Footstools for the Royal House of Meridies

King Padruig and Queen Linnet commissioned a new set of thrones from Brother Michael Lazarus of Antioch.  The venerable Thrones of Meridies had been made by an Count Sir Lawrence of Ashana.  Masterful though he was, the regalia of the Crown of Meridies has a hard life.  It is disassembled and loaded in to vehicles of diverse quality over fifty times a year.  It moves from areas of high humidity to low, and is utilized in environments that vary from the misty seashore of Atlantia to the burning deserts of Atenvelt.  It was time for new thrones.  

The Queens of Meridies have varied.  Some have been powerful women of Amazonian stature, while others have been petite dynamos.  Both Meridian law and tradition demand that the sovereign and consort speak with equal voices.  The symbolism of equal thrones is vital.  While it is easy enough to design a throne large enough to accommodate the tallest of ladies, to attend to the needs of both tall and petite requires more finesse.  There was no way around it.  The Royal Thrones would need to be large.  But Brother Michael was wise enough to realize that it's difficult to project a regal air when one has to hitch oneself into one's throne, and even harder when swinging one's legs like a five-year-old.  

To resolve this conflict, Brother Michael hit upon the idea of low footstools for the Queen and Princess.  As an optional accessory to the Thrones, the ladies would be able to step up with dignity, and comfortable rest their feet during court as well.  Because he wanted to focus his time as creative energy on the thrones, Brother Michael opted to sub-contract the footstools to Lord Richard and myself.  As Brother Michael is a Master Finisher by trade, that he would entrust a project to be display alongside his work was a great honor.  

This project was a joint effort with my self and Lord Richard of the Sylvan Glade.  For additional images and commentary, please see the sidebar document.

The stool is constructed using through mortise-and-tenon joints with slab legs and raised stretchers.  

1. Materials, maple and cherry,  were determined by Brother Michael Lazarus for the Thrones.  We used materials to match.
2. Design was based on a number of different medieval examples from the second millennium. 
3. Gross Construction
   1. Rough Layout - This is the process where long, awkward boards are cut to manageable length while minimizing wasted material.  If possible, all rip-cuts are made at this stage as well.
   2. Thickness Planing - This is the process where the boards are reduced to their final thickness prior to the layout of the joinery. 
4. Detail Layout - This is the stage where we laid out all of the final shapes on the completed boards and cut them to length.  Any rip cuts that were impractical at the rough layout stage would be done at this point.  Joints are also cut at this stage.
5. Intarsia - This is the point where we installed the decorative intarsia, or inlay.
   1. Design - We based our designs on the registered badges of the Queen and Princess of Meridies, respectively.
   2. Process - Each component section of the badges had to be carefully cut-out according to the intarsia pattern.  In order to produce an attractive finish it was necessary to have very tight seams.
6. Finish - All that remained at this point was the final finishing and assembly.  Because we could count on the wood's natural hue to represent the colors in the badges, both stools are un-stained

The final step:  At the request of Brother Michael, we attached small rubber cushions to the feet, to prevent them from sliding on the very modern tile floors we often use as throne rooms.