (pinned)
    2. finger and dovetail joints
    3. rebated panel mountings.

    Decoration

    In the 12th century chip carving predominates, with emphasis also on painted decorations. Roundels and other simple decorations and motifs are typical. As we move to the later periods the decorations become more complicated and start to incorporate acanthus vines, gothic arches and linen fold styles.

    Types of decoration vary depending on the location of the article. This article deals mostly with English and French examples of furniture, and thus concentrates on carved decoration directly onto oak and similar dense grained woods. Italian chests, for example, are not so often decorated with carvings directly in some areas, and seem to have been constructed with decorations of gesso and raised semi-relief figures worked on the gesso. This is covered in leather and painted and died to give a very durable and decorative finish. Stamps are also often used (as one sees in Indian carving today) to stamp down and texture backgrounds that have been fairly roughly excavated using a chisel.

  4. Some Furniture Examples

    5. Chairs

    Unattributed original piece used by Oakley[Oakley] as the basis for the construction of his replica.

    Tables

    In this woodcut of Durer (Circa 1490) depicting "St Jerome in his Study" we can see a sample pegged trestle table. The joints used to fasten the cross members are a good example of wedge/pegged table construction, a method that is easily dismantled for transport.

    Beds

    An unattributed bed picture to be found on WWW Link[1].

    The above illustration is drawn from Oakley[Oak99] in which he makes the following comment. " In Marta Hofman's book 'Cloth and Clothing in Medieval Europe'[Hofm83], the above bed, a 10th century bed discovered in the Gokstad barrow, is presented as having interior dimensions of 227 cm in length, 110 cm in width. It was made of beach wood ..."

  5. Useful Resources

    6. I have taken the liberty of including wholesale the excellent online annotated bibliography of Oakley[Oak00], which covers the available material well. I have added my own opinion where I thought it might add something. This bibliography does not cover references that are useful when attempting reconstructions of furniture from art as it concentrates on books that address the primary source material.

    Reconstruction of furniture from depictions in art relies more on interpretation of the art itself. When reconstructing furniture shown in art I feel that it is important to consider both information derived from depictions of the target objects in art in a given time period. This should then be combined with knowledge about woodworking techniques associated with the region in which the art works were created. Plausible assumptions about materials and methods can often be inferred from extant items from the same region and time period, even if there are no extant examples of the type of object you want to create.

    An Introduction to my Resource List:

    Good and wise people have suggested that perhaps a presentation of a bibliography or a list of references that I have used might also be useful to others who browse the various plans presented on this web site. Hummm, now why didn't I think of that?

    Anyway, below is a list of books that I have in my library on the subject medieval furniture. One of the biggest problems with this area of study is decided scarcity of primary information, particularly for anything prior to the mid 15th century. Yet, it is not totally hopeless. Medieval paintings and drawings are replete with examples of medieval furniture, many of them in extremely fine detail. The trick is to understand enough about how a medieval carpenter, joiner, coffermaker, etc. would have gone about their trade to be able to examine the artists interpretation of their work with a knowing eye and to separate information from embellishment.

    The references provided below a basis for developing that eye. Of particular use is Masterpieces of Furniture in Photographs and Measured Drawings by Verna Cook Salomonsky. The variety of pieces that have been recreated for this book, all from drawings and paintings, is a wonderful example of what can be accomplished.

    This list is, of course, not all inclusive! it merely represents books I have in my library. From time to time I will update this list as I acquire additional books or discover other sources that would be useful to this list.

    Have fun! make stuff!


    Charles Oakley, Esq.

    Furniture and its Construction:

    OAK FURNITURE: The British Tradition, Victor Chinnery; 1979. The Antique Collector's Club, 5 Church Street, Woodbridge, Suffolk, England.
    ISBN: 1 85149 013 2

    This book is probably one of the best available source books for examples of English Oak furniture from the 16th century forward with some examples and illustrations from 14th and 15th centuries. 22 color and 2000 B/W photos and illustrations. 618 pages.

    Consructing Medieval Furniture, Daniel Diehl; 1997, Stackpole Books, 5067 Ritter Rd. Mechanicsburg, PA.
    ISBN: 0-8117-2795-5

    Numerous examples and plans for the construction of medieval furniture with historical notations.

    SELLA CURULIS: The Folding Stool, Ole Wanscher: 1980, Rosenkilde and Bagger, Copenhagen.
    ISBN 87-423-0337-0

    Traces the history of the folding stool/chair ("X" chairs) through nearly 4000 years of history and across multiple cultures. 350 pages.

