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→Later Development
==Later Development==
In the early Medieval period, tables once again lost some of their prominence. Household furniture often did not emphasize large tables and multiple types of furniture, such as chests, would be substituted for tables as they were required. However, wealthy classes or individuals began creating long tables that they could put all or many guests on. Tables began to represent a type of social bonding that guests would come together around physically but also socially. Benches and chairs now began to be associated with long tables. Thus, long tables in prominent halls became symbolic as wealth and social status, where one can dine many guests at once as a way of showing social status and power. Desks were differentiated by this time from tables, where monks and others who worked with written documents required tables have drawers or different design to make writing and reading easier, such as a slightly angled table.<ref>For more on Medieval furniture in Europe, see: Diehl, D., & Donnelly, M. (1999). <i>Medieval furniture: plans and instructions for historical reproductions </i> (1st ed). Mechanicsburg, Pa: Stackpole Books.</ref>
One aspect of tables was they became ways in which social rank was displayed. Those from prominent families or status ate at the head of the table, sometimes on a raised dais, while others were further way from the raised part or front of the table. If anything, it was only later in the Medieval period that dinning tables began to reduce in size again. This was seen, in part, due to the Black Death and declining larger gatherings held. Uprisings and political instability, in part due to split between Catholics and Protestants in the 16th century, led to smaller dinning gatherings, as it was seen less beneficial to have too many large banquets. This led to a reshaping of dinning into more intimate type gatherings and smaller tables becoming more fashionable. Round dinning tables also began to be seen as giving a more intimate gathering.
