The Company
Although his Lordship had the option of having his Lady join him at the head table during a medieval feast, it was relatively uncommon for the other men at his table to be accompanied by their wives, and for those seated at the lesser tables it was always stag, unless his Lordship stated otherwise. Most medieval feasts were thus all male affairs, and frequently the conversation had more to do with discussion of business and politics than anything else. Because of the manner in which the meal was served and consumed most often his Lordship’s wife chose not to attend, or sat with him at the head table but eating very little.
The diners at his Lordship’s table had their meat cut for them by pages, after they selected it when offered to them by servers. Those at the lesser tables weren’t offered this nicety, and it was not unusual for the guests unworthy to sit at the head table to cut the meats of their fellow diners, seated on one side or the other. On the rare occasions when a woman was present it was considered gallant to offer to cut her meat, or any other comestibles deemed too large to be conveyed to the mouth. Since many of the diners eschewed using their hands and instead used their knife to function as a fork, this was somewhat unsanitary.
These acts of graciousness were established by the social order, in which the younger were required by the manners of the time to offer their services to their elders, and all gentlemen were required to offer to assist a lady in any and all situations which might otherwise cause her embarrassment. In this manner it was customary to offer the shared use of a drinking vessel to another guest who lacked the foresight to come properly equipped. The same applied to the sharing of knives. It will be perceived that dining in the manner of the day was a potentially messy affair.
The guests who were of sufficient social status to sit at the host’s table were seated in cushioned chairs. The rest of the diners, along the lesser tables, were perched upon backless stools for all but the most lavish feasts of the very wealthy who could afford chairs for all of their guests. As in the Arab world, the left hand was used to touch any of the shared food, or to use one’s spoon to removed pottage or stew from the communal pot or bowl. The right hand was reserved for the purpose of conveying food from one’s own plate to one’s own mouth. Food was always transferred to the plate prior to transfer to the mouth.
On certain feast days, a medieval feast might begin with the noon meal, continue with entertainment following the dessert course, and then after a few hours have a second full meal, though of smaller dishes and lighter foods. Officially the Church frowned on long evening repasts which continued well into the night, as it was believed that they led to gluttony, drunkenness, gambling, blaspheming, and other lengthy steps along the road to perdition. Clergy condemned the late suppers from the pulpit, determined to protect their flock from the weakness of the flesh.