A rope bed is a type of platform bed in which the sleeper (and mattress) is supported by a lattice of rope, rather than wooden slats. In cold climates, a rope bed would be topped with one or more insulating

palliasse A tick mattress, bed tick or tick is a large bag made of strong, stiff, tightly-woven material ( ticking). This is then filled to make a mattress, with material such as straw, chaff, horsehair, coarse wool or down feathers,Dictionnaire de l'ame ...

or bedticks, which would traditionally be stuffed with straw, chaff, or

down feather The down of birds is a layer of fine feathers found under the tougher exterior feathers. Very young birds are clad only in down. Powder down is a specialized type of down found only in a few groups of birds. Down is a fine thermal insulator a ...

s. It might also have a canopy hung with warm curtains. Modernly, they may be topped by a thin

futon A is a traditional Japanese style of bedding. A complete futon set consists of a and a . Both elements of a futon bedding set are pliable enough to be folded and stored away in a large during the day. This allows a room to serve as a bedr ...

(a form of bedtick) or other roll-up mattress (see mattress topper). In the sixteenth century (England?), bedmats of woven or plaited rush were often laid on the widely-spaced ropes, and the bedticks were laid on the mats. This stopped them from bulging between the ropes. Rope beds need to be tightened regularly (with a bed wrench, and sometimes with wedges) as they sag. They must also be re-strung occasionally; re-stringing reduces sag and evens out wear. When fully or partly unstrung, rope beds can be packed flat for transport. This has been said to be the origin of the English phrase " sleep tight", but some etymologists disagree. File:Walraversijde18.jpg, Medieval-reconstruction rope beds (circa 1465); note loops of rope protruding from side boards Shakespeare's Second Bed.JPG, A rope bedframe thought to have belonged to William Shakespeare WLA vanda The Great Bed of Ware 2.jpg, Bedclothes pulled back to show the bedcords of the Great Bed of Ware

References

{{Furniture-stub Beds Portable furniture

See also

References