As the peasants called the tablecloth

Today everyone has a tablecloth on the table, but did anyone even think about how she appeared in our house, who invented it, and why do we even cover the tables with fabric?

Tablecloth history

It turns out that the authors are the ancient Egyptians, who masterfully by the standards of those times wove canvases. From historical sources we can find out that the tablecloths were rather thin, decorated with images of flowers. Thanks to this knowledge, we can learn about the peculiarities of the everyday life of that people, their customs and traditions.

If we pay attention to painting, we will notice that even on Leonardo da Vinci's fresco “The Last Supper”, which depicts the last meeting of Jesus Christ with his disciples, a tablecloth lies on the table. This is not the most important element of the picture, but it still is.

In ancient times, only poor people, peasants could sit at an uncovered table, people richer set the table with a beautiful tablecloth during the meal, which served as a sign of a decent financial situation. In ancient Rome, Greece and Persia, masters even wove gold threads to make everything look as luxurious and rich as possible.

At the very beginning, tablecloths were used only to decorate the table, but later they became a worthy part of the interior. But until about the 15th century, people set the table only for lunch or dinner, for the sake of decency. And only in the Renaissance, when interest in a person and his activity woke up again, people begin to improve in patterns and sewing techniques so that everything fits perfectly into the interior of the home. Particularly skilled craftsmen bought silk or velvet.

But after the Renaissance, the era of Classicism comes, implying the absence of elements striking in the eyes. Everything should be official and no frills. In the XVIII-XIX centuries, white tablecloths came into fashion, they seemed to still breathe Classicism, but his time was already passing. Tables covered with a white canvas look elegant and elegant, so this fashion is still preserved. Since the mid-19th century, the love of jewelry has returned. Craftswomen sew crochets using white and colored threads. They are improving in technology, someone embroider stitch. It was then that people noticed grace in the tablecloths hanging from the table right to the floor.

Nowadays, there is no longer any particular style and preferences, everyone can choose to their taste. Manufacturers can offer different fabrics and patterns, the range is quite rich.

As the peasants called the tablecloth

Important! It is interesting to note that tablecloths appeared in Russia much earlier than in Europe, although usually everything happened exactly the opposite. This is due to our close trade, political and economic ties with the Byzantine Empire, and therefore the transfer of part of their culture to ours. As well as the development of tailoring and manufacturing technology began to develop, which means that all segments of the population, for example, peasants, could afford to cover the table during lunch.

If rich people worried about the purity of their speech, and most of the words were borrowed from foreign languages, then they changed little. It will be interesting how the peasants communicated, because they have many of their own invented words, which were easy to remember, and they were created, most likely, thanks to associations.

For all the tales and cartoons, we see that in the hut right in the middle there is a large wooden table and a bench. Tables are usually made of oak and decorated with carvings. The tablecloths were laid on the tables, and during the meal they were covered with embroidered tablecloths, which they called tabletops. In Moscow there is even Stoleshnikov Lane, once there lived craftsmen who made tablecloths.

After reading the story, it is clear that every thing in our house has a huge story, and sometimes it is worth paying attention to it, it can be interesting.