Refectory table

The original table manufacture was by hand and created of oak or walnut; the design is based on a trestle style.

Typically, the table legs are supported by circumferential stretchers positioned very low to the floor.

Secular use of the refectory table is thought to have originated in the Mediterranean regions of Europe, where increasingly ornate designs were adopted by Italian and other craftsmen.

[3] Adaptation of the refectory table outside the monasteries traveled to central and northern parts of Europe in the late 16th century.

While the Mediterranean refectory tables emphasized the use of walnut, oak wood became equally common in these more northern parts of Europe.