[Sca-cooks] Structure of an Elizabethan Feast?

[Gretchen R Beck]

The OED has several just at the late 16th/early-mid 17th C quotes that are suggestive:

 b. above (or below, beneath, under) the salt: at the upper (or lower) part of the table, i.e. among the more honoured (or less honoured) guests.The reference is to the formerly prevailing custom of placing a large salt-cellar in the middle of a dining table.
1597   Bp. J. Hall Virgidemiarum: 1st 3 Bks. ii. vi. 41   That he do, on no default, Euer presume to sit aboue the salt.
1601   B. Jonson Fountaine of Selfe-love ii. ii. 89   He neuer drinkes below the Salt.
1604   T. Dekker & T. Middleton Honest Whore ii. i. 110   Set him beneath the salt, and let him not touch a bit, till euery one has had his full cut.
1658   J. Mennes & J. Smith Wit Restor'd 43   Hee..humbly sate Below the Salt, and munch'd his Sprat.

...although they would be a starting place, not an ending place (although if you've explored them, I'd be interested in hearing more).

toodles, margaret
________________________________________
From: Sca-cooks <sca-cooks-bounces+grm+=andrew.cmu.edu at lists.ansteorra.org> on behalf of Terry Decker <t.d.decker at att.net>
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2016 8:27 PM
To: Cooks within the SCA
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Structure of an Elizabethan Feast?

I assume this response is about my comments concerning "above the salt" and
"below the salt."  My objection is not to the idea that different classes
were fed different dishes or that seating at the meal reflected social
status or that the grooms may have been fed in the back of the hall or in
the stable (they were an unruly lot in most cases and their treatment varied
between households).  My objection is to the historical accuracy of the
status at table being divided by the position of the saler or nef.  I can
find actual first hand references to the other practices.  I have yet to
find a provably period reference to "above/below the salt."  Where the
references do appear suggests that the practice is a Victorian creation.

Bear


I don't have the book in hard, but Peter Brears lists various dishes
available to the different ranks of household staff.

Katheirne


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