Codex Amiatinus Part 1: The Folding Table

An Anglo-Saxon folding table?

Sort of!

The Codex Amiatinus was penned in the 8th century by none other than the Venerable Bede himself, a Northumbrian monk. Bede traveled from Northumbria to a variety of other churches and monasteries throughout Europe before and during his work on the Codex, which survives today as a massive illuminated vellum tome over a foot thick.

Bede drew several illuminations that, for his time, would have been very new and revolutionary. This image, for example, is of Ezra-- the first known illumination Ezra of any kind-- after Bede came to some sort of revelation about Ezra's life as a monastic scribe. And yet, as was common during the entirely of illuminations, this image was actually a sort of a copy. Bede, while on tour, actually traced an image from a 6th century manuscript (what exactly he traced is shown in an image below), knowing he would fill in the details later. The original was likely depicting a Roman setting. When he drew this illumination, he compiled the details himself with items of his own day, a sort of "fill in the blank" style. Interestingly, it looks like he wasn't very familiar with folding tables, because he wasn't quite sure how to draw it-- but this was not a detail he copied from the original, so it is reasonable to think that he was trying to represent one of his own time.

This image was copied further in the 10th and 11th centuries. You can see there that some details change, but much stays the same (sometimes including the confusion about folding tables). Consistent through all of them in one form or another are the braces seen at the bottom of the legs which suggest the ability to collapse.

I came across this right after a discussion about making more camp gear. The message was clear-- I needed to build this. But as gear that I would transport to events, I needed it to be practical, so there would have to be some modern secrets involved.

I started with a sheet of Baltic birch ply, light and durable. I added the borders to the table and came up with the design of hinged legs, one of which is on a riser when folding, so that the legs may lay over one another. While I used some modern bits such as the hinges, I made sure everything was concealed beneath the table and kept it simple. Once put out, the legs can be secured by two crossing 3/4" dowels, which fit into angular holes drilled in the legs.

The tabletop is sealed with teak oil, and the rest was painted in a red ochre house paint.

Overall I'm very pleased with the table! It will definitely be a head-turner at events and will suit our needs very well. Now I guess I have to make the rest of the set...

All thanks to the Venerable Bede.