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couldimpressandbeimpressed.Nowondermightypeoplewantedtomakesuch
eventsexclusive,theatrical,almostmystical,withonlyafewinvitedtothehightable.
Feastingwasalsoamethodofcontrolbypowerfulinstitutions,liketheChurch.All
throughtheperiodunderconsiderationbothreligionandtheconventionsofupper
classsocietyinfluenceddiningetiquette,shapeditandmouldedit.TheChurch's
influencepermeatedthroughoutmostaspectsofdailylifeinmedievalEurope,and
Englishkitchenswerenoexceptiontotherule.Thebestexampleofthisissupplied
bytheregularrhythmoffishdaysandfleshdaysaswellastheperiodsoffasting,i.e.,
Advent,Lent,EpiphanyandPentecost.
Feasts,asuniqueoccasionsfordisplayandostentation,forflatteryandforthespec-
tacleofrankandhierarchy,havebeenthetopicofnumerousscholarlyworksby
historians,anthropologists,andsociologists,whichwerestudiedandanalysedfor
thepurposeofthismonograph.OneoftheoldestbooksinthisfieldisTheEnglish
MedievalFeastbyWilliamEdwardMead,72publishedin1931.Thebook,how-
ever,containssomeinformationthatisalreadyoutofdateandhasbeenprovedtobe
erroneous.Forexample,hepresentsasfactsuchmythsasthatmedievalcooksused
spicestodisguisetheflavourofspoiledmeat73andthatvegetableswerehardlyever
eatenbytherich.74Healsopropagatestheopinionthat“suchbeveragesasbrandy,
whisky,champagneandginwerequiteunknowninmedievaltimes.”75
OtherbooksinthiscategoryareFabulousFeastsbyMadelineCosman,76which
containsplentyofinformationaboutfoodpreparationandlawsinmedievalEurope,
includingmodern‘adaptations'ofmedievalrecipes.Thepreviouslymentionedbook
byPeterHammondFoodandFeastinMedievalEngland,concludeswithanexa-
minationofmedievalfeasts.ArecentcompendiumonfeastsisFeast:AHistoryof
GrandEatingbySirRoyStrong,77inwhichtheauthordepictsnotonlythefood
eatenbutalsothesetting,fromthedesignanddevelopmentofroomsfordiningtothe
clothes,utensils,peopleandetiquette.InChapterIIIofhisbookStrongdescribesthe
emergenceofcooksandcookbooksintheMiddleAges,writesabouttheimportance
ofgoodmannersandexplainsthephenomenonofentremets,whichwereinEngland
exclusivelycalledsubtleties.
Subtleties,madeofsugar-pastehardenedbygumtragacanth,wereinfactworksof
artorsculpture.Theywerereservedforthehightablealonesincesugaruntilthelate
72
W.E.Mead,TheEnglishMedievalFeast(London,1931).
73
Ibid.,p.77.
74
Ibid.,p.100.
75
Ibid.,p.48.
76
M.P.Cosman,FabulousFeasts(NewYork,1976).
77
R.Strong,Feast:AHistoryofGrandEating(London,2003).
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