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image ©1996 Peter Lucas
 edieval feasts and
dinners were remarkably similar to our own modern manner of eating; today's meals
generally start out light, such as with a soup or salad, then move on to the heavier items
of meats and vegetables, and end with something sweet - and the more formal or special the
occasion, the more likely the dessert will be something extravagant or showy. Medieval
meals, too, followed such a pattern, but the reasons for the foods that were eaten, how
they were prepared, and when they were eaten followed a train of thought much different
than ours of today.
Dinners & feasts usually started with foods that were
considered easily digestible, such as light meats, warm & moist foods such as soups
and broths, moist fruits (especially peaches), and greens such as lettuce, cabbage, and
"herbs." Spices were thought to warm the stomach, and were therefore an
excellent stomach opener. Cheese was eaten both before and during the meal, as an aid to
digestion and to help a "weak stomach." Foods that were more difficult to
digest, such as beef & fatty pork and heavy fruits, like pears & chestnuts, were
consumed later in the meal. In large feasts, very rich and exotic foods were served in
smaller portions only to highly distinguished guests after the more filling and common
dishes had been served to the entire hall. This practice would continue as the feast
progressed, ending with the finest of delicacies being served to just the table of the
king or nobleman in charge of the affair.
When meat was eaten, it was normally followed with cheese,
which physicians recommended for proper digestion. When fish was served, it was followed
with nuts, for essentially the same reason. Wines and ales of all sorts were consumed
during the entire meal. Sweets, like today, were saved for last, and spices were again
used here as a digestive aid to end the meal. Wine, as a custom, was drunk just before
retiring, and so the evening would usually end with a snack of sweet fruits & cakes,
& spiced wines.
Dinners were arranged in courses, each course containing
several items, with several courses in each dinner. A feast may contain many courses with
just a few dishes in each, or just a few courses with many dishes included. After the
final course came the concluding presentation of wine and sweets. At royal feasts, the
courses were broken up with a mini-course called an entremet, featuring lavish
presentations and spectacles, and fantastic and fanciful foods called solteties. These
exotic creations were crafted mainly from sugar and made to represent saints, warriors,
heroes, scenes from mythology, etc., but also were such dishes as the Cockentrice and the
Coqz Heaumez. Food-in-disguise was also a popular soltetie, and a cake could appear as a
realistic looking fish and a meatloaf could be crafted to resemble a fancily painted
pitcher. Beautiful and awe-inspiring, a well-presented soltetie was a masterpiece of
imagination and skill on the cook's part. Spectacles often included music, singing, and
play-acting. The French cookbook Le Viandier de Taillevent describes a spectacle which
featured a tower manned by a boy dressed as the mythological wild man of the woods, who
would throw rocks at a group of attacking soldiers below.
A modern Medieval feast, whether done for friends and family as
an amusement, or presented by schools and historical societies for the public, should
follow the traditional standards of the Middle Ages. Begin dinner with soup or broth,
bread, & cheese. Follow with green vegetables, a meat dish of lean pork or chicken, or
perhaps fish, accompanied with sauces, then move on to the heavier and fancier items, in
smaller portions. End with sweets and spiced desserts. Serve wine and ale throughout the
entire meal, or if the event is non-alcoholic, use apple cider, grape juice, lemonade,
water, etc. Just don't let your guests go thirsty! Divide the various dishes among two or
three courses, serving each course in its entirety and leaving time for talk, music, &
entertainment for guests between courses. For larger events, separate the two main courses
with an amusing and entertaining presentation, such as a performance of some sort of an
unusual or flashy food item - a roast pig always has a welcome audience at a time like
this, or try a fancy food-in-disguise soltetie. A good Medieval feast should last at least
several hours, and your guests should leave not only full of delicious food, but
emotionally satisfied and intellectually entertained. Give them one final drink and a
sweet morsel to send them on their way home, but first make sure they offer a toast to the
evening, the friends present, and the magnificent cook who made it all possible!
The Presentation of a Medieval Feast ©1998 James L. Matterer from
Master Huen's Boke of Gode
Cookery
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