SC - Re: tablecloths (longish)

[Christina van Tets]

Hello the List!

In answer to my original question, Balthazar wrote:

>Why, it's funny you should ask....  The description sounds *exactly* like a 
>table skirt we still use today in almost all banquet and catering 
>functions. It serves a number of purposes, such as adding a "finished" edge 
>to the table,  protecting the floor from drips which would have otherwise 
>hit it, and nicely hiding things from the view of the dining public, such 
>as chafing dish lids, buckets for holding fat and trimmings from on-line 
>carving stations, and the occasional Jack >and Coke for the thirsty Chef...

Well, yes, except that all the pictures I have in my possession show the 
table skirt to be between about 10 and 18 inches deep, by my approximation.

and Rudd Rayfield wrote:

>Yes.  I've experiemnted with laying tablecloths as I've seen in many 
>medieval illustrations.  What I've come up with at this point is an 
>undercloth, very much longer than the table, gathered and pleated (with the 
>help of staight pins), and a smaller top cloth, just the size of the 
>tabletop.  To get an undercloth long enough, I've used two >long cloths, 
>joined together at a gather and pleat.  An example of this type of 
>tablecloth may be seen at:
>http://www.50megs.com/matterer/medpix/gallery4/mpix91.htm
>
>There are better examples, but this is one I could lay my browser on at 
>short notice. I have also seen examples of a gathered cloth, without a top 
>cloth:
>http://www.50megs.com/matterer/medpix/gallery2/mpix40.htm
>
>As far as the January Berry Hours picture goes, it looks to me like a 
>single damask cloth, lightly pleated (draping naturally?), without a top 
>cloth.  They seem to be using little gold plates, rather than roundels.  
>The big nef seems to be holding more little gold plates.

I'm afraid I can't see that on the Berry hours picture.  Must be my eyes.  
However, the pilgrim/roundel picture mentioned earlier has only a large 
tablecloth, no valance.  I have another picture which intrigues me greatly 
along the same lines (sorry, I don't know its name or provenance):

It is obviously part of a larger picture, probably the bottom panel.  No 
cracks in the picture to tell ups whether it's on wood or not.  Anyway, it 
contrasts the life of the wicked rich with the humble-but-holy.  Four arches 
at the top, 2 devils in centre quatrefoils and a blessing hand on each outer 
quatrefoil.  Rich couple in centre have a tablecloth with decoration along 
its length, and the cloth is pinned up to make a slight swagged effect - you 
can see it's the same cloth as the top, because the top is wrinkled slightly 
to compensate.  The poor couple, on the other hand, have stripes going 
across the width of the cloth, and the swags are pinned also, but this 
doesn't seem to affect the top cloth.  Moreover, the stripes are slightly 
out of kilter on the valance part compared with the top.  I wonder if this 
is to show that hte rich can afford to have wide fabric?  Nah - then King 
Yon would have had the wider cloths, and the tavern wouldn't.

Sorry Gunthar, will get back to cooking now.

Cairistiona
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