What is "tentpoles"

Usage examples of "tentpoles".

Between the four main tentpoles, long trestle tables groaning with food and drink stood about the colorful carpets that had been laid for a floor, and there were people everywhere, Cairhienin nobles in their finery, a few soldiers with the fronts of their heads shaved and powdered, plainly men of high rank by the fine cut of their coats.

The Prince could see him well enough: braziers intended for warmth gave off a flickering illumination that danced among the tentpoles and around the meeting chairs.