threadwalker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
threadwalker) wrote2008-04-29 09:49 am
threadwalker) wrote2008-04-29 09:49 am
But wait, there's more...
Thoughts on Collegium Feast, Part 2,
(aka... how big will LJ let me make this!)
I bumped into![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hrj on my way to the bus stop last night and after our conversation, more Collegium thoughts burbled to the surface.
Last nights post was done as fast as I could type and was stream of conscious. This is a bit more "topical" and I may add as my thoughts burble. I will have to slip in all the LJ-ID's later.
Overall, it was an amazing experience and I will treasure the memories.
The Orientations
Thank goodness we had one. Sir John reviewed the class handout and answered questions. He also warned us that bread-fights (and similar) would get us ejected from the hall. Although it did have the feel of gathering together before stepping through a time-travel portal. Like Disney's next big ride, "Please keep your sleeves and hats in side the ride while we transport you to the 15th century. Please do not lift your neighbors robes or dresses with your pointed toes. And, at all times, please keep your basket firmly clasped in your hands until you turn it over to the Hall Check. It will be returned to you on your homeward trip." I think everyone was pretty excited and ready to get their passports stamped. Our hands were cleansed as we entered, we surrendered our baskets and submerged ourselves into our roles, Feast Attendees.
Extras
Things like, nail brushes in the ladies' room = Yay; handouts ahead of time and orientation = yay; all those feast things the PPF crew made = lug less stuff to event = yay and "cool!".
The aesthetic and atmosphere
These were amazing. This is quite long because I'm trying to preserve my impressions and it's different from the other feasts I've been to.
I'm not sure I can put enough emphasis on this because no matter how much effort you put into the food, eating in a grade school cafeteria still feels like eating in a grade school cafeteria if you don't do anything about the ambiance.
a) Hall Decorations:
The screens used to hide the kitchen from the feasters were genius. The table linens were gorgeous. The treatment of the linens on the high table (the layers that were added and removed at different times) was lovely. I enjoyed the ballet of it. Gosh - I forgot to mention the amazing pieces like the made-from-scratch benches, cushions, spoons, pottery (salt cellars), napkins, etc. There was a freaking amazing amount of prep work put into this and it showed. One priceless moment was when the Butler was collecting the spoons and, without cuing each other, everyone at our table hid the spoons on their lap, mock stealing them. The Butler,hrj, did an excellent job of silently gesturing at us and admonishing us to return the spoons. I didn't know she was so adept at silent communications! I know I could barely keep from laughing - I felt like a naughty school girl caught by the head-mistress.
b) The livery
The clothing/livery was gorgeous. In fact, it was visually obvious that not everyone was in livery. For example, Carl, who served the main table, was in green and brown and I kept wondering if it signified something. And note - my observation of this is not a criticism of Carl or the feast! (In fact, I complimented Carl on "his" pluckiness for dressing in the correct style and for getting involved. I didn't realize "Carl" was so gregarious before this event). It's actually a statement that the livery was so visually successful, that the one or two folks who were not in livery actually stood out. And the clothing on the servants was fan-tab-ulous! I even noted that not all the servants had shoes on and I thought I read somewhere (or heard via Geoffrey Matthias) that it's debated if shoes were worn all the time in that style. Anyway, I noted it because I was looking for it, not because it stood out. But I wanted to squee in pleasure when I saw it.
c) Marking the servant by their linen:
The servant's linens were cool. I could tell each was for a unique station even before it was explained to me because they were clearly ordered by station and each station wore theirs in a specific fashion. And kept it up all evening!
d) One question I had: we each had a table napkin. I'm curious about those, so I'll have to nudge the organizers. I have not researched feasting, although clearly it's an oversight since before this I hadn't found information about the presence of table napkins. So my questions for the future Q&A are: are there surviving examples of napkins? What information was used to determine how to make these? Were they embellished in period? How were they cleaned? ... I'm interested in all the little tidbits relating to the table linens that the genius researchers may have turned up.
e) Feast "cues":
Not sure what to call it, but the opening and closing prayers were beautifully done. The reader had a magnificent voice and it clearly signaled to everyone that "something was starting" and later "it is now done". The presentation of the food was lovely as all the servants/carvers came out in their livery. It certainly built up the anticipation as they formed up and walked out.
