Etiquette and Ancestral Appetites

The records preserved of the ancestor’s feats of the fork (and the finger) are woefully thin, but now and again one of these very human documents in the form of a menu is unearthed and tells its own story.

Table Fetes of Some Famous Feeders of Bygone Days

A generation holding critical views on a man's intelligent, or unwise, choice of parents is not likely to indulge in ancestor worship. But there are at least one or two things in which our ancestors were truly greater than we of the present day can ever aspire to be. Take them, for instance, at table. If ancient books on table etiquette are to be taken seriously, and there is no reason why they should not be, the ancestor was in the habit of gnawing bones, a la chien, and of disposing of them by the simple means of throwing them under the table or over his shoulder. 

He worked hard with his hands in the dishes, when a succulent but slippery morsel refused to come to him by means of knife and fork. He used his table napkin for unspeakable purposes and his fork in utter forgetfulness as comb or toothbrush. In one sense, therefore, he did not know how to eat. Meanwhile, in another, he was truly great for the quantities of food which he caused to disappear at a single meal were nothing short of' marvelous. The records preserved of the ancestor’s feats of the fork (and the finger) are woefully thin, but now and again one of these very human documents in the form of a menu is unearthed and tells its own story. 

Such is the following list of dishes served in 1334 to a worthy citizen of Valencia on the occasion of his taking unto himself a wife. Across the space of close upon the six centuries the cranes and lampreys, the peacocks and boar’s head of the feast made fine display. This is the order in which the fourteenth century wedding breakfast was served: 

MENU

Roast crane, venison, lamprey

Peacock, pheasant, guinea fowl, osprey, snipe, pike 

Baked pomegranates, burnt almonds, vegetables, 

Fish

Eel pie and toast

Galantine of sprats and cheese cakes. 

Peacock, crane, pheasant

Crayfish, boar's head and savouries

Figs, medlars and wafers

WINES 

Saint Jangon, Branne, Burgundy and Hock

The Italians also were famous feeders and seem to have distinguished themselves in particular during the early days of the Renaissance. The Bourbons valiantly followed suit, one of the most distinguished successes being scored by Louis XIV., of whom an eyewitness wrote: “I often saw him eat four plates of soup, a whole pheasant, a guinea fowl, a large dish of salad, several slices of mutton with garlic sauce, two large slices of ham, a dish of cake and dessert.” The threats of his physicians finally reduced his majesty to such meager fare as two plates of pigeon broth and three roast fowls. 

According to Arenberg, the great King was later in life subject to attacks of indigestion. The little suppers in the reign of the next Louis, though on a slightly less gigantic scale, are still sufficiently impressive. The Marquise d’Artenay, for instance, put before her guests after they came from the theater and before they went on to a dance this collation: 

Pigeon soup, with lentils and carrots

Chicken broth

Patties of fowl, veal, capon, pheasants, guinea fowl 

Sweetbread and roast poulets 

Baked starlings, wood pigeons, wild duck and snipe

Cakes

Sweets

Fruit

It seems a pity no record is preserved of what happened at the dance following this supper party. – San Luis Daily Telegram, 1907

🍽️Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia 

Table Manners of Old France

First Gentleman of his realm... Louis XIV was also known as Louis the Great (Louis le Grand) or the Sun King (le Roi-Soleil). He was a Monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any Monarch of a major country in Europe's history.

Could we restore for half an hour the dinner table of old France and obtain half a dozen instantaneous photographs of a Royal banquet at any era between the reigns of Francis I and Louis Quatorze such a “cataract of laughter” would be heard as might disturb the serenity of Louis in paradise. The Duchess, her napkin tied securely round her neck, would be seen mumbling a bone, the noble Marquis surreptitiously scratching himself, the belle Marquise, withdrawing her spoon from her lips to help a neighbor to sauce with it, another fair creature scouring her plate with her bread, a gallant courtier using his doublet or the tablecloth as a towel for his fingers and two footmen holding a yard of damask under a lady’s chin while she emptied her goblet at a draft. During a feast of inordinate length it was sometimes necessary to substitute a clean cloth for the one which the carelessness or bad manners of the guests had reduced to a deplorable condition. —In the Amador Ledger, “An Idler In Old France,” 1908

 🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette is a Social Lubricant

There is no special etiquette for our way of bathing, though there was for poor little Queen Marie Antoinette, who always bathed with a group of ladies-in-waiting looking on. Because we bathe in private, we can hold the soap as we please and splash as loudly as we want without running the risk of being ill bred. All society asks us is that, we shall be well tubbed and we can suit ourselves as to the method of securing that result. —Kirsten Dunst and Judy Davis portraying a young Marie Antoinette and “Madame Etiquette” in the 2006 film, “Marie Antoinette” — Photo source, Pinterest 

Sometimes, as was the case in the court of Louis XIV of France, etiquette runs away with itself and becomes ridiculous. In that court it was a breach of etiquette if anyone but a certain nobleman handed the King his Royal undershirt when he awoke in the morning. Another noble held his wash basin and another held the taper to his prayer book when he went through his friendly devotions. If we look far enough back in history we could find that even these absurd regulations had their basis in a matter of convenience.

