Beds in Fairytales and Myths

Beds feature extensively in many myths, fairytales and other works of literature. As we spend so much of our lives sleeping this is not really much of a surprise. When we picture the beds in fairytales like Cinderella, we depict images of grand palace chambers with enormous mahogany four-posters draped in silk.

Conversely, the many of the characters in ancient stories don't always sleep in what we term to be a traditional bed, or even in a bedroom. The Greek god of dreams, Morpheus, slept in a bed made of ebony in his Cave of Sleep. Forest elves make their beds far above the ground in the treetops. And a traditionally a vampire's resting place of choice is a coffin.

Beds are the subject of a number of common expressions or sayings. The saying 'A bed of roses,' comes from the 1599 poem, The Passionate Shepherd to his Love, in which the author Christopher Marlowe's states, 'and I will make thee beds of roses/And a thousand fragrant posies/A cap of flowers and a kirtle/Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle.'  Although Marlow has actual roses in mind, the expression is now used in reference to an unrealistic expectation of something being easy and pleasant. For example 'Marriage isn't a bed of roses.'

The Saying 'he must have got out on the wrong side of bed' dates back to the Romans, who believed the left side was unlucky and that if you got out on the left of your bed would bring you bad luck.

One of the most grisly bed-related stories can be found in the Greek myth of Procrustes. Procrustes was sadistic bandit who lived in the hills near Athens and would invite unsuspecting travellers to lie down on his iron bed. If his victim was too tall for the bed, Procrustes would chop his body until it was the right length. Shorter Travelers would be stretched out on a rack.

The bed itself was adjustable and Procrustes would alter it as he saw people approaching to make sure it was never a perfect fit. The Greek hero Theseus finally stopped Procrustes' wicked ways by placing him on his own bed and cutting off his feet and head. In modern times the expression 'a Procrustean bed' has come to means an apparently arbitrary standard to which one is forced to conform.

Old superstitions suggest that a bed facing north or south will bring you misfortune, that interrupting bed-making results in a restless night's sleep and that it's bad luck to put a hat on a bed. If you're single and you start making a bedspread, make sure you finish it, or according to folklore you'll be single forever.  Last but not least you should not place a bed with the bottom facing the door, as this symbolises the way your body being carried out feet first after your death.

Falling into an enchanted sleep is common in fairytales, but sometimes beds themselves can be transformed into magical objects. In Walt Disney's Bed knobs and Broomsticks, thanks to a magic bed knob, the children travel to London on a bed that can fly. According to the Legends of King Arthur, the wizard Merlin created an enchanted bed that drove everyone who slept in it out of his or her wits. Only the brave Sir Lancelot could resist the spell.