f) Standing and staying seated:
The rule about standing and sitting with the Royals was interesting. I think it's less foreign in one sense because we tend to rise when they approach anyway. But when the royals stood at the high table, all had to stand, which meant the servants had to rush behind us, and pull the bench out since the bench was too heavy to move on our own. The reverse was true; you could not rise unless the royals rose. There was no break during the feast for wandering around or even going outside to cool down (it had to be over 80F in the hall). I tooklearnteach's advice and went to the bathroom and washed my hands before being seated, so I had no burning desire to get up before the end. The results of this were that we couldn't wander from table to table to socialize, which is something I'm used to doing. I was pinned in place between two people with no one else to talk to (except our server, who I was supposed to ignore and who spent half the time trotting to and from the butler's station) and the carver (who I was also supposed to ignore - besides which, I wouldn't want to interrupt him while he was busy cutting food and cause either an accident or cause him to lose his carving mojo.) I felt trapped when I wasn't engaged in conversation. I kept eye-balling Baroness Cat across the hall as a worthy target for a bread fight if only I'd had that pocket trebuchet... Although, as I mentioned, the Marshall, (learnteach, of the hall warned us that we'd be ejected if we started anything like that. He anticipated the impulses of a bored Type-A person who's trapped in one spot looking for something to break up the time.
g) Entertainment:
I'd done my reading before the event and the stylized nature of the feast definitely conveyed the sense of "enacting a ritual" as opposed to "a jolly time". There was no entertainment to break up the feast or provide diversion. You had to entertain yourself. I found myself wishing I'd brought a cloth game board and pieces (I made a mental note that if I'm ever lucky enough to go to one again, I'd pack one inside my dress... they did, after all, confiscate my basket, so I'd need to have it on my person). But when there wasn't 'something' going on feast-wise and the people to either side of me were talking to the people on the other side of them, I was bored. Eventually our table got up to various shenanigans... But it was on us to entertain ourselves. So we did. We suggested the servants (who were all dashing) could get up on the tables to dance and we would not be offended - the Marshall overheard (Sir John has a great dramatic flare) got involved and declared no table-top dancing. Ettiene, who'd been serving the high table and thus been elsewhere the whole time, said that we'd tried to talk "him" into dancing on tables, so when the Marshall glared at me, I indicated that Mistress E had done it and I had 4 witnesses that would support that. The Marshall then walked over to loom at Mistess E and reprimanded her. Since she'd been in conversation with Master H the whole time, she was confused and proclaimed her innocence, glaring at the rest of us. (What are sisters for except to liven up each others lives?) We also used the servants to send messages (One Baroness G was asked about Pie-mancy and how one could read the crust. She sent back, via servant, it depended on whether it was savory or sweet. We sent her a glass of red wine (unwatered) as a salute and to try and add cheer at her table. Perhaps it was the timing of it, but every time I looked over, neither of her table companions looked jolly or engaging.) At their instigation, we engaged in a war of exchanging drinks with the femme trouble makers 2 tables down. At one point everyone between us leaned back so that we could lean forward and exchange “significant” looks. This was immediately followed by lots of laughter. We also tried to send fish heads for intellect and counsel to the femme trouble makers since fish signified intelligence, but the fish heads had been tossed out. We did successfully send the sage sauce “for wisdom”. The panteletter (I know I spelled that wrong, but Wulfric was in charge of bread and sitting behind us) got involved and played with his role now and again. He has a genius for humor. We cried that our souls were imperiled when he took our loaf of bread away from us and would not let us donate to the poor. He claimed he knew the nature of our thoughts and would not leave the bread to be used inappropriately. At one point the high table was served lamb that was then being carried back towards the kitchen. Duchess S waved genteelly at it, saying, “Good by little lambie.” The king noted and had his carver bring it over to her and the rest of the laurels in the hall. I think, per Ivar who was carving, it was intended to first be offered to those who could not have the other meats due to dietary restrictions and then it was intended to be shared around. But it was funny to think Duchess S successfully scored “lambie” for us. And the humor amongst my “systers” to the carver, Ivar, cracked me up. Such as Mistress R saying he didn’t have to cut the chunks down, saying “I’ve seen her eat something that big before, you can serve it like that.” Keep in mind that if you read the handout, you know that carvers in period were reprimanded by the nobles if they did not cut the pieces into bite sized morsels. The smaller morsels were needed for nobles because they had delicate digestion. I guess my gullet is all peasant!
h)Under the royal gaze.
At several times during the feast I reflected that in period, I might have seen my inclusion in a such a ritual or event to be an honor; as if I'd been singled out to break bread with the highest ranking royals in the land and the honor was marked by so many rituals and servants and "other important people". There were not that many attendees and the royals were able to make eye contact with everyone present, emphasizing the nature of the importance in the small size of the gathering as well as increasing the impact of the Royal presence. If I were a naughty peer with "seditious secrets", I would definitely feel like I was 'Under the Royal' gaze in that setting. In fact, it seemed that our table was a bit louder and more rambunctious than most, so at one point when our table broke out in laughter, we all looked up and noted that we were under the Royal Gazes, which squelched the laughter and sparked a round of vigorous (silent) finger pointing amongst us. Yes, a guilty peer in period would have to feel like they were under the watchful gaze of their liege in such a setting. And if you can't get up unless the royals get up, and you can't get up unless the heavy bench is pulled out by servants, I think I would make sure I left all my guilty thoughts at home. I think the reverse is also true; the royals under the gaze of their nobles and peers. With almost nothing to do except eat, boss your servants around (well, ask them politely for more food and beverage), and talk to the 2 people on either side of you, I know I found myself staring at the Royals as well. I was trying to decide who was having fun, who was working on experiencing the whole thing, and who was putting on a good face, but really bored. At one point our whole table was trying to surreptitiously figure that out. But there it is, the royals were trapped under the watchful eyes of their nobles and peers. Of course, they could get up as they choose and "boss" us around by standing and sitting, etc, so they weren't nearly as trapped. But it’s interesting to think that we were all trapped by the ritual and the cooks because the feast was not over until the ritual and the food ended.
