WORKSHEET
Furnishings of medieval English peasant houses
Word Part of Definition according to
speech context
felled verb Felling is the process of
downing individual trees,
an element of the task of
logging. The person
cutting the trees is a feller.
armoire noun a cupboard or wardrobe,
typically one that is ornate
or antique
Trestle noun A trestle table is an item of
table furniture consisting of two
or three trestle supports
linked by a longitudinal
cross-member over which
a board or tabletop is
placed.
bedstead noun the framework of a bed on
which the mattress and
bedclothes are placed.
Dais noun dais (plural daises) A
raised platform in a room
for a high table, a seat of
honour, a throne, or other
dignified occupancy; a
similar platform
Sentence in which it Romanian
translation
appears in the text according to
context
The earliest dated house which doborati
is still inhabited and likely to
have belonged to a peasant was
built of timbers felled in 1262.
Nonetheless they belong to cabinet
types of furniture which written
sources tell us belonged to
peasants, such as the chest and
armoire (in English almary).
Illustrations in manuscripts or masa pe capre de
wall paintings occasionally lemn
depict a peasant interior, but as
with the surviving furniture, the
main value of such
representations is to show
objects which were used in
aristocratic houses, such as
trestle tables
Richard Sclatter had furnishings Lemnaria/cadrul
: chests, a table, a chair, a patului
bench (form), a wooden
bedstead and bed clothes
Some inventories make no podium,
mention of a chair, and the platforma,
seating arrangement is estrada
indicated by the presence of a
‘banker’, which was a long
cushion placed on a ‘dais
 supporting a lectern,
pulpit, etc., which may be
used to speak from.
Ale noun an inn or public house
house
byre noun a cowshed
scythe noun a tool used for cutting
crops such as grass or
corn, with a long curved
blade at the end of a long
pole attached to one or
two short handles.
ewer noun a large jug with a wide
mouth, formerly used for
carrying water.
pewter noun utensils made of pewter, a
grey alloy of tin with
copper and antimony
(formerly, tin and lead)
andiron noun a metal stand, typically
one of a pair, for
supporting wood burning
in a fireplace.
stool noun A stool is one of the
earliest forms of seat
furniture. It bears many
similarities to a chair. It
consists of a single seat,
for one person, without
bench’ that formed part of the
structure of the house.
a concentration of fragments of carciuma
ceramic drinking cups suggests
that the hall had served as an
ale house
The peasants also owned barns, grajd
byres
in 1499 had a ‘first chamber’ coasa
with the usual beds and chests,
and a ‘second chamber’
containing reaping hooks and a
scythe as well as bedding
If peasants were tempted to cană de apă
buy luxuries, these were most
likely to be clothing, foodstuffs
or metal utensils, such as basins
and ewers, pewter
If peasants were tempted to vase cositorite
buy luxuries, these were most
likely to be clothing, foodstuffs
or metal utensils, such as basins
and ewers, pewter
inventories consisted of table, suport pentru
chair(s), stools and forms, and lemne de foc
occasionally equipment for the
hearth, such as andirons and a
screen.
inventories consisted of table, taburet
chair(s), stools and forms
 back or armrests

frieze noun a broad horizontal band of In timber buildings the dais friza
sculpted or painted bench might have a carved
decoration, especially on a frieze above it
wall near the ceiling. In
architecture: the part of an
entablature between the
architrave and the cornice