What did medieval europeans use timber for?

Answer 1

Speaking for England (my own country), the most widely-used timber was oak, with ash, elm, beech, hazel and other woods also used but less often.

Trees could only be cut down with permission from the landholder (deforestation was seen as a problem from early medieval times); an oak would be felled and its branches trimmed off where it lay using axes. Then it was split along its length many times with hammers and wedges, creating large, rough planks that were much easier to transport to workshops.

These planks would have undulating surfaces, since split timber is never smooth; carpenters used a T-axe or adze to smooth both surfaces of each plank. These could then be used for floorboards, doors, table-tops, chests and coffers, benches or many other applications.

Larger beams of oak would be used as the foundations of peasant houses, laid into shallow trenches in the ground. Two long-curving trunks would each be split in half along their length and the two halves fitted together to create the ends of cruck houses, making an A-shape frame for each end.

For wheels on carts, three different types of timber were used for the hubs, spokes and felloes, since each type had different strengths appropriate to different applications.

Split timber was also used in coopering, for buckets, tubs, vats and barrels. Staves were often of oak or beech, sometimes of fir or yew wood.

For making bows, bowyers preferred yew wood staves imported from Spain or Germany, but local ash or elm could also be used. Arrows could be made using poplar, ash, fir or other lightweight timbers.

The wheels of mills, cart bodies and axles, shields, lances, fences and gates, timber bridges, spoons, bowls, drinking bowls, stools, chairs and many other common objects were all made of wood.

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Answer 2

Medieval Europeans used timber for a variety of purposes including building construction, shipbuilding, and fuel for heating and cooking. Timber was also used to make tools, furniture, and other household items. Additionally, it was used as a material for fortifications, such as city walls and castles.