The Service:
It was an new experience to be served. I think this must be what it's like to be a super-star. Since I'm not a super-star, I had periods where I felt awkward and guilty. My experience and understanding may be inaccurate in details of who was doing exactly what and when, but it is definitely based on my perception and I really was trying to pay close attention to everything we were being told.
The servant at our table, Godric, seems to have supported all the other servers as well as cleared the table, brought out the food, and allowed us to use him in our shenanigans. Godric was a such a good sport. Our carver was Goughbert (The lovely Rose), who was ever cheerful even though she was handling hot meat with bare fingers and answering lots of questions. They worked their tail feathers off. The servers and carvers were probably supposed to refrain from socializing and I didn't want to get anyone in trouble or "lead them out of character", but I'm incorrigible. So I tried to ask pertinent questions about the feast and about their thoughts as they were experiencing it from their own point of view so that my chatter seemed more educational than a distraction from being bored.
a) The butler was mixing our drinks. If you did not have a period-appropriate drinking vessel of your own, you had to rely on the hall service. The way that worked (from my perspective), was that we asked our server for a beverage and our available options were determined by how far along we were in the feast. The wine came out with/after the red meat and this was related to the robustness of the meat and the beverage. (Hmm... I know I'm not explaining that well). Before the red meat/wine, we could have water or ale. Therefore, when we sent ale to the ladies 2 tables down with the message that the wine was too robust for them, it was intended to play on the spirit of the feast and communicate that they were too young or immature for the wine. Anyway, the servant would go to the butler, the butler (or butler's minion) would pour, and the servant would arrive with a vessel that had a swallow or 2 of beverage in it. When you were done, the servant returned the vessel to the butler to be cleaned. My companions, who had appropriate glasses of their own, would pour the drink into their own in order to free up the communal glass, which was returned to the butler. Regardless, being "thirsty" meant the servant got a lot of walking exercise because you rarely got more than a few swallows at a time. I am used to having a whole lot more than that on hand at my whim, but it certainly cut down on “accidental” excess. About halfway through the feast I asked Godric how his feet were and he said he was trying to tune out the area below his ankles. I felt so badly for him and suddenly guilty for all the back and forth he'd done for me. I know it's not period, but I think that if I volunteer to serve one of these feasts down the road, Dr Scholls foot supports will have to be put in my period shoes. Regardless, I probably stepped out of the period model with feeling sorry for Godric because in period I suspect they would have not cared about the welfare of their servers’ feet. I also think, based on whatlearnteach said about who the severs were in period, that they would have been youths, so more than likely it would not have been as exhausting for a 12 year old than for an adult. That said, the ale was excellent and I preferred it to the other drinks. I was curious to taste the hypocras, but I either missed it or it didn't come out. And I noted that Godric got skilled and carrying 3 cups at a time.
b) The carver. My impression: none shall touch the knives except the carver. None shall cut the meat except the carver. I suspect this was the period hierarchy and what I was seeing was a successful emulation of the pecking order of who does which tasks. I had time to watch all the carvers; it was fun to watch them all carefully use on the two fingers and thumb that were (per our orientation) the only digits that could handle food. I think I would have been hard-pressed to resist running to the kitchen to wash my hands after each 'food handling experience' ... or keeping a box of sanitizing towelettes smuggled under the table. (That's my thing at home - wash my hands immediately after handling food every time. yeah, that's my OCD emerging.) The carver served all the food onto our plates. I kept thinking her/his back and feet must be killing her to be bent over. Plus, it was different from what I'm used to because the food arrived so slowly and in such small quantities relative to my modern habits. In a restaurant, we get it all at one time and it’s done in large portions. When I was in Italy for vacation, there were multiple courses, but the portions arrived in one serving. But here the carver would spoon a mouthful or so onto your palm-sized trencher and then serve the next person. It’s certainly helpful to those of us watching our waistlines and would cut down on portion control issues. If you wanted more, you had to ask for it. I was at war with myself internally about asking for more because my mom raised me to never ask for seconds, but to wait until you are offered. Can you see my personal problem? I was hungry and I finally bit the bullet when I asked myself if I wanted to go home hungry, so I asked for multiple servings. This was before I realized there was going to be so many dishes. Even so, the voice in the back of my head was screaming "glutton" at me at first. By the time we got to the baked cheese, I think the voice had died down because Goughbert was so cheerful about it and clearly not channeling my mom's voice of guilt. Goughbert kept commenting that it was acceptable to ask for more. I have to add, when Goughbert left our table, we had to stare longingly at the cut chicken and cheese and grains and all I could think of was "they won't miss one little nibble". But I didn't want to ruin all the work that had been put into this event. So I stared, refrained from drooling, and reflected on how different this was from my day-to-day experience. Through out the experience I kept having the urge to reach out and serve myself, which was then squashed by the self-reminder that I was breaking the rules if I did; there was no way I would deliberately break a rule and "be the one" who ruined the event.
