SC - fancy feasts vs. simple feasts

[Anne-Marie Rousseau]

hey all from Anne-Marie
we are told:
><< I feel there is no 
> reason that we should limit our SCA "feasts" to those of the nobility.  >>
>

and we dont. At least around here, a "noble" feast is that which has
multiple courses, many many dishes per course. Servers who dont sit at
table. Subtleties. Edible gold on the Leache. 

we've also done "boon day meals", where a simple meal of period food is
prepared and served to folks sitting on the grass, al fresco. Tartes of
flessche, funges, frumenty, cretonne of new peas, bread and wardyns in
syroppe. We have documents that specifify that the workers, after a hard
days labor for the lord are to be fed a meal. The meal is even
specified...roast meat (la dee dah!), and pease pottage, and a big bucket
of ale, etc. 

My own household re-enacts a middle class bunch of servants and staff for
the Grand Bastard of Burgundy (aka "Tony the Hunk" :)). We eat well, being
a camp of cooks, but we do our own dishes, and only have one or two meats.
Brugels painting show clearly that even peasants dont do too badly on feast
days, like his wedding pictures. le Menagier, a middle class Parisian give
shopping lists and feast menus that show that even the bourgouis eat pretty
well. Perhaps not as often as the nobles, but not half bad.

Often we assume that you were either noble (ie lord in the castle) or a
serf (grubbing in the dirt, starving to death, etc). Actual medieval
records show that the majority of people were actually small farmers, and
that even a peasant had a pig and a bed and a pot to...cook...in :). (check
out "Standard of Living in the Later Middle Ages". Great book. Its in one
of those boxes over there....I'll be so happy when I move after this
weekend!!!)

hope this helps!
- --AM



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