Etiquette from the 14th Century

Only squirrels hoard nuts… diners should not take more than a few when they are served at a dinner – “only… take two or three nuts when nuts are on the table.”

Ancient Table Etiquette

Some of the ancient table directions are very quaint. You are told, for instance, not to eat much cheese, not to leave your spoon on your platter, not to play with your knife or roll your napkin into a cord or tie it into knots, only to take two or three nuts when nuts are on the table, and not to get intoxicated during dinner time. The “Boke of Curtasye” also warns people not to play with the cats and dogs while at table.—Correspondent for Chicago Herald, 1892

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