And it was so hard to be self-contained with such wonderful food. The rice, the meat, and ... (drum roll) the cheese pie! I swooned. Nom nom nom! I think I askedcalistotoni if "nom nom nom" was appropriate food kudos and if not, what was the period equivalent. She laughed and agreed it was appropriate kudos for the cooks. All the food was excellent and I hope the recipes will be available. I tried lots of stuff I’ve never had before and I would probably eat any of it again with the exception of the plum pudding… but I don’t like plums, so there’s not much that can be done about that.
c) Bread Boy… or panteletter (which is totally spelled wrong).
This was Wulfric … who else could it be? I’m not really sure what he was supposed to be doing besides tasting the bread and announcing it fit. But what he was doing in addition to that was about half way through the feast he got involved in Duchess S’s pie-mancy conversation and helped to determine Duchess S’s humors… she’s a “hot, moist”. And of course she announced this into one of those unexpected silent lulls, so our end of the hall heard her clearly. As soon as we realized we could “talk” to him and that he’d respond, we played with the bread boy a little. (note – a cure to boredom is striking up NEW conversation). And he stole our “loaf for the poor” at the end, so when I complained that my soul was imperiled and Viscountess G also piped up in protest, the marshal got involved. The Bread Boy lied with an almost straight face. Then someone smuggled cut bread to our table, but you can’t give cut bread and I think we actually got a frustrated glare from one of the feast organizers… our naughty shenanigans were getting on someone’s nerves.
The Excellent Food Well... it was excellent. All of it. I love tasty food and I was in heaven. I was trying to figure out my favorite dishes, but it was like being Miss Mary Ann from Romper Room: I see chicken, and veal, and lamb, and rice and cheese, .... I started naming them all. I liked the little flourishes, which in the smaller servings, were easier to appreciate. Such as the garnishes of flowers which would have been quickly lost if our table had more people at it who were serving themselves. The food looked and tasted yummy.
Survival Tips
I would be a bit better armed to deal with the lulls and boredom; board games or a conspiracy of note passing or something. And next time I might seed riddles among the other guests and sort of play games in parallel with the feast. On the practical side, I’m glad I didn’t show up thirsty, although I was definitely hungry. As the handout says, the feasters should feel like they are beaten by hunger at the start of the feasting and I was definitely in the right frame of mind. I’m glad I went to the bathroom first, too, and was gleeful when I saw the nailbrushes. Next time I would bring my own period-appropriate drinking vessel (assuming it is allowed). I was also wishing for a LONG straight pin so I could attach my napkin to my shoulder because it kept falling. And I think I'd do a little homework on the "Humors" and health in the 15th century so I could engage the Butler and the Bread Boy a little. And, of course, finish my 15th century outfit.
Overall, I don't think this is a "one size fits all" kind of event and thus not suited for everyone. I think that typically we expect to have choices and to be self-determined, but that is not the intent of this kind of event. I think you need to be willing to submerge yourself into someone else's expectations and be willing to fulfill a role that is defined by someone else and follow rules that you didn't invent. I suppose it's just as people were defined by their roles in period. I think that's very counter to how we were raised where we are more self-determined and have the freedom to make choices. This feast was a unique trip to a place where all the attendees have a role to fulfill, the attendees have to follow rules they didn't invent, and the only choice is to decline the food that is being served. You can't even rise from your seat on a whim. Despite the orientation, I didn't really think ahead of what it would be like and I don't think I could have predicted what it was. That said, it was a trip - a grand adventure to a different time and place. I think on a certain gut level I've been searching for an experience like this for a long time. Between the atmosphere and the submergence in the role, I was transported back in time. I had moments where I flashed and thought, “this is what it would have been like and this might be what I would have been thinking”. It was not a potluck with a thin veneer of historical interest cloaked in cotton t-tunics and wooden serving ware.
I enjoyed it and I hope to participate in another. I would also be interested in participating as a servant; I'd like to see the feast through the eyes of a server, carver, or other minion. I would gleefully get my PPF passport stamped again and once more sit with the royals or even learn to serve with decorum.
