Some medieval Europeans slept in box beds - an arrangement that continued well into the 19th century. An interesting article at Amusing Planet discusses the various reasons for doing so (privacy, warmth, security from animals or intruders) and provides additional images.
Via the neverending abundance of Neatorama. More info at Wikipedia.
If you ever go to Norway, I can recommend a visit to the Hanseatic museum in Bergen.
ReplyDeleteYou will learn a lot on how merchants and their apprentices lived during the medieval times.
One of the more interesting rooms was actually the sleeping quarters where an entire wall was made up by bed boxes for the apprentices.
They locked from the outside.
The merchants bed box locked from the inside.
It also opened in two directions. It had an extra hidden door to the merchants private office.