    English Medieval Furniture and Woodwork, Charles Tracy: 1988, Victoria and Albert Museum, England.
    ISBN 1851770453

    A catalog of English medieval furniture and woodwork held by the Victoria and Albert Museum. Wonderfully detailed photography.

    Arenwald - I find this one of the most interesting books, since it provides good details on period pieces without commentary and interpretation. This book is an ideal place to start in a collection of pictorial evidence of extant pieces.

    The book includes a wide range of architectural elements as well as furniture, so it provides a useful source for people interested in decoration in the context of profane and secular buildings.

    Old English Furniture, Frederich Fenn and B. Wyllie: 1920, B.T. Batsford, England.
    No ISBN number.

    Although this book is mostly focused on furniture of the 17th century and later there are several nice plates of late 16th century tables and chests on the first few pages of the book. Minimal information beyond that.
    No ISBN number.

    English and American Furniture, Herbert Cescinsky and George Leland Hunter: 1929, Garden City Publishing Company, Inc., Garden City, New York.

    Chapter 2 deals with Gothic and Tudor Oak Furniture and a reading of Chapter 3 ( English and American Furniture of the 17th Century Type) is a nice follow on where the reader can see the evolution of period pieces. B/W clear photos.

    Masterpieces of Furniture in Photographs and Measured Drawings, Verna Cook Salomonsky: 1974, Dover Publications, New York.
    ISBN 0486-21381-1

    Originally executed in 1930, this book is a collection of museum pieces that the author had the opportunity to photograph and execute measured drawings of. Earliest pieces are 16th century.

    Master Pieces - Making Furniture from Paintings, Richard Ball and Peter Campbell: 1983, Hearst Books, New York.
    ISBN 0-688-02488-2

    An interesting book. 20 examples of furniture made based on information gleaned from paintings and illustrations, 8 examples of period. Wonderful explainations of the thought processes and methodologies used to reproduce these pieces. Plans and parts lists included. Some information on finishes provided. Be sure to check out the rather fantastic early 16th century chair (St. Augustine's Chair from a painting by Vittore Carpaccio). It could be easily considered to be artistic fantasy, if it wasn't for the picture of a surviving 15th century example the author included!

    Housing and the Home Environment:

    The English Mediaeval House, Margaret Wood, 1994, Studio Editions Ltd., Princess House, London, England.
    ISBN: 1-85891-167-2

    Covers housing and home construction from the time of the Norman Conquest to 1540.

    Misc. Wooden Objects:

    TREEN and other wooden bygones, Edward H. Pinto: 1969, G. Bell & Sons Ltd., York House, London, England.
    ISBN 0-7135-1533-3

     

    Understanding Medieval Technology in a Period Context:

    The Medieval Machine, Jean Gimpel: 1976, Penguin Books, New York.
    ISBN 0-14-004514-7

     

    Techniques:

    The Complete Guide to Decorative Woodworking, Alan and Gill Bridgewater: 1986, Chartwell Books,Inc., Secausus, NJ.
    ISBN 1-55521-088-0

    A "how to" book illustrating a number of relief and chip carving techniques. A number of "period" examples are shown.

    Finishes:

    The Craftsman's Handbook "Il Libro dell' Arte", Cennino d'Adrea Cennini (Translated by Daniel V. Thompson, Jr.), 1966, Dover Publications, New York.
    ISBN 486-20054-X

    Cennini was a 15th century Italian painter. This book is a translation of his book on how to create paints, mordants and other finishes used in his art. It also contains (pages 109-110) an explaination on how he finished "Caskets and Chests". Explainations of how to make the various varnishes, gessos, colors, etc. can be found in other parts of the book.

  6. Useful WWW References

    7. [Hofm83] M. Hofman, "Cloth and Clothing in Medieval Europe",

    Possibly as listed in the Library of Congress Catalog as

    Cloth and clothing in medieval Europe : essays in memory of Professor E.M. Carus-Wilson / edited by N.B. Harte and K.G. Ponting. London : Heinemann Educational Books ; [Edington] : Pasold Research Fund, 1983. xiv, 401 p. : ill. ; 23 cm. ISBN: 0435323822

    [Oakley] The articles of Master Charles Oakley (Middle Kingdom), http://www.dnaco.net/~arundel/oakley.html

    [Oak99] C. Oakley, "On making a mediaeval bed", http://www.dnaco.net/~arundel/bed.html

    [Oak00] C. Oakley, Living History Web site http://www.livinghistory.co.uk/homepages/oakley/

  7. Useful WWW Links

    1. Furniture site with a strong SCA influence, some reasonable reproduction articles. Good scope of areas, chairs, tables etc.
    2. The official web site of the Victoria and Albert Museum London can be a useful place to go and look for pictures and inspirations.