[Sca-cooks] Sit and be served, was -- honey butter

[Johnna Holloway]

If one runs a search on the phrase "sit and be served" along with medieval or feast, one encounters the phrase principally and foremost  in a review of a medieval times dinner theater. I cannot find that the phrase occurs with regard to historical dining or table service.

In as much dining in the medieval period was one of class and status, it was never about just sitting and being served. One was seated by status. Women might or might not have been seated at feasts. Children certainly weren't present. Often women were seated in other chambers. The dishes one was served depended in large part upon the rank one held. There are numerous books which detail dining and table customs.
In a democratic society where everyone is paying for one's meal, then yes, it's sit and eventually be served.

Johnnae

Sent from my iPad

> On Oct 4, 2016, at 9:56 PM, Sitt al-Thullaja <samia at idlelion.net> wrote:
> 
> Bear-- some gentle chiding. That's not advancing the conversation. It's cheeky, and in person might be funny, but doesn't encourage OP to share more of their understanding of the research they've conducted.
> 
> Samia
> 
> 
>> On 10/4/2016 2:03 PM, Terry Decker wrote:
>> A fantasy of the Current Middle Ages, perchance?
>> 
>> Bear
>> 
>> Can you talk more about "sit and be served"? Culture, period, etc?
>> 
>> Samia
>> 
>>> On 10/4/2016 7:09 AM, Nancy wrote:
>>> Also, one reason we expect bread and a spread to be on the table is because when we go to restaurants, those items are on our table so we can nosh while waiting for our food.  With period feasts, you sit down and the food is served, so there's no waiting period.
>>> Your servant,
>>> Anne
>> 
>>