If you have been watching the ‘King and Conqueror’ tv series about King Harold and William of Normandy, you may assume that life in those days was a matter of mud and guts, of dark interiors, elementary furnishing and minimal, dingy decoration. That was probably the case for the peasantry, not so for the nobility. In the following article, author Malve von Hassell shows life was a lot more colourful and sophisticated than you may think. JGH
The private chamber of Adela of England, Countess de Blois
Adela of England and Normandy (c. 1067—1137), daughter of William the Conqueror, and wife of Henry-Stephen de Blois, most likely enjoyed all the comforts available at the time even if there wasn’t much to be done about the cold damp winters and the drafts in a stone castle.
Baudri, Abbot of Bourgueil, wrote Adela an effusive missive in which he described her chamber as he imagined it. Even by the standards of the time, his tone was wordy, laced with blatant flattery and an openly stated desire for an elegant cope he hoped Adela would present to him.
Baudri addresses Adele as “hail countess, worthy rather of the name of queen.”
The walls are covered with tapestries, woven according to her design, and all seem alive: on one wall, creation, the fall and fratricide, the flood with fish on mountain tops and lions in the sea; sacred history from Noah through Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, the glory of Moses, and David to Solomon on a second wall; the Greek gods and myths, Phaethon, Ganymede, Cadmus, Pyramis and Thisbe, Hermaphroditus, Orpheus, Troy, and Roman kings on a third; around her bed the conquest of England, William’s claims to the throne as Edward’s chosen successor, the comet, the Norman council and preparations, the fleet, the battle of Hastings with the feigned flight of the Normans and the real one of the English, and the death of Harold.
He goes on at great length, also mentioning the ceiling and the bed hangings as referencing not only all of nature, but all the sciences, liberal arts, and philosophy, as well as rhetoric and medicine, a none too subtle way to flatter Adela for her piety, her political position, the breadth of her education, and her wide-ranging interests.
Over the top, to be sure, but from Baudri’s writing we can deduce with some certainty that Adela had a private space known as a “solar.”
Such a solar was a chamber on an upper floor of the castle, equipped with large windows to let in the sunlight. A lord or lady could enjoy a modicum of privacy for sleeping, reading, needlework, and receiving friends or vassals. A solar was by no means standard. In medieval times, there was little privacy; people slept in shared spaces, often even in shared beds, if beds were available. The great hall of a castle served as a place for eating, entertaining, working with retainers, cooking, and sleeping.
So, what would Adela’s solar have contained? The pride of place was the bed. A wooden bed box or a four-poster bed with a wooden frame supported a straw mattress on ropes strung from one end to the other. This was topped by multiple layers of wool, a feather or down mattress, and linen sheets and blankets. A large, long bolster was stretched across the bed, accompanied by several smaller feather pillows for comfort. Heavy curtains of velvet or silk, richly embroidered, kept out the drafts and protected the sleeper from curious looks.
Tapestries on the walls made the room cozy, and rugs and cushions added to the comfort of the room. In addition to large chests for her clothing and other items, Adela would have had a few chairs and benches for herself and for visitors, and space on a table for manuscripts. As a wealthy and devout Christian, Adela presumably owned a psalter and would have kept it close to hand. A table served for displaying her cosmetics, jewelry, and needlework, all symbols of her wealth and status. The fireplace warmed the room, and candles inside wall indentations and candelabra provided light.
For her daily ablutions, Adela had a ewer and a basin. Women used linen cloths and powders made of herbs to clean their teeth. For a full bath, a wooden tub was brought into the chamber and filled with hot water. As a wealthy woman, Adela would have had expensive soaps available. And herbs, flowers, and scented oils helped to dispel any unpleasant smells in the space.
Lesser nobility generally had to make do with the multifunctional great hall. With any luck, the sleeping areas were set apart by curtains to create some privacy.
And moving down the ladder of the strict medieval social order, peasants slept on the floor in a single room, the bedding consisting of a sack or canvas bag filled with straw or hay.
Of course, rank didn’t necessarily result in sumptuous private quarters. Adela’s brother, the Duke of Normandy, also known as Robert Curthose, at one point in his checkered career was forced to spend days under the covers because he had run out of funds and didn’t have adequate clothing to venture outside. The bedding may well have offered the only source of warmth in the chilly medieval quarters where he was staying.
It’s hardly that different from our time—money and status still determine what sort of personal comfort you are able to draw on.
I once lived in a railroad apartment in New York City with a bathtub on cast-iron feet in the kitchen. The cover over the bathtub served as a buffet table when I had guests, and when friends took a bath, I turned on the radio for their enjoyment. Perhaps for Adela bathing in a wooden tub that would be brought to her room by attendants had a similar charm. Nonetheless, my heart goes out to the attendants who got to sleep on the floor, rolled in a blanket, and inching closer to the warmth of the fireplace, while the lady slept in her curtained sanctuary.
Malve von Hassell (October, 2025)
Source: A letter from Baudri, abbot of Bourgueil and archbishop of Dol (c.1107) to Adela of England, Countess of Blois. https://epistolae.ctl.columbia.edu/letter/94.html
Bio: Malve von Hassell is a freelance writer, researcher, and translator. Her publications include three historical fiction novels for young adult readers, The Falconer’s Apprentice (namelos, 2015), Alina: A Song for the Telling (BHC Press, 2020), and The Amber Crane (Odyssey Press, 2021) as well as the biography of a woman coming age in Nazi Germany, Tapestry of My Mother’s Life: Stories, Fragments, and Silences (Next Chapter Publishing, 2021). Her most recent book is The Price of Loyalty: Serving Adela of Blois (Historium Press, 2025).
Webpage: https://www.malvevonhassell.com
Blog: https://www.malvevonhassell.com/blog/
Universal sales link: https://books2read.com/u/bpo2vg
Publisher: https://www.historiumpress.com/
© Image : Medieval solar, Blois, Loire Valley – ID: 2123959943 – Shutterstock