Today I find myself wondering, What other types of feasts were there? Were there always prayers? Did they get more formal? Less formal? I will have to find out when the Q&A session is so that I can find out the answers to these.
(aka... how big will LJ let me make this!)
I bumped into
hrj on my way to the bus stop last night and after our conversation, more Collegium thoughts burbled to the surface.Last nights post was done as fast as I could type and was stream of conscious. This is a bit more "topical" and I may add as my thoughts burble. I will have to slip in all the LJ-ID's later.
Overall, it was an amazing experience and I will treasure the memories.
The Orientations
Thank goodness we had one. Sir John reviewed the class handout and answered questions. He also warned us that bread-fights (and similar) would get us ejected from the hall. Although it did have the feel of gathering together before stepping through a time-travel portal. Like Disney's next big ride, "Please keep your sleeves and hats in side the ride while we transport you to the 15th century. Please do not lift your neighbors robes or dresses with your pointed toes. And, at all times, please keep your basket firmly clasped in your hands until you turn it over to the Hall Check. It will be returned to you on your homeward trip." I think everyone was pretty excited and ready to get their passports stamped. Our hands were cleansed as we entered, we surrendered our baskets and submerged ourselves into our roles, Feast Attendees.
Extras
Things like, nail brushes in the ladies' room = Yay; handouts ahead of time and orientation = yay; all those feast things the PPF crew made = lug less stuff to event = yay and "cool!".
The aesthetic and atmosphere
These were amazing. This is quite long because I'm trying to preserve my impressions and it's different from the other feasts I've been to.
I'm not sure I can put enough emphasis on this because no matter how much effort you put into the food, eating in a grade school cafeteria still feels like eating in a grade school cafeteria if you don't do anything about the ambiance.
a) Hall Decorations:
The screens used to hide the kitchen from the feasters were genius. The table linens were gorgeous. The treatment of the linens on the high table (the layers that were added and removed at different times) was lovely. I enjoyed the ballet of it. Gosh - I forgot to mention the amazing pieces like the made-from-scratch benches, cushions, spoons, pottery (salt cellars), napkins, etc. There was a freaking amazing amount of prep work put into this and it showed. One priceless moment was when the Butler was collecting the spoons and, without cuing each other, everyone at our table hid the spoons on their lap, mock stealing them. The Butler,
hrj, did an excellent job of silently gesturing at us and admonishing us to return the spoons. I didn't know she was so adept at silent communications! I know I could barely keep from laughing - I felt like a naughty school girl caught by the head-mistress.b) The livery
The clothing/livery was gorgeous. In fact, it was visually obvious that not everyone was in livery. For example, Carl, who served the main table, was in green and brown and I kept wondering if it signified something. And note - my observation of this is not a criticism of Carl or the feast! (In fact, I complimented Carl on "his" pluckiness for dressing in the correct style and for getting involved. I didn't realize "Carl" was so gregarious before this event). It's actually a statement that the livery was so visually successful, that the one or two folks who were not in livery actually stood out. And the clothing on the servants was fan-tab-ulous! I even noted that not all the servants had shoes on and I thought I read somewhere (or heard via Geoffrey Matthias) that it's debated if shoes were worn all the time in that style. Anyway, I noted it because I was looking for it, not because it stood out. But I wanted to squee in pleasure when I saw it.
c) Marking the servant by their linen:
The servant's linens were cool. I could tell each was for a unique station even before it was explained to me because they were clearly ordered by station and each station wore theirs in a specific fashion. And kept it up all evening!
d) One question I had: we each had a table napkin. I'm curious about those, so I'll have to nudge the organizers. I have not researched feasting, although clearly it's an oversight since before this I hadn't found information about the presence of table napkins. So my questions for the future Q&A are: are there surviving examples of napkins? What information was used to determine how to make these? Were they embellished in period? How were they cleaned? ... I'm interested in all the little tidbits relating to the table linens that the genius researchers may have turned up.
e) Feast "cues":
Not sure what to call it, but the opening and closing prayers were beautifully done. The reader had a magnificent voice and it clearly signaled to everyone that "something was starting" and later "it is now done". The presentation of the food was lovely as all the servants/carvers came out in their livery. It certainly built up the anticipation as they formed up and walked out.