Etiquette is the lubricating oil that makes the wheels of society run smoothly, and when Royal etiquette stipulates that a dozen or so graybeards, including the Prime Minister, should be present at the birth of a King’s son, you may be sure that that rule originated so that later no one might suggest that the heir to the throne was a changeling or an imposter. And the custom or etiquette goes on after most folk have forgotten the “why or wherefore” of it.

In present day American etiquette a constant weeding-out process is taking place. Almost as soon as the need for a certain rule of etiquette passes out, the etiquette becomes old fashioned, too. Practically every regulation of our etiquette can be traced to convenience or consideration. Take, for instance, the matter of table etiquette, the whole idea of our so-called table manners is to make meal time a period of pleasing process. 

If we all ate in private we might have the manners of pigs and give no one offense. But since we usually eat with our friends or families we must be very careful. We must go about it noiselessly and hence we have a certain list of rules for the management of the spoon and fork and knife, and because we would give offense to others if we spilled our food and were untidy about it, we have another set of rules for the management of the napkin, our position at the table and our mode, of masticating. In determining how to eat the various kinds of foods the idea seems to be to find a way by which the process can be made less offensive. 

There is no special etiquette for our way of bathing, though there was for poor little Queen Marie Antoinette, who always bathed with a group of ladies-in-waiting looking on. Because we bathe in private, we can hold the soap as we please and splash as loudly as we want without running the risk of being ill bred. All society asks us is that, we shall be well tubbed and we can suit ourselves as to the method of securing that result.

If we were hermits or Robinson Crusoes we should have few pages to our books of etiquette. So the closer we live, together, the more careful we should be of our manners. And for this reason, the city folks who dwell close together have to think more of etiquette than country folk. Complicated machinery always needs more lubricating oil than machinery of few parts and so folk who live in close contact with one another need the most rules of etiquette. — By Mary Marshall Duffee, 1917

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

French Court Etiquette Intervened

Henriette as Minerva holding a painting of her husband, Philippe de France

Incidents in the Lives of World-Famous Women —

How the Princess Henriette of England Just Missed Being Queen of France

Among the fair women who made the Court of Louis XIV famous for brilliancy and beauty, there were none lovelier than Henriette, Duchess d’Orleane. She was the daughter of Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria, and the wife of Philllppe, “the little Monsieur,” the King’s brother. 

When misfortune descended upon the royal House of Stuart the Princess Henriette was smuggled into France disguised as a vagabond in a ragged suit of boy’s clothes. She was restored to her mother, and although the exiled Queen was supremely happy to have her little daughter safe under her care, she was often driven to despair by tbeir extreme poverty. The little girl was many times forced to spend the day in bed because there was no fuel to burn. 

Anne of Austria, the Queen-Mother, supplied the English exiles with clothes and money, and, later on, invited them to the French Court. As the little Henriette approached young woman-hood she gave promise of becoming very beautiful. She is described in the following words by a contemporary: "Her air is as noble as her birth. Her hair is of a bright chestnut hue, and her complexion rivals that of the gayest flowers. The snowy whiteness of her skin betrays the lines from which she sprang. Her eyes are blue and brilliant, her lips ruddy, her throat beautiful, her arms and hands well made- Her charms show that she was born on a throne and is destined to return there.” 

She made her first public appearance at a ball given by Anne of Austria at the Louvre. When the gentlemen chose their partners for the opening dance the handsome young Louis of France offered his hand to the Princess of Mercoeur. The Queen-Mother sternly rebuked him for this breach of etiquette, saying: “You must dance first with the Princess Henriette of England.’’ Queen Henrietta Maria saw that the King was not pleased with this interference, and sought to mend matters by answering: "My daughter has hurt her foot and therefore cannot dance.” 

But Anne of Austria was determined that her son should obey the laws of Court etiquette and insisted. “Then Henriette and Louis shall sit out the dance together.” From that moment Louis formed a dislike for his cousin, blasting the fond hopes of the two Queens that he would ask Henriette to share his throne. Later that evening one of the Courtiers remarked upon the charms of the young English Princess. “I do not like little girls. She is much too thin,” was Louis’ reply. 

Though Louis was blind to the beauty of Henriette, his brother. Monsieur, was not. The young dandy determined that he would like to marry and have a Court of his own. The Duke made known his desire to the King, who laughed heartily and said; “You shall wed the Princess of England, for no one else wants her.”

Philippe was well pleased at this promise, and hastened to plead his cause with Henrietta Maria. He fell genuinely in love with his lovely cousin, and having gained the consent of her brother, Charles II, the wedding was celebrated at the Palais Royal without further delay. The young Duchess immediately became the central figure of gay Court life. She captivated all who approached her. “Never was there a Princess so fascinating,” the Abbe de Colsy has written. “Her whole person seemed full of charm. You feel interested in her, you love her without being able to help yourself.” 

Even King Louis fell beneath the spell of her beauty and charm. His sister-in-law became one of his dearest friends. He regretted the days when he had failed to recognize her charms and was all the more attentive because of his previous neglect. Had Louis' anger at having to sit out a dance with the Princess of England not blinded him to the beauty and charm of Henriette she might have been his Queen instead of Marie Therese. — By Eloise Farrington for the Los Angeles Herald, 1917

Etiquette Enthusiast Maura J Graber is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia