SC - Haversacks and nefts (??)

[Decker, Terry D.]

A quick check of the OED before running off to work showed "nef" or "neff"
as a salt cellar/napkin holder/etc.  The word "neft" does not appear, so
this is probably a typographical error on your author's part.  The OED's
earliest reference to the usage discussed here is 19th Century, IIRC.

Bear

> "neft" as a small wooden box containing cutlery.  I suspect he's 
> thinking of "nef", which apparently sometimes contained napkins or 
> cutlery as well as salt (according to Hammond's "Food and Feast in 
> Medieval Britain", at any rate).  But I thought that was 
> desperately ornate and sat on the table, rather than being a 
> receptacle for transporting things.
> 
> Lady Jehanne de Huguenin  *  Chronicler, Shire of Adamastor, Cape Town