SC - meat carving

[Ron and Laurene Wells]

>At last year's Lammas feast I sent the pork roast out to the tables cut up
>in 1 inch cubes. My source for that was Scully ("The Art of Cookery in the
>Middle Ages" p.172) who says:
>"Where a boiled or roast joint of meat was part of a course, it was normally
>presented already cut into 'gobbets' or bite sized pieces in order to
>facilitate the diners' job. For any further cutting the diner could hold the
>meat in his or her fingers under his or her knife. At the head table alone a
>carver might exercise the honour he had been awarded with his office, that
>of reducing the host's meat to smaller more manageable chunks."
>Unfortunately he doesn't give footnotes for that assertion, but I trust him
>enough to believe he has a reason for it.

In that KNIGHTS in Armor book the kids and I are reading, they actually did
mention this!  That the page was assigned to pour water and wait tables,
and the Squire was assigned to serve the High Table.  It was kind of cage
as to whether Knights continued to do this service, or if seving and
carving ended at the position of squire.  I kind of gathered that at
different point in medieval history, the tradition varied somewhat.  It is
a neat little book!  I'm glad I found it at the library for us to read.
I'd like to have it for our collecteion so the kids could read it at lesure
whenever they wanted to.


>As 'Lainie says, the manners books don't really directly address the issue
>(other than how to carve at High Table), although there are instructions in
>several that if you are sharing a plate with a woman to cut her meat up for
>her (as the poor creatures weren't very good at it!).
>

Ha ha!!!  They did indeed have some rather dim views of women, didn't they?
 Having worn a couple different styles of women's garb, I can say that ONE
plausible reason a lady would need her food cut up for her is that the
sleeves would drape into her dish!  She probably didn't want to ruin her
dress.  Who knows for sure though... I didn't actually live during those
times, and my studies have not expanded nearly as far as many of you people
who post on this list regularly.

- -Laurene