f) Standing and staying seated:
The rule about standing and sitting with the Royals was interesting. I think it's less foreign in one sense because we tend to rise when they approach anyway. But when the royals stood at the high table, all had to stand, which meant the servants had to rush behind us, and pull the bench out since the bench was too heavy to move on our own. The reverse was true; you could not rise unless the royals rose. There was no break during the feast for wandering around or even going outside to cool down (it had to be over 80F in the hall). I took
learnteach's advice and went to the bathroom and washed my hands before being seated, so I had no burning desire to get up before the end. The results of this were that we couldn't wander from table to table to socialize, which is something I'm used to doing. I was pinned in place between two people with no one else to talk to (except our server, who I was supposed to ignore and who spent half the time trotting to and from the butler's station) and the carver (who I was also supposed to ignore - besides which, I wouldn't want to interrupt him while he was busy cutting food and cause either an accident or cause him to lose his carving mojo.) I felt trapped when I wasn't engaged in conversation. I kept eye-balling Baroness Cat across the hall as a worthy target for a bread fight if only I'd had that pocket trebuchet... Although, as I mentioned, the Marshall, (learnteach, of the hall warned us that we'd be ejected if we started anything like that. He anticipated the impulses of a bored Type-A person who's trapped in one spot looking for something to break up the time. g) Entertainment:
I'd done my reading before the event and the stylized nature of the feast definitely conveyed the sense of "enacting a ritual" as opposed to "a jolly time". There was no entertainment to break up the feast or provide diversion. You had to entertain yourself. I found myself wishing I'd brought a cloth game board and pieces (I made a mental note that if I'm ever lucky enough to go to one again, I'd pack one inside my dress... they did, after all, confiscate my basket, so I'd need to have it on my person). But when there wasn't 'something' going on feast-wise and the people to either side of me were talking to the people on the other side of them, I was bored. Eventually our table got up to various shenanigans... But it was on us to entertain ourselves. So we did. We suggested the servants (who were all dashing) could get up on the tables to dance and we would not be offended - the Marshall overheard (Sir John has a great dramatic flare) got involved and declared no table-top dancing. Ettiene, who'd been serving the high table and thus been elsewhere the whole time, said that we'd tried to talk "him" into dancing on tables, so when the Marshall glared at me, I indicated that Mistress E had done it and I had 4 witnesses that would support that. The Marshall then walked over to loom at Mistess E and reprimanded her. Since she'd been in conversation with Master H the whole time, she was confused and proclaimed her innocence, glaring at the rest of us. (What are sisters for except to liven up each others lives?) We also used the servants to send messages (One Baroness G was asked about Pie-mancy and how one could read the crust. She sent back, via servant, it depended on whether it was savory or sweet. We sent her a glass of red wine (unwatered) as a salute and to try and add cheer at her table. Perhaps it was the timing of it, but every time I looked over, neither of her table companions looked jolly or engaging.) At their instigation, we engaged in a war of exchanging drinks with the femme trouble makers 2 tables down. At one point everyone between us leaned back so that we could lean forward and exchange “significant” looks. This was immediately followed by lots of laughter. We also tried to send fish heads for intellect and counsel to the femme trouble makers since fish signified intelligence, but the fish heads had been tossed out. We did successfully send the sage sauce “for wisdom”. The panteletter (I know I spelled that wrong, but Wulfric was in charge of bread and sitting behind us) got involved and played with his role now and again. He has a genius for humor. We cried that our souls were imperiled when he took our loaf of bread away from us and would not let us donate to the poor. He claimed he knew the nature of our thoughts and would not leave the bread to be used inappropriately. At one point the high table was served lamb that was then being carried back towards the kitchen. Duchess S waved genteelly at it, saying, “Good by little lambie.” The king noted and had his carver bring it over to her and the rest of the laurels in the hall. I think, per Ivar who was carving, it was intended to first be offered to those who could not have the other meats due to dietary restrictions and then it was intended to be shared around. But it was funny to think Duchess S successfully scored “lambie” for us. And the humor amongst my “systers” to the carver, Ivar, cracked me up. Such as Mistress R saying he didn’t have to cut the chunks down, saying “I’ve seen her eat something that big before, you can serve it like that.” Keep in mind that if you read the handout, you know that carvers in period were reprimanded by the nobles if they did not cut the pieces into bite sized morsels. The smaller morsels were needed for nobles because they had delicate digestion. I guess my gullet is all peasant!
h)Under the royal gaze.
At several times during the feast I reflected that in period, I might have seen my inclusion in a such a ritual or event to be an honor; as if I'd been singled out to break bread with the highest ranking royals in the land and the honor was marked by so many rituals and servants and "other important people". There were not that many attendees and the royals were able to make eye contact with everyone present, emphasizing the nature of the importance in the small size of the gathering as well as increasing the impact of the Royal presence. If I were a naughty peer with "seditious secrets", I would definitely feel like I was 'Under the Royal' gaze in that setting. In fact, it seemed that our table was a bit louder and more rambunctious than most, so at one point when our table broke out in laughter, we all looked up and noted that we were under the Royal Gazes, which squelched the laughter and sparked a round of vigorous (silent) finger pointing amongst us. Yes, a guilty peer in period would have to feel like they were under the watchful gaze of their liege in such a setting. And if you can't get up unless the royals get up, and you can't get up unless the heavy bench is pulled out by servants, I think I would make sure I left all my guilty thoughts at home. I think the reverse is also true; the royals under the gaze of their nobles and peers. With almost nothing to do except eat, boss your servants around (well, ask them politely for more food and beverage), and talk to the 2 people on either side of you, I know I found myself staring at the Royals as well. I was trying to decide who was having fun, who was working on experiencing the whole thing, and who was putting on a good face, but really bored. At one point our whole table was trying to surreptitiously figure that out. But there it is, the royals were trapped under the watchful eyes of their nobles and peers. Of course, they could get up as they choose and "boss" us around by standing and sitting, etc, so they weren't nearly as trapped. But it’s interesting to think that we were all trapped by the ritual and the cooks because the feast was not over until the ritual and the food ended.
