Pavilions & Tentmaking

"A 9th-Century Pup Tent" and "Making a Medieval Single-Pole Pavilion."

Subjects covered in this issue: cloth types in the late 15th century; notes on medieval cloth measures; the nature of swords; and tents.

Subjects covered in this issue: the perils of indulgence in cosmetics; some 15th century remedies; purses & pouches; jacks; table etiquette; nine men's morris; the diet of a 15th century soldier; and the Burgundian camp in 1476.

Subjects covered in this issue: tables; tents; tools; making a padded jack; soldiers' helmets from 15th century illustrations; and a description of the splendors of the Burgundian court from the Paston letters.

Pictures of various reconstruc ted medieval pavilions, with a Taxonomy of Tent Designs discussing different structures and constructi on methods, a collection of medieval pictures of tents useful as iconograph ic evidence, a custom tent measuremen t calculator , and links to other relevant websites.

While some of these are appropriate for documentation, some are also modern photos of styles that have been around for centuries. A few are reproductions, but I'm all about getting ideas wherever you can.

A small, simple round pavilion, perfect to use for a shower/bathing area, armor storage, day trips, children, or kitchen chaos cover-up.

Medieval Camping Resources, includeing plans, links and articles on tents, furniture, food, costuming, The Society for Creative Anachronism, and other period interests.

Our Middle Eastern medieval tent won the Open Craft Section at the last Conference.

Some time ago while attending a Winter event I began to ponder the possibility of bringing some of our Summer pageantry to the indoor venues that we use during the less accommodating seasons of our calendar. To this end I have constructed a lightweight pavilion specifically for indoor use.

(Also at www.medievalwood.org/charles/pavilion.html )

I have tried to list the steps and construction details for how we sewed our the pavalinos.

Two different sizes of pavilions, based on the design of Master Dafydd ap Gwystl, of Atlantia. While the intent is to provide detailed pictures, here are a few showing the tents, and other detailed pictures

A question about Welsh tents on the internet spurred me to see what sort of information might be available on the subject. One response to the question suggested that the Welsh would have no use for tents, given that travelers would be given hospitality at private houses. However this assumes that tents would have been used as we use them in our events: as a home-away-from-home in an ordinary living situation. Literary references in Welsh to tents suggest a different picture: that they were used when large numbers of people had to be sheltered and when the travelers could expect to be met with hostility -- specifically during wartime. As far as I am aware, there are no physical artifacts or even period artistic representations that could shed light on the subject of Welsh tents. However there are a good number of literary references that can provide a context for discussion.

The index of the camping section; includes articles on several related topics.

Links to related articles.

Construction information for a period-style wedge tent.

Various things I've learned the hard way about tentmaking that I have not seen listed other places.