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<DIV><FONT color=#000000>If you wish to serve the feast or do it buffet style is
a choice you have to make. One has the pomp and circumstance which lends a
great deal to the ambiance we try to create, yet the other makes it easier on
the serving group.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000>However, please note that while it may be nice to
believe medieval society was all "honor" and "noble actions"
between the people, the reality is a far cry from the legend we as a society are
spreading. Life was cheap in medieval society, and those who were not of
the nobility were not well treated. Even lesser nobles were often no
better off than some of the peasants. Plus, in medieval society, the link
between vassal and lord, the big cheese and the not so big cheese, etc. meant
that it was not a mere "privilege" to be the provider and server to
visiting royalty and/or clergy. It was a requirement which was expected of
those in a lesser status. It was considered mandatory, and there are many
tales of lords and ladies descending upon a household and leaving their larder
very much worse for the wear just for the "honor" of having served
their lord/lady. It was not the "starry-eyed" vision which seems
to be the idea expressed by members of the Society. There could be very
dire consequences if the lord of the manor failed to provide adequately for the
visiting nobility and/or clergy above him in society. The church and the
nobility essentially took what they wanted even from each other (it just
depended on the circumstances and who had the most powerful forces at the
time). The idea of honor and noble actions only applied to members of
equal status. The man considered the most noble and shining example of
knightly virtue, The black Prince, Edward, was in fact a callous butcher who
thought nothing of condemning every man, woman, and child in a village
(regardless of noble status) if they failed to surrender quickly enough, provide
what he demanded in tribute, or treat him and his army with the respect he
considered his due. Which means that while there were many feasts, quite
often the feast and festivities were provided at what we would now call
'gunpoint,' make me and my retinue happy or lose favor in my eyes.
So, serving those of higher rank in the Society in order to honor them and show
respect is not necessarily a period method of conducting a feast. Unless
of course you want to throw in the clergy who can excommunicate you or have you
declared a heretic if you are not sufficiently subservient, or the extra, armed
knights who hold members of the serving household's nobility hostage, and make
sure no one protests too loudly in public. And, of course we should never
forget the "entertainment" which was quite often found at feasts; poor
creatures who would be tortured, captives forced to serve their conquerors, and
oh we mustn't forget the "public birthings" by women of the
nobility along with drunken revels and enormous feasting to honor the child and
the mother.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>Knowing what I do about medieval society, I for one would rather not have a
totally period feast, and if someone wants me to eat buffet style because there
are not enough servers, then all I can say is, "where's the line, the
enjoyable conversation, the friendly camaraderie, and joking?"
because, by golly, I'd much rather be there than in a true, totally period
medieval function.</DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000>Spyke</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000>if anyone feels that I have insulted them in any way,
please contact me in private, and I will gladly apologize<FONT
color=#000000>.</FONT></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>