The Service:
It was an new experience to be served. I think this must be what it's like to be a super-star. Since I'm not a super-star, I had periods where I felt awkward and guilty. My experience and understanding may be inaccurate in details of who was doing exactly what and when, but it is definitely based on my perception and I really was trying to pay close attention to everything we were being told.
The servant at our table, Godric, seems to have supported all the other servers as well as cleared the table, brought out the food, and allowed us to use him in our shenanigans. Godric was a such a good sport. Our carver was Goughbert (The lovely Rose), who was ever cheerful even though she was handling hot meat with bare fingers and answering lots of questions. They worked their tail feathers off. The servers and carvers were probably supposed to refrain from socializing and I didn't want to get anyone in trouble or "lead them out of character", but I'm incorrigible. So I tried to ask pertinent questions about the feast and about their thoughts as they were experiencing it from their own point of view so that my chatter seemed more educational than a distraction from being bored.
a) The butler was mixing our drinks. If you did not have a period-appropriate drinking vessel of your own, you had to rely on the hall service. The way that worked (from my perspective), was that we asked our server for a beverage and our available options were determined by how far along we were in the feast. The wine came out with/after the red meat and this was related to the robustness of the meat and the beverage. (Hmm... I know I'm not explaining that well). Before the red meat/wine, we could have water or ale. Therefore, when we sent ale to the ladies 2 tables down with the message that the wine was too robust for them, it was intended to play on the spirit of the feast and communicate that they were too young or immature for the wine. Anyway, the servant would go to the butler, the butler (or butler's minion) would pour, and the servant would arrive with a vessel that had a swallow or 2 of beverage in it. When you were done, the servant returned the vessel to the butler to be cleaned. My companions, who had appropriate glasses of their own, would pour the drink into their own in order to free up the communal glass, which was returned to the butler. Regardless, being "thirsty" meant the servant got a lot of walking exercise because you rarely got more than a few swallows at a time. I am used to having a whole lot more than that on hand at my whim, but it certainly cut down on “accidental” excess. About halfway through the feast I asked Godric how his feet were and he said he was trying to tune out the area below his ankles. I felt so badly for him and suddenly guilty for all the back and forth he'd done for me. I know it's not period, but I think that if I volunteer to serve one of these feasts down the road, Dr Scholls foot supports will have to be put in my period shoes. Regardless, I probably stepped out of the period model with feeling sorry for Godric because in period I suspect they would have not cared about the welfare of their servers’ feet. I also think, based on what
learnteach said about who the severs were in period, that they would have been youths, so more than likely it would not have been as exhausting for a 12 year old than for an adult. That said, the ale was excellent and I preferred it to the other drinks. I was curious to taste the hypocras, but I either missed it or it didn't come out. And I noted that Godric got skilled and carrying 3 cups at a time. b) The carver. My impression: none shall touch the knives except the carver. None shall cut the meat except the carver. I suspect this was the period hierarchy and what I was seeing was a successful emulation of the pecking order of who does which tasks. I had time to watch all the carvers; it was fun to watch them all carefully use on the two fingers and thumb that were (per our orientation) the only digits that could handle food. I think I would have been hard-pressed to resist running to the kitchen to wash my hands after each 'food handling experience' ... or keeping a box of sanitizing towelettes smuggled under the table. (That's my thing at home - wash my hands immediately after handling food every time. yeah, that's my OCD emerging.) The carver served all the food onto our plates. I kept thinking her/his back and feet must be killing her to be bent over. Plus, it was different from what I'm used to because the food arrived so slowly and in such small quantities relative to my modern habits. In a restaurant, we get it all at one time and it’s done in large portions. When I was in Italy for vacation, there were multiple courses, but the portions arrived in one serving. But here the carver would spoon a mouthful or so onto your palm-sized trencher and then serve the next person. It’s certainly helpful to those of us watching our waistlines and would cut down on portion control issues. If you wanted more, you had to ask for it. I was at war with myself internally about asking for more because my mom raised me to never ask for seconds, but to wait until you are offered. Can you see my personal problem? I was hungry and I finally bit the bullet when I asked myself if I wanted to go home hungry, so I asked for multiple servings. This was before I realized there was going to be so many dishes. Even so, the voice in the back of my head was screaming "glutton" at me at first. By the time we got to the baked cheese, I think the voice had died down because Goughbert was so cheerful about it and clearly not channeling my mom's voice of guilt. Goughbert kept commenting that it was acceptable to ask for more. I have to add, when Goughbert left our table, we had to stare longingly at the cut chicken and cheese and grains and all I could think of was "they won't miss one little nibble". But I didn't want to ruin all the work that had been put into this event. So I stared, refrained from drooling, and reflected on how different this was from my day-to-day experience. Through out the experience I kept having the urge to reach out and serve myself, which was then squashed by the self-reminder that I was breaking the rules if I did; there was no way I would deliberately break a rule and "be the one" who ruined the event.
