Using table linens to enhance look of your home

Tablecloths or rugs often cover tables that are being used for reading or studying. Other times these tables are completely bare. Beautifully patterned cloths, that are as thick as many carpets, often cover tables that are intended for display purposes.

Meal times in the homes of the wealthy often call for a thick, luxurious white tablecloth. Table linens appear to become less and less popular the farther down the social scale one travels. Bare tables and bar tops are the common eating surfaces at taverns and bars. Of course for some the though of owning a table is more important than any thought of a tablecloth.

Part of the strict rule of the Benedictine monks declares that brothers who arrive late for a meal must eat alone, without the use of either tablecloth or wine. This shows us that covering the tables was a regular habit for these monks.

Early in history tables were not covered with clothes unless a fine banquet was in progress. Throughout France and Italy, however, the habit of using tablecloths became quite common by the 12th century. The merchant class did not take long to adopt this habit from the aristocracy. At least one tablecloth was owned by all but the poorest households by the 15th century.

Linen was the most popular material used for tablecloths, although the weather homes could afford to have cotton tablecloths. Silk tablecloths were a rare luxury reserved only for the very rich. Tablecloths often had similar embellishments as the towels of the era. This included elegant embroidery, often with gold. While stripes where very popular patterns, embroidered silk in green, indigo, black or red was used to create a host of designs. Another popular feature of these tablecloths was knotted fringes or tassels, most often with beads. Besides being decorative, the beads were also useful as their weight kept the tablecloth from sliding around. The beads that were used came in a vast array of colors, although the tassels were always white.

Monochrome patterns are created using certain types of weave, such as the diamond pattern created from wheat weave. Venetian style lozenge was the term used to refer to the diamond pattern. Originating in the 15th century this pattern is still in use today.

In the Renaissance we see the first appearance of Damascus weave, which was invented in Flanders. The term we use for this weave today is damask. It did not take long for this pattern to become the most popular table linen throughout all of Europe as soon as it was established.

Images ranging from religious scenes, hunting tales, and nature quite often adorn the damask tablecloths of old. The decoration usually occurs along either the long or the short sides of the tablecloths, either way appearing on only two sides. Often the tables left much to be desired, so tablecloths were designed to hide the entire table.

To create additional thickness the tablecloths of those days were often doubled. Prior to being placed on the table the entire cloth would be folded in half. The habit of doubling a tablecloth, sometimes with an undercloth for an additional layer, continued until around 1625. To keep the corners of long tablecloths off the floor the ends would be knotted.

Based on the social class structure of the time sharing a tablecloth with someone meant that you were on equal footing socially. To indicate the different social ranks among various guests small decorative cloths would be placed at individual places to show a particular social standing. When a noble shared a table with his servants the tablecloth often only covered the nobles end of the table. Special cloths were often also placed in front of the host to show their particular status.

Placements, or these special cloths, were often very elaborately and beautifully crafted to reflect the high standings of those they were placed in front of. Originally referred to as napkins these special placemats where thought to have originally been created in Rheims, which as a long reputation for excellent cloths. A set of table napkins were presented to King Charles VII by the city for his coronation in 1422.

Of course, table napkins were most likely in use in noble and royal courts long before that presentation. In order to protect intricate and delicate tablecloths, long narrow table runners which were the same length and had the same decoration of the main tablecloth were created in the 15th century.

One of the main functions of the table runner was for guest to wipe their hands, thus saving the tablecloth from this task. Guarda nappi, or cloth protectors, are mentioned in the Italian inventories of the time. There were usually around two meters long and sometimes the ends were embroidered. They were usually kept in sets of six.

Often pairs of diners needed to share a runner at a formal dinner. Of course sharing was not unheard of at the time, as often entire tables of guests would need to share cups.

Refreshment towels, or serviettes de collation, were often hung around the room when cold collations were served in 14th and 15th century France. These often consisted of fresh and candied fruits along with sweet meats.

These special towels were hung very similarly to the way we now use hand towels and towel bars, they were about four ells longs and doubled over wooden dowels which were mounted high on the wall. All the guests could make use of the towels; they were not given in individual guests. The use of individual napkins did not become popular in France until the end of the 15th century. These towels were made of differing quality linen and silk and often came as both individual towels and matched sets. By the end of the 16th century these towels were so commonly used that you even saw them handed out in prisons.

The French habit of using napkins slowly spread to other cultures. At this time the Germans were still in the practice of eating their meals with their hands, while the Italians would use forks and wipe their hands on the tablecloth.

Manners of the time required that one wipe their hands and mouth prior to drinking from a cup, after all the same cup was often shared by the entire table. This was true even before the introduction of the napkin into European society. Different societies developed different cultural norms for the placement of napkins once they become popular. Erasmus in the 16th century advised that if napkins are distributed, yours should be placed on the left shoulder of arm, goblet and knife go to the right, bread to the left.

When ruffled collars became fashionable men began the practice of knotting their napkins around their necks. As fashions continued to develop, men continued the practice of tucking their napkins into their collars to protect any expensive lace adornments. In the 17th century napkins began to be folded into intricate and elegant shapes. Guests were often welcomed at the table by fantastic displays created by these napkins.

Just prior to the French Revolution the standard size of the table napkin was 45 by 35 inches and white damask was the typical fabric used. Matched sets of napkins were often available. It is in the 18th century that the idea of having matching linens, both the tablecloth and the napkins, became popular.

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