[Sca-cooks] Structure of an Elizabethan Feast?

[Terry Decker]

Many thanks for the references.

Somehow, I missed these as well as Ben Johnson's Cynthia's Revels (1599), 
"His fashion is not to take knowledg of him that is beneath him in Cloaths. 
He never drinks below the salt."  It's been a number of years since I last 
chase this particular chimera.

According to the the period etiquette manuals that have provided me table 
arrangement information, the salt cellar was placed on right hand of the 
lord's place at the table and his trenchers to the left of the salt.  Then 
smaller containers of salt, "trencher salts," would be set before each place 
of trenchers.  Status would have been based on proximity to the lord and 
seating position, with the farthest, left-most seat being that of the least 
rank.  Since the lord controlled the salt cellar, technically everyone else 
would be "below the salt."

While there are some very beautiful salt cellars from the Romans on, large 
ornate salt cellars (salers and nefs) didn't really come into use until the 
15th Century.  I haven't been able to determine where these large salt 
cellars were place in the hall, it is possible that they were moved from the 
high table at the hand of the lord to some other point in the room which 
would create a situation of actually being above or below the salt.  The 
earliest dates for the figurative use of the term, "below the salt," are 
such that there may be some validity in this hypothesis.

I may be able to find the answer in 17th Century etiquette manuals if I can 
locate any that have references to table arrangements.  My current search is 
for Brathwaite's Rules for the Governance of the House of an Earl (1617).

In case you want to look at some of the salts in the V&A and consider using 
one in your next feast, here's the URL; 
http://www.ascasonline.org/articoloGENNA106.html

Bear

-----Original Message----- 
From: Gretchen R Beck
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2016 7:36 PM
To: Cooks within the SCA
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Structure of an Elizabethan Feast?

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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