Four-poster bed - Misplaced Pages

(Redirected from Four-poster) Bed with a vertical column at each corner "Four poster" redirects here. For other uses, see Four poster (disambiguation).

A four-poster bed or tester bed is a bed with four vertical columns, one in each corner, that support a tester, or upper (usually rectangular) panel. This tester or panel will often have rails to allow curtains to be pulled around the bed. There are a number of antique four-poster beds extant dating to the 16th century and earlier; many of these early beds are highly ornate and are made from oak.

Four-poster beds were developed for several practical reasons. Bedrooms often had drafts and could be cold at night: the curtains could be closed to help keep the occupant of the bed warm. The curtains also helped to give privacy to the sleepers, since servants and bodyguards often slept in the same room, especially in the case of royalty, served by a special group of servants of the bedchamber (usually noble courtiers), lords and ladies of the bedchamber, esquires of the body, etc. In the medieval era and up to the 18th century beds were items of furniture on which great personages and royalty made public appearances and held court, thus they were designed to impress. A four-poster bed with backboard and tester allowed extra space from which to display and hang expensive fabrics and heraldic decoration.

History

A four-poster bed is referenced in the Mishnah, which was redacted in the 3rd century CE.

Four-poster beds are mentioned in numerous Irish sagas and were recorded in early Irish manuscripts. In the 12th century tale of Acallam na Senóradh, in the wooing of Credhe, Cael ua Nemhnainn cites in a poem "Four posts round every bed there are, of gold and silver laid together cunningly; in each post's head a crystal gem: they make heads not unpleasant ", when speaking of a fairy-mansion on the Paps of Anu, in County Kerry.

A 16th-century four-poster bed in Crathes Castle in Scotland was made for the original owners of the castle.

References

"Tester Bed". V&A. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
"The History of Four-Poster Beds". The Milestone Hotel & Residences. 21 August 2014. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
"Mishna Sukkah 1:3". Retrieved 22 July 2021. ...If one spread a sheet as a canopy over the frame of a four-post bed...
Acallam na Senórach, Colloquy of the Ancients, translated by Standish Hayes O'Grady, pg 23.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Four-poster bed" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

External links

Media related to Four-poster beds at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Bedding
Adult beds (bed sizes)	Banig Box-bed Bunk bed Cage bed Rope bed Camp bed Canopy bed Daybed Four-poster bed Futon Hammock Hospital bed Kang bed-stove Lit à la Turque Loft bed Charpai Murphy bed Petate Platform bed Polish bed Sleigh bed Sofa bed Trundle bed
Infant beds	Bassinet Cradle (bed) Infant bed Toddler bed
Bed components	Bed frame Bed sheet Bed skirt Cot side Footboard Headboard
Mattresses	Air mattress Cambodian mat Tick mattress Mahjong mat Mattress pad Mattress protector Memory foam Orthopedic mattress Waterbed
Bed bases	Box-spring Bunkie board Storage bed
Blankets	Afghan Comforter Duvet Duvet cover Electric blanket Hudson's Bay point blanket Lizhnyk Patchwork quilt Photo blanket Quilt Razai Security blanket Silk comforter Sleeping bag Sleeved blanket Weighted blanket
Pillows	Acupressure pillow Bamboo wife Bolster Contour leg pillow Cushion Dakimakura Eye pillow Orthopedic pillow Sex pillow Speaker pillow Throw pillow
Related items	Bed warmer Couch Nightstand Blanket fort
Category Commons

Sleep and sleep disorders

Stages of sleep cycles

Brain waves

Sleep disorders

Anatomical	Bruxism Mouth breathing Sleep apnea Catathrenia Central hypoventilation syndrome Obesity hypoventilation syndrome Obstructive sleep apnea Periodic breathing Snoring
Dyssomnia	Excessive daytime sleepiness Hypersomnia Insomnia Kleine–Levin syndrome Narcolepsy Idiopathic hypersomnia Night eating syndrome Nocturia Sleep state misperception
Circadian rhythm disorders	Advanced sleep phase disorder Cyclic alternating pattern Delayed sleep phase disorder Irregular sleep–wake rhythm Jet lag Non-24-hour sleep–wake disorder Shift work sleep disorder
Parasomnia	Nightmare disorder Night terror Periodic limb movement disorder Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder Sleepwalking Sleep driving Sleep-talking
Benign phenomena	Dreams Lucid dreams Exploding head syndrome Hypnic jerk Hypnagogia / Sleep onset Hypnopompia Sleep paralysis Sleep inertia Somnolence Nocturnal clitoral tumescence Nocturnal penile tumescence Nocturnal emission
Treatment	Sleep diary Sleep hygiene Sleep induction Hypnosis Lullaby Somnology Polysomnography
Other	Sleep medicine Behavioral sleep medicine Sleep study Melatonin Neuroscience of sleep

Daily life

This article about furniture or furnishing is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Categories:

History

See also

References

External links