Power and Pleasure by Hugh M. Thomas;

Author:Hugh M. Thomas; [Thomas, Hugh M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780192523419
Publisher: OUP Premium
Published: 2020-10-02T00:00:00+00:00

6.6 Etiquette, Lordship, and Deference

As noted earlier, excellent service was considered a crucial aspect of a proper feast: John of Salisbury, Gerald of Wales, Ambroise, and Ambroise’s Latin adapter all mentioned it when describing banquets.98 Neither the royal records nor any narrative sources provide much information on the service at John’s court, but various contemporary sources, above all Daniel of Beccles’ late twelfth-century Urbanus Magnus, provide a good overview of what was expected of servers and guests and can help us understand how ideas about table manners might have shaped royal feasts.99 Daniel’s work was probably directed towards the lower end of the elite, but he claimed to provide guidance on how to behave within the royal hall, and he and other aspirational members of the lesser elite no doubt eagerly imitated royal practices to the extent possible. Much of his guidance about appearing refined inevitably involved etiquette, and much of his advice about manners focused on feasting. The scholars who have studied Daniel’s work have described many characteristics of his advice, including careful control of speech and the body, the need to appear affable, and the importance of the appearance and care of one’s body. These are all important, but here I wish to concentrate on three areas: the complexity of table manners that already existed in the period; the ability of the host to use feasts to both reflect and shape social hierarchy; and the importance of social inferiors behaving deferentially to their superiors.

Daniel’s sections on dining are filled with specific instructions on an array of topics, including how to serve wine and when to say ‘Wassail’ and ‘Drinkhail.’100 Many of the instructions are strange to modern readers because they involve dining patterns foreign to us, like the extensive use of fingers combined with the sharing of dishes by pairs of diners, which Daniel addresses in his advice about not reaching into the dish at the same time, politely cutting food for one’s dinner partner, and not licking one’s fingers. His advice can seem bizarre and hilarious to modern readers: when spitting, it is best to turn around from the dinner table; when belching, look at the ceiling; only the lord may urinate in the hall. Such instructions might suggest a crude society in which any behaviour at all was acceptable, but in fact Daniel’s work shows that there were strong ideas about proper manners and that ignorance of them made one look rustic and boorish.

One common and socially crucial practice Daniel describes is the lord granting some of the food and drink set before him to others.101 Daniel’s advice focuses on how the guest should react, but Herbert of Bosham’s vita of Thomas Becket shows how Becket used the practice to honour guests. According to Herbert, when Thomas saw someone seated in a position he might not consider sufficiently honourable or having to give up his seat to someone of higher status, Thomas would make sure the unfortunate guest received food from his own dish and drink from his own cup as a sign of honour.

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