On Wednesday, I went to the first class of the Home Sweet Home course at the V&A. This was most interesting. Home Sweet Home is a course over 10 weeks, designed to give an overview of the evolution of the home and domestic interior over the last 1000 years. It includes some social and economic history and looks at how spaces were occupied.
The lecturer explained the origin of the word "home" and how it derived from the suffix "ham" in place names. This is an anglo saxon word, meaning village, dwelling, estate or anywhere people gather. Originally it referred to a shelter from the elements, a refuge, and/or storage area. Over the centuries, this word has evolved to mean much more and now implies comfort, privacy, family, relationships, taste, delight and beauty. As usual, the Victorians were responsible for evolving the definition, and this moved the definition more to bourgeouis ideology. The concept of soft furnishing, textiles, warm colours, the domestic ideal of the home - comfortable, safe and middle class.
However this was not a static definition. In Medieval times, the home was owned by the gentry, squires and merchants, who included in their households family, domestic, friends, apprentices and retainers. Privacy was not needed or expected, as eating, entertaining, meeting, working and sleeping was all conducted in public. This was because the Great Hall only had one room, where all activities took place. It was not until the 17/18th centuries that rooms took on different functions. However during the Industrial Revolution, work and homeplace became separated, and work was conducted at a different location. In medieval times there were different ideas about comfort. Objects were only acquired for their usefulness or value. Chairs indicated authority - others sat on benches or the floor. Textiles were of value. Furniture was sparse, but multi-functional.
In the 18th century, furniture becomes more comfortable. It is always portable - french for furniture is mobilie`. In Georgian times, rooms are sparsely furnished around the edges of the room - and upholstery commences. Use of rooms evolves in Victorian times - stuffed with furniture as an indicator of wealth. Drawing rooms become gendered - soft, plush, graceful and feminine - for ladies to withdraw to after dinner, when the men smoke after dinner at the table.
Changes took place in relationships with servants. In Renaissance times the servants were part of the family. All worked together in the Great Hall. Then in 17/18 centuries the servants were kept apart. Servants were called by hand bell, from a different part of the house. There were obscured passages to create privacy.
Then we had a wonderful speaker about medieval times. He described various castles, stating they went from defence to domesticity. He said castles were not about war, but about the status given by appearing fit for war. He explained the evolution of the single room in the great hall, to it's partition by screens to section off a cooking/living area for servants, and the main area for the lord and his minions. The lord and close associates ate at the far end, on a raised dais, "at high table", and the minions sat on benchs at tables, graded by status in the lower end of the hall. The architecture expressed the heirarchies within the house. There were 4 main areas to the household. The communal area (Hall); chamber (for head and followers); kitchen (main expense); and chapel. Household members sleep in the area in which they work.
I'm looking forward to next week.
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