Wedding banquet. Illumination from Histoire d'Olivier de Castille et d'Artus d'Algarbe by Philippe Camus, 1440, Department of Manuscripts, National Library of France • WIKIPEDIA In the Middle Ages, banquets were an essential moment in the life of high society. They were plentiful, popular, luxurious, enlivened with all sorts of distractions. At these splendid feasts, diners not only ate in good company, but they could also listen to music, attend theatrical performances and, above all, pay homage to their host, who ensured that every detail reflected his status. Any occasion was good for organizing a feast at court. It could be a political event – a military victory, the arrival of an illustrious visitor, the entry of a king into a city –, a family event – a birth, a baptism or a marriage. , but also funerals – or one of the many feasts of the Christian calendar, such as Easter, Pentecost and, of course, Christmas. For the occasion, a spacious and well-ventilated room was arranged far from the smoke and heat of the kitchen:the state room of the palace, an open patio or a garden where a portable roof was placed. Sometimes banquets were even celebrated outside. The "jet-set" of the Middle Ages When the guests were numerous, several rooms of the residence were used. The chronicler Georges Chastellain thus relates that "all the lords related to the royal family and the great barons of France went in a prodigious crowd" to the banquet given in Paris in 1461 by the Duke of Burgundy, Philippe le Bon, so that " all the rooms where one could sit were full”. The crowd of bourgeois or villagers could even attend certain banquets, at least approach them to admire the "jet-set" of the time. In the room, the guests were placed according to a pre-established hierarchy. The host was seated at an exclusive table, higher than the others, covered with a canopy and illuminated in a particular way. Ludovic Sforza placed rabbits on the seats of his guests, so that they could clean their hands. On either side of this table were those of the guests. Those with the highest status were placed very close to the host. Often, everyone was seated on one side of the table, on benches covered with cushions or placemats, and the dishes were served face-on. The tables, simple planks placed on trestles, were set up for the occasion. Fixed tables became widespread later among the wealthy bourgeoisie of Italian and Flemish cities. The tables were covered with sumptuous tablecloths, at the edge of which was placed a smaller tablecloth so that the guests could wipe their mouths and hands on it, even if sometimes, as at the court of the kings of Aragon, in Spain, they used napkins from the XIV th century. Containers filled with rose water were also available for guests to wash their hands before and during the meal, each time the wine was tasted or between courses. Leonardo da Vinci says that his protector Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, had devised a more extravagant method of grooming:he had rabbits tied to the seats of his guests so that they could wash their hands on the animals' backs. Table art In the Middle Ages, cutlery consisted of spoons and knives, the fork only becoming popular from the Renaissance. Except for the soup, which was eaten with a spoon, the guests ate with their hands, but respecting standards of propriety. Thus, in Castile, the legal code of the Partidas (XII e century) established to seize the pieces of meat with two or three fingers. Other elements adorned the table, such as the salt shaker, a major vessel due to its luxury. A wide variety of dishes were used during meals:carafes, cups, trays, bowls, plates, ewers, etc. Often covered in gold or silver, these valuable pieces were displayed in a dressoir (a cabinet with shelves) for guests to admire. We know that in 1384 the tableware of Louis d'Anjou consisted of 3,000 pieces of gold, vermeil and white silver. In 1454, the Duke of Burgundy organized the famous Pheasant Banquet, during which no less than 44 dishes were served per course. The host's servants, led by a noble designated butler, took care of the service:the butlers served the drinks, the squires brought the dishes, the squires-sharps cut the meat... The great banquets were available over several services, generally three or four, although we know of banquets in Italy which offered up to ten. Each service consisted of various dishes placed on the table available to the guests. The host's desire for ostentation drove him to multiply the dishes. The record is probably held by the famous Banquet du Pheasant held by the Duke of Burgundy in 1454 in Lille, during which 44 dishes were counted per service! Swan or boar? These services were organized according to the type of food. The first consisted of fruits and other seasonal foods. Then, the soup was served, then the "rots", that is to say the roasted meats, generally more appreciated than the fish. The favorite meat was game (deer, wild boar, partridge, etc.) reserved for the occasion, since it was not eaten on a daily basis. Then came the poultry – capons, geese, hens and even swans – and finally the red and firm meats (veal, lamb). The dishes were embellished with sauces composed of spices and acidic fruit juices. The use of exotic spices (ginger, saffron, cumin or pepper) represented another element of social distinction. As for the drink, wine, beer, cider or mead were served. The host sought to impress his guests not only with the quantity and quality of the food, but also with a spectacular presentation. Thus, the Pope of Avignon Clement VI (1342-1352) presented during his coronation banquet a silver tree, from which hung fresh fruit, next to a natural tree from which hung candied fruit. For meat, roasted animals were presented keeping their natural shape, with the plumage for poultry. The same Clement VI commissioned an edible castle whose walls were made of roast poultry, stewed deer, wild boar, hare, goat, and rabbit. As for Amédée VIII of Savoy, at the end of the 15th th century, a gigantic four-towered castle containing, among other things, a fire-breathing roasted suckling pig, a cooked swan dressed in its own plumage, and a roasted boar's head. Banquets were often accompanied by grandiose performances, intended to convey political messages. In the XIV th and XV th centuries, interludes between services became fashionable. Announced by a brass band (the banquets were also accompanied by music), they formed veritable spectacles which conveyed political messages. In 1378, Charles IV, Emperor of the Holy Germanic Empire, organized during a banquet a grandiose staging of the conquest of Jerusalem. In 1385, for the wedding of Charles V of France, the episode chosen was the siege of Troy. At the banquet of the Pheasant, a complex performance was given, including a naked woman tied to a column which symbolized the capture of Constantinople by the Turks. At the end of the performance appeared a pheasant wearing a rich necklace, on which Philip of Burgundy swore to organize a crusade to liberate Byzantium. However, at the end of the banquet, no one asked him to keep his promise... Find out more Eating in the Middle Ages. Food Practices and Discourses in Europe in the XIV e and XV th centuries, B. Laurioux, Hachette, 2002. From soup to service After Entry Composed of fruit or cakes, the first course of a banquet generally consisted of a soup, which could be either a light broth or a game stew that was eaten with a spoon. However, at the court of Aragon, the soup was eaten at the end of the meal.
