Old Hungarian sources call the craftsman who makes furniture an "azthalos" or "asthalgyártó" (both mean "maker of tables"). The situation is similar among the neighbouring peoples, who likewise use a derivative of the word for "table" to denote a maker of furniture. Initially, the table was a board placed on two trestles; this was the case even in the king's dining room shown in Hungary's Illustrated Chronicle. When a meal was over, the board and trestles were put away. Long ago the word "board" meant a table set for a meal.

In Hungary as in Western Europe, only in the Gothic period were tables placed in the middle of a room, or in a corner, between two benches, so that people could sit at it. It was probably at this time that it became a permanent item of furniture.

The earliest surviving tables in our collection are from the late 15th century. They can be divided into two groups: cradle tables and large-drawer or chamber tables.

The cradle table is also called the Transylvanian table, after one of the main centres of its production, Transylvania. Similarly to the Tyrolean table, it consists of a cradle-shaped storage part placed between two solid side-planks. The inside, embellished with mouldings or paintwork, becomes accessible when the square tabletop is lifted off.

The other kind - the table with a large drawer - rests on a two-part base. It does not have a deep storage part, but its top is removable, as in the case of the cradle table. The two types of table co-existed in time and space in Medieval Hungary.

<< previous