Bread trenchers was [Sca-cooks] Tableware

[Terry Decker]

Rather than try to answer each of your points, Stefan, let me try to create
a cohesive response.

Last year I decided to write a summary paper on what we know about bread
trenchers to present at the Cook's Symposium.  Soon after I started, I
realized that not even professional historians have a clear picture of the
history of trenchers and that most of "what everyone knows" are assumptions
extrapolated from a few points of data, most from the 15th and 16th Century.
The paper became a "working" paper and its presentation the first iteration
of a work in progress.

The earliest reference I could find was an illustration from an early 12th
Century copy of Gregory's Moralia (originally written in the 6th Century)
which I believe is currently housed in the Bibliothique Nationale in Paris.
I, and others, have interpreted the bread in the illustration as being
trenchers.  Another interpretation could be sliced bread.

Since the first reference is early 12th Century, the custom of trenchers
probably became established in the 11th Century.  Germany and Poland use
variations of the French, "tailloir."  (That may not be spelled correctly
since I don't have my crib sheet handy.)  "Trencher" is derived from the
Anglo-Norman, "trancheor," and probably would not have been used before
1066.  So tentatively the origin is 11th Century France.

Trenchers appear in references from England, France, Germany and Poland.

They do not appear in Ireland, Scandinavia, Russia, much of Eastern Europe,
Greece, Italy or Spain.   That there are no references does not prove
trenchers were not used in these countries, but it strongly supports the
possibility.

Trenchers appear in countries where the manorial system (11th to 15th
Centuries)was strong and the household would reside at each manor for
various periods.  Of the countries where references to trenchers do not
appear, Spain, Russia and much of Eastern Europe were continuously at war
with invaders or were uninhabited lands.  Greece, Russia and much of Eastern
Europe were also Orthodox rather than Roman Catholic tied more to the
Byzantine Empire than Rome.  And the leadership of the Italian city states
was mostly urban and cosmopolitan, being supplied by, but not living on
their estates and practicing a different form of patronage from their
northern counterparts.  Ireland and Scandinavia were culturally different
from most of Northern Europe.

Why the bread trencher came to be is an open question.  Tableware was
readily available and using the quantities of bread required is a major
expense.  My opinion is it represents conspicuous consumption.  That it is
meant to demonstrate that the lord of the manor is so wealth he (or she) can
give those in service to him bread to use as a plate and that those who
serve him are so enriched by the service that trencher does not need to be
eaten, but can be given to the poor to feed them as is the Christian duty of
such a rich and powerful household.

Because the rise and decline in the use of bread trenchers appears to rise
and decline of the manorial system, there is the question of whether the
relationship is casual or causal.

I know of no household account information prior to the 13th Century.
Information from the 13th Century is pretty skimpy, but the quantities of
bread purchased suggest that trenchers were used daily.  Later household
accounts show marked declines (up to 25%) in the purchase of bread and food
stuffs without a similar decline in the numbers of the household.  The
decline in expenses is attributed by a number of historians to a decline in
the use of bread trenchers.

The books of etiquette covering trenchers are for the most part 15th and
16th Century when the rituals of preparing them and presenting them to the
table are most elaborate. One does need to consider that the instructions
were often copied verbatim from earlier texts and don't necessarily tell us
if the preparation of trenchers was a common event or if the instructions
had been retained in the event that trenchers might be required

Illustrations from the 15th Century show the squared trenchers and often the
carvers knives at the table suggesting that the preparation of the trenchers
was being done at the table.  The famous woodcut from Der Schatzbehalter
(Nuremburg, 1491) shows the ruling noble being served squared trenchers, but
leaves one wondering if the other diners are eating from round trenchers or
plates.  Trenchers are remarkable absent from most 16th Century
illustrations.

As for Poland, in the 13th Century bread trenchers were used during meals.
By the 16th Century, the royal court commonly used silver plate, majolica,
and gilded pewter.  I believe bread trenchers would have been used on fast
days as an expression of piety and as alms.  According to Dembinska, the use
of bread trenchers in Poland continued into the 17th Century.

I am now searching for more illustrations and primary references in
languages other than English.  I'm trying to find further account
information.  And I'm trying to see if I can tie all of this to other
changes in feudal society.

Bear

>
>
> Bear said:
> -------------
> >I wonder if trenchers were specifically used for feasts.  When they
> >served more people than usual and didn't have enough of the plates
> >that would be normally used.  People didn't bring their own
> feast gear
> >in period.
>
> Actually the rich and powerful travelled with full baggage
> trains and often
> their own cooks.  They would be served on their personal tableware and
> linens by their own servants and room would be made in the
> kitchen for their
> cooks.
>
> Since the illustrations often show trenchers being presented
> to the highest
> ranking nobles, they are certainly not being used to fill in
> where there
> were not enough plates.  Also, the handbooks on serving and etiquette
> provide very precise instructions on how trenchers were to be
> prepared and
> presented.
> ------------
>
> Yes, but how often were trenchers used for meals? Just the major
> feasts? Or everyday or somewhere inbetween?
>
> If it is something done everyday, then why would the directions
> need to be repeated in so many places? We've said before that
> some of the simpler dishes may never have been written down
> because a recipe wasn't needed. If something is being done
> everyday, why would instructions be needed?
>
> ----------
> >Using trenchers doesn't make that much sense for everyday meals.
> >Its better to wash and reuse a plate, but makes a lot of sense for
> >feeding a large number.
> >
> >Ranvaig
>
> You need to keep in mind that dining in a great household was
> a ritual as
> well as a meal.  It was a display of the wealth and power of
> the head of the
> household and was meant to create a sense of community among
> the members of
> the household.  Trenchers served to demonstrate wealth and
> piety.  Only a
> wealthy and therefore powerful house could afford the expense
> of using bread
> for plates, which were taken up between courses and given to
> the poor as
> alms.
> ----------
>
> No disagreement here. But every day???
>
> They were for show. I believe some of the manners books specifically
> say to not eat your trencher, lest you appear poorer than you are.
>
> ---------
> Originally trenchers were just small round loaves sliced in
> half, as shown
> by an illustration in an early 12th Century copy of Gregory's
> Moralia, but
> by the late 13th Century they were being squared and
> presented to the table
> in an increasingly more elaborate ritual.
> --------
>
> Thank you. I had been wondering at some of the variety in the
> different
> trencher descriptions and cutting methods. This makes things much
> clearer.
>
> --------
> A comparison of accounts between the 13th and 16th Centuries
> show a decline
> in the expenditures for bread, suggesting that trenchers
> moved from being
> used at every meal to being used primarily for pomp and ceremony.  For
> example, Dembinska comments that in mid-16th Century Poland
> it was common to
> use bread trenchers on fast days.
> --------
>
> And the evidence that they started out being used at every meal is?
> Decline in bread expenditures per person? per household? Or only
> compared to other food purchases?
>
> It's interesting that Poland seems to be lagging the rest of
> Europe then, since there were a fair number of fast days and
> above you said that 13th through 16th Centuries show a decline.
> Was this "use bread trenchers on ONLY fast days"? Or used
> trenchers off and on through the year, but especially on fast
> days?
>
> I believe you've said that you did a paper at the last CooksCon
> on trenchers. Unfortuately, I've not gotten my Proceedings from
> that yet.
>
> I would love to see a comprehensive article on trenchers in
> "To Serve It Forth", TI or for the Florilegium. I think
> either the folks in the SCA are making tremendous progress
> in understanding and using trenchers in the last few years
> or the new communications channels are just making me aware
> of efforts that have been ongoing.
>
> Stefan li Rous
>