Page:A History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England During the Middle Ages.djvu/423

 and Sentiments. 403 appears chequered, or laid out in fmall fquares, which may be intended to reprefent tiles, or perhaps parquetry. There is more evidence of tapeflried or painted walls 5 although this kind of ornamentation is only ufed partially, and chiefly in the dwellings of the richer clalTes. The walls in the chamber in cut No. 257 appear to be painted. In the fame cut we have an example of an ornamental mat. The moft important article of furniture in the chamber was the bed, which began now to be made much more ornamental than in previous times. We have feen in the former period the introduftion of the canopy and its curtains, under which the head of the bed was placed. The celure, or roof, of the canopy, was now often enlarged, fo as to extend over the whole bed ; and it, as well as the ttifter, or back, was often adorned with the arms of the polTeflbr, with religious emblems, with flowers, or with fome other ornament. There were alfo fometimes cofiers, or ornamental cloths for the fides of the bed. The curtains, fometimes called by the French word ridels, were attached edgeways to the teller, and were fufpended fometimes by rings, fo as to draw backwards and forwards along a pole ; but more frequently, to judge hy the illuminations, they were fixed to the celure in the lame manner as to the teller, and were drawn up with cords. At the two corners of the celure portions of curtain were left hanging down like bags. The curtains which draw up are reprefented in our cuts Nos. 259 and 260. Thole in cuts Nos. 261 and 262, if not in Nos. 256 and 257, are evidently drawn along poles with rings. The latter method is thus alluded to in the old metrical romance of " Sir Degrevant :" — That ivas a mernjelle thynge. To je the riddels hynge, With many red golde rynge That thame up bare. The celure and tefter were fixed to the wall and ceiling of the apart- ment, and were not in any way attached to the bed itfelf 3 for the large four-poft bedfteads were introduced in the lixteenth century. In fome illuminations the bed is feen placed within a fquare compartment fepa- rated from the room by curtains which feem to be fufpended from the roof.