SC - Modern-tasting Period

[Karen Farris]

     Huzzah Berengaria!  Your point is well made for the ambience of an 
     entertained feast truly lends a flavor that is not added to the pot.  
     
     Does anyone have fresh ideas for entertainment during feasts?  Court 
     whimsy, uniquely held performing arts competitions etc that are 
     appropriate for the setting?
     
     Lady Lillian Clare du Chateauroux
     Barony of Dragonspine, Outlands
     
     
     
> snip'd

 The medieval feast hall generally had most of the residents of the 
demesne, if not sitting down all at once, coming in and out and 
lingering to converse or to hear entertainment or just sit and rest 
for a while.  I'm sure there were people who bolted their dinner and 
then ran off to resume a task, but in general the medieval feast hall, 
not the tourney field, was the crossroads of life.
     
I always have that attitude even now, and find it makes a big 
difference in that ambience is just as important to me as the 
food--fascinating and educational as this list is, and dearly as I 
love the new discoveries I constantly make about medieval foods.
     
Countess Berengaria de Montfort de Carcassonne, OP 
Barony of Caerthe
Kingdom of the Outlands