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How to Build a Medieval Tent

Tents in medieval times came in all shapes and sizes. Royalty and nobility carried large, elaborately decorated pavilions. Lesser nobility and soldiers had round-top tents, simple A-frame tents, even tents that resembled modern Quonset huts. A simple A-frame tent with crossed poles forming a triangle at the front and back, pipes or saplings for the ridge pole and bottom tent sides and tent material fitting snugly inside the triangular frames was a common variety of tent seen in many contemporary illustrations of the time.

Things You'll Need

4 boards, 1 inch-by-8 inch-by-10 foot
3 conduit pipes, 3/4 inch-by-10 foot
6 pipe caps, 3/4 inch
4 metal tent stakes, 8 to 10 inches
Several eyelets
2 eyelet screws
2 pieces of rope, 30-foot long
Lacings
Fabric: 10 yards of 60 inch-wide heavy cloth
6 more yards fabric for the front and back openings

Instructions

- 1
  Cut an angle and notch at one end of each board. This will fit over the bottom conduit pipes encased by the tent material. Measure 7 ½ feet from the notch in each board and drill a 1-inch hole in the center. The ridgepole will fit into these holes at the crossing. The top ends of the boards can be cut into decorative shapes and painted.
- 2
  Choose one of the conduit pipes to serve as the ridgepole. Set eyelet screws 2 ½ inches from both ends of the pipe.
- 3
  Sew the casing in the material for the ridgepole. Measure two lengths of 5 yards plus 6 inches. Sew together lengthwise using a double seam. Fold under ½ inch on each end. Then fold under 2 ½ inches and sew to form the casing. The ridgepole will fit through this casing.
- 4
  Sew casings on each end of the main tent material. Fold the edge of the material under 1/2 inch to hem, then fold under 2 1/2 inches and sew to form the casing for the bottom side pipes.
- 5
  Cut two right triangles out of the 6 yards for the back panels. Sew a hem on the two triangles along the straight edge. Hem the bottom of the triangle. Sew the angled side of the triangle to the main tent material being careful not to sew over the casing. Sew lacings on the two straight edges so these can be tied together to form the back of the tent.
- 6
  Cut two more right triangles out of the 6 yards, but make the straight edge of the triangle 2 inches wider so the front of the tent can overlap and close securely. Hem and add lacings.
- 7
  Place an eyelet at the center of the top point of the main tent material for the eyelet screw to screw into but not through, 1/2 inch from the edge of the material. When the ridgepole is slid through the casing, the material can be attached to the ridgepole to avoid shifting.
- 8
  Slide the ridgepole through the space left at the center top of the front and back triangle panels. Screw the eyelet screw through the eyelet in the material and into the hole in the two crossed boards. Slide the bottom poles through the casings and place a pipe cap on each end.
- 9
  Tie the middle of each 30-foot rope to the outside eyelet screw on each side of the ridgepole. When the tent is set up, the two ends of the rope attached at the front eyelet will be tightly tied to stakes outside each of the crossed boards at the back. The ends of the rope tied to the back eyelet screw will be tied to stakes on both sides of the front opening. The cross tension provided by the ropes will keep the tent stable.

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