subject: Trestle Table Entertaining In Ancient Style [print this page] Many of today's tables are designed after the trestle table which dates back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. It was the popular style in the 14th century. A very practical design, it is simply a matter of laying a few boards across two stands. You will see this design employed in modern day picnic tables to Amish hand-crafted dining tables.
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.
The sawbuck design was a popular Gothic choice but usually found in New England tables because of its rustic and functional style. Another American version of this came from the Delaware Valley of Philadelphia where German-Swedish craftsman created highly decorated pieces.
Trestle tables are an important part of Americana usually accompanied by spindle backed chairs. This modern version of the trestle is of a higher quality than the original often made of oak and braced with a stretcher beam. A keyed tenon runs through the center of each trestle and is typically supported by a waxed high-quality oak tabletop.
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.
The predecessor to the trestle table was called the table board and frame style, being a long plank of wood resting on a frame of several trestles also called horizontal beams. The legs were designed to be easily dismantled for storage and were very practical for travelling. The bridges of wood were pegged and braced to he tabletop.
The primary reason for sealing wood is to keep it from drying and cracking and getting stained. Those old tables must have had a lot of character, you could probably tell what the fare was for dinner by the stains.
by: Francis Steeds
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