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theirinwardorganisation,numberofservants,etc.Thesearemostlythehouseholds
oflaymen,however,certainreferencestoecclesiasticalhouseholdorganisationare
made.Theavailabilityofhouseholdaccountsandotherdocumentswasthedecisive
factor.Thehouseholdshavebeendividedinto‘large'and‘small',mostlybyrankbut
alsobytheamountofmoneytheyspentandthenumberofpeopletheyfeddaily.As
willbeshown,sizewasaproblematicmatter,sincethenumberofpeopleinagiven
householdhadatendencytofluctuate.Innosinglecasewasitpossibletoreconstruct
thefullhouseholdorganisation,butthiswasnottheaimofthisbook.
Inordertorealisethisgoal,itwasessentialtocharacterisetheupperstrataofEnglish
societyintheperiodunderconsideration.InChapterIanattempthasbeenmade
todefinethenobilitasminor,orlessernobility,andcontrastitwiththegreaternobil-
ity,oraristocracy.Itisnecessarytodescribetheirresidencesaswellasmentionthe
generalchangesthatoccurredintheirhousesaftertheendoftheHundredYears'
WarcontinuingintoTudortimes,whenresidencesceasedtobefortifiedfortresses
andstartedtobecomeincreasinglycomfortablehouseswithmoreroomsandhalls,
whichensuredahigherstandardoflivingandmoreprivacy.AsstatedinChapter
II,thehousesprovidedmetaphoricalenvelopesforthehouseholds,whichdifferedin
sizeandorganisationdependingontherankandpositionoftheirmasters.However,
nohousehold,noteventhatofagreatmagnate,imitatedexactlytheorganisationof
theroyalhousehold.Inthisstudysomehouseholdorganisationsarepresented,with
aspecialfocusonthosedepartmentswhichdealtwiththepurchase,storage,and
preparationoffood.Thefunctioningofthesedepartmentsisanalysedanddiscussed,
andtheroleofthechiefofficersaswellastheservantsisdescribed.
ChapterIIIdealswiththecrucialdepartmentsinthefunctioningofahousehold,
suchasthegarner,cellar,buttery,pantryandlarder.Thekitchen,itsorganisation,
staffing,equipmentandworkingconditionsaredescribedtogetherwithkitchen-re-
latedoffices,suchasthescullery,ewery,andboilinghouse,aswellasthebrewhouse
andbakehouse.InChapterIVtheaccountingsystemsarecharacterisedandseven
selectedhouseholdaccountbooksarediscussedandanalysed.Asfoodmadeup
asubstantialportionofeachhousehold'sexpenditure,recordsofkitchenprocure-
mentshelpinreconstructingdietarypatternsandrevealingsocialstructures.Inthe
samechapterdietaryandcookerybooksareanalysedinordertoseewhatfood
itemsanddisheswereusedintheperiodunderconsiderationandtodrawconclu-
sionsconcerningculinarydevelopment.Thebibliographicalgroundworkisofgreat
importancehere,whichiswhytheprominentandextantculinarymanuscriptsand
bookshavebeenpresentedanddiscussedtogetherwithbooksofsecretandherbals.
TheprovisioningofgreatandlesserhouseholdsisdiscussedinChaptersVandVI.
Fooditems,suchasgrains,meats,fish,fowls,dairyproduce,spices,vegetablesand
fruit,aswellasstapledrinks,suchasale,beerandwinearecharacterisedindetail.
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