And it was so hard to be self-contained with such wonderful food. The rice, the meat, and ... (drum roll) the cheese pie! I swooned. Nom nom nom! I think I asked
calistotoni if "nom nom nom" was appropriate food kudos and if not, what was the period equivalent. She laughed and agreed it was appropriate kudos for the cooks. All the food was excellent and I hope the recipes will be available. I tried lots of stuff I’ve never had before and I would probably eat any of it again with the exception of the plum pudding… but I don’t like plums, so there’s not much that can be done about that. c) Bread Boy… or panteletter (which is totally spelled wrong).
This was Wulfric … who else could it be? I’m not really sure what he was supposed to be doing besides tasting the bread and announcing it fit. But what he was doing in addition to that was about half way through the feast he got involved in Duchess S’s pie-mancy conversation and helped to determine Duchess S’s humors… she’s a “hot, moist”. And of course she announced this into one of those unexpected silent lulls, so our end of the hall heard her clearly. As soon as we realized we could “talk” to him and that he’d respond, we played with the bread boy a little. (note – a cure to boredom is striking up NEW conversation). And he stole our “loaf for the poor” at the end, so when I complained that my soul was imperiled and Viscountess G also piped up in protest, the marshal got involved. The Bread Boy lied with an almost straight face. Then someone smuggled cut bread to our table, but you can’t give cut bread and I think we actually got a frustrated glare from one of the feast organizers… our naughty shenanigans were getting on someone’s nerves.
The Excellent Food Well... it was excellent. All of it. I love tasty food and I was in heaven. I was trying to figure out my favorite dishes, but it was like being Miss Mary Ann from Romper Room: I see chicken, and veal, and lamb, and rice and cheese, .... I started naming them all. I liked the little flourishes, which in the smaller servings, were easier to appreciate. Such as the garnishes of flowers which would have been quickly lost if our table had more people at it who were serving themselves. The food looked and tasted yummy.
Survival Tips
I would be a bit better armed to deal with the lulls and boredom; board games or a conspiracy of note passing or something. And next time I might seed riddles among the other guests and sort of play games in parallel with the feast. On the practical side, I’m glad I didn’t show up thirsty, although I was definitely hungry. As the handout says, the feasters should feel like they are beaten by hunger at the start of the feasting and I was definitely in the right frame of mind. I’m glad I went to the bathroom first, too, and was gleeful when I saw the nailbrushes. Next time I would bring my own period-appropriate drinking vessel (assuming it is allowed). I was also wishing for a LONG straight pin so I could attach my napkin to my shoulder because it kept falling. And I think I'd do a little homework on the "Humors" and health in the 15th century so I could engage the Butler and the Bread Boy a little. And, of course, finish my 15th century outfit.
Overall, I don't think this is a "one size fits all" kind of event and thus not suited for everyone. I think that typically we expect to have choices and to be self-determined, but that is not the intent of this kind of event. I think you need to be willing to submerge yourself into someone else's expectations and be willing to fulfill a role that is defined by someone else and follow rules that you didn't invent. I suppose it's just as people were defined by their roles in period. I think that's very counter to how we were raised where we are more self-determined and have the freedom to make choices. This feast was a unique trip to a place where all the attendees have a role to fulfill, the attendees have to follow rules they didn't invent, and the only choice is to decline the food that is being served. You can't even rise from your seat on a whim. Despite the orientation, I didn't really think ahead of what it would be like and I don't think I could have predicted what it was. That said, it was a trip - a grand adventure to a different time and place. I think on a certain gut level I've been searching for an experience like this for a long time. Between the atmosphere and the submergence in the role, I was transported back in time. I had moments where I flashed and thought, “this is what it would have been like and this might be what I would have been thinking”. It was not a potluck with a thin veneer of historical interest cloaked in cotton t-tunics and wooden serving ware.
I enjoyed it and I hope to participate in another. I would also be interested in participating as a servant; I'd like to see the feast through the eyes of a server, carver, or other minion. I would gleefully get my PPF passport stamped again and once more sit with the royals or even learn to serve with decorum.
Today I find myself wondering, What other types of feasts were there? Were there always prayers? Did they get more formal? Less formal? I will have to find out when the Q&A session is so that I can find out the answers to these.
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