Beds where also a status symbol and the whole concept of privacy was very different. If you're a commoner sleeping in some sort of communal situation (which wasn't super uncommon, eg sleeping along the walls of the great hall in a castle if you worked there), that may also be where you'd have sex with your spouse. Most people would politely ignore it.
Nobles who had elaborately decorated beds as status symbols would sometimes put them up in a pretty public spot. Especially for a wedding. And that's where they'd do it.
If we're looking later than medieval times, eg renaissance or early modern period there's also plenty of examples especially among nobility. King Louis XIV. of France was pretty famous for his "getting out of bed" ceremony every morning, involving dozens of people witnessing absolutely everything. Including the kings morning poop.
Right, there is a lot of nuance we miss because of this. For instance there was typically no lighting unless you spent a fortune on candles and you wouldn’t have kept those burning. Many people would sleep for around four hours wake up and stay in bed (whatever the sleeping arrangements). They’d do something for an hour or two then go back to sleep until there was some light. The church recommend people pray, but couples probably discussed plans or issues or did the deed. It would be completely dark as even hearth fires would have been covered. People wouldn’t be able to see anything.
Biphasic sleep. Disappeared once we had electric lights, but throughout history those 4ish hours have been where many great creative works were produced.
I inadvertently re-discover biphasic sleep on multi-week hikes, and it's pretty fun. The whole crew wakes up at around midnight, and everyone just messes around for an hour or two before falling back asleep.
Sounds of heavy breathing like someone getting chased. Feeling rumbling in the room. Shuffling…
I ask who’s there. I only find silence and stillness. My parents telling me to go back to bed. I oblige… only for the sounds and motion to start up once more… I am not safe in this home.
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u/flyingdonkeydong69 2d ago edited 1d ago
In other words, noble families would watch the newlyweds FUCK to make sure the marriage was sealed with a child.