Medieval Feasts

Feasts were always held in the Great Hall in a king’s or lord’s castle or manor and usually began around eleven in the morning. The tables were full of color and decoration. Beautiful tapestries hung from the walls. The Great Hall at one end had a raised platform (like a stage) called a “dais”. On the dais there would be a table where the lord, his family, and the most important guests sat. All the other tables were set perpendicular to the dais. Musicians (called minstrels) sat in a gallery ( a type of balcony facing the Great Hall) and played a fanfare as the food was brought in by an army of servant.

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A different type of dinnerware was called aquamaniles. Guests could choose from a variety of dishes, including sweet ones, for every course. Likewise, cooks were always trying to create a taste that was entirely new.

At least three main courses were served at a feast. A jester wore a cap with bells and a costume, half of one color and half of another. Other foods, such as meatballs, were coated with real gold for very special feasts.

Have you ever tried to eat a six coarse meal only using a knife and your hands, let alone a three coarse meal? Well, forks were not invented till the very end of the Middle Ages. The tables were laid with cloths, knives, saltcellars, trenchers, and rolls before the food was served. This went for all other entertainers too.

The Middle Ages truly was a fascinating time period. Some of the meats eaten at feasts are wild boar, chicken, herons, venison, rabbit, porpoise, trout, and many others. Food was either mushy so it could be scooped up with bread, or cut up in small pieces, so it could be picked up with a knife or fingers. Storytellers would tell stories of adventures of knights carrying out heroic deeds and falling in love with beautiful ladies. This includes pudding, fieldfare pie, sotelte, and bread and dried fruit.

Wandering amusement makers that would wander around from city to city provided other entertainment.

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Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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