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by pbhjpbhj 1687 days ago
I've seen medieval beds in the UK that were a wooden 'tray' (on legs, or built into a wall) and the guides said a hessian bag was filled with straw (dried stems of wheat/corn/barley; straw and hay are often used interchangeably though, so it might have been dried wild grasses) for bedding.

I assumed poor people slept on the floor with whatever coverings they could muster. Suspended beds seem very decadent.

The stretched fabric, like canvas, over a rectangular frame design seems pretty common and would have surely been a more natural early bed. Similarly hammocks - which I thought were common on ships (at least in the later middle ages).

Guess I've discovered I'd like to read a history of beds!