A rope bed is a type of

platform bed A bed base, sometimes called a foundation, is the part of a bed that supports the mattress. The bed base can itself be held in place and framed by the bedstead (bed frame). In the United States, box-spring bed bases are very common (to the poin ...

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'ameub ...

or bedticks, which would traditionally be stuffed with straw,

chaff Chaff (; ) is the dry, scaly protective casing of the seeds of cereal grains or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material (such as scaly parts of flowers or finely chopped straw). Chaff is indigestible by humans, but livestock can eat it. In agri ...

, 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 an ...

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 bedro ...

(a form of bedtick) or other roll-up mattress (see

mattress topper A mattress pad, mattress topper, or underpad is designed to lie atop a mattress. Made from a variety of materials such as wool, cotton, memory foam, feather or latex, its function is to provide an extra layer of comfort, especially when the exis ...

). 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 The Great Bed of Ware is an extremely large oak four poster bed, carved with marquetry, that was originally housed in the White Hart Inn in Ware, Hertfordshire, Ware, England. Built by Hertfordshire carpenter Jonas Fosbrooke about 1590, the bed me ...

References

{{Furniture-stub Beds Portable furniture

See also

References