[Sca-cooks] some questions from cooks guild

[a5foil]

Regarding Catalan manners of the 15th century, as observed by Francesc
Eiximenis in his work "Lo Crestia". This work is his commentary on the
various sins, among them gluttony, and reveals something of common table
behavior. There is also a collection of his observations on table manners in
a book called "Com se beure be e menyar" (loosely, "How to drink well and to
eat"), but I haven't located a copy of that, yet.

> Did men and women usually eat together?  Same meal? Same time?  Same
> table?

Yes, they did eat together, same meal, same time, same table, at least
enough of the time that it wasn't referred to as an unusual practice. It
appears that married couples sometimes shared a plate. Unmarried couples
were not supposed to share. Parents and children were not supposed to share.
Siblings and other children were not supposed to share plates.

> Did children eat at the table with adults?  (The first picture that I
> can find of children at the table is a family scene from the Tudor
> period - the Thomas Cromwell family, I think.)

At least some of the time, they did, but I don't know whether this was a
commoner's table or a noble's. I have seen no pictures including children.

> Did people usually sit on both sides of the table or on only one side?
> Was this related to rank?  Was depicting people on only one side of the
> table an artistic convention?

In one of my books of medieval artwork from the National Museum of Art of
Catalunya, I see tables with settings on both sides, but people arrayed only
on the far side, facing the painter. I suspect it depended on a number of
factors, including where and when you are, the formality of the meal, the
size of the hall, and the status of those dining. At least in the pictures,
there does seem to be some association with rank where seating is concerned.
Artistic convention cannot be ruled out.

> Was there REALLY a "below" and "above" the salt?  This is a persistent
> belief - but was it real?  Anyone have documentation?

At least in the early 14th century, if we accept the original publication
year of the Libre de Sent Soví as 1323-24, there are instructions to serve
spices at table, for the diners to add to their dishes beyond the seasoning
done in the kitchen prior to service. Eiximenis reminds readers that salt
should never be picked up with one's fingers, but lifted from one's salt
bowl with the blade of one's knife, and piled at the edge of one's plate,
where food could be dipped into it. While this implies multiple salt bowls,
I find no reference one way or another for the above/below thing. Given that
the recipes explicitly direct to provide spices to those dining, for them to
use on their meal, I suspect salt was not restricted in that way. I could be
wrong, though.

Thomas Longshanks