14th C. Boke of Curtasye Etiquette

King Edward I of England, 1272-1307 AD. Known also as "Edward Longshanks," due to his great height and stature, was perhaps the most successful of the medieval monarchs. The first twenty years of his reign marked a high point of cooperation between crown and community in England, though his campaigns and efforts to capture territory in Wales, Scotland, Ireland, etc... "aroused in the Scots a hatred of England that would endure for generations." http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon30.html

From "The Boke of Curtasye" 

On reaching a Lord’s gate, give the Porter your weapon, and ask leave to go in. If the master is of low degree, he will come to you: if of high, the Porter will take you to him. At the Hall-door, take off your hood and gloves, greet the Steward, etc.., at the dais, bow to the Gentlemen on each side of the hall both right and left; notice the yeomen, then stand before the screen till the Marshal or Usher leads you to the table. 

Be sedate and courteous if you are set with the gentlemen.  

Cut your loaf in two, the top from the bottom; cut the top crust in, and the bottom in  cut the top crust in, and the bottom in.  

Put your trencher before you, and don’t eat or drink till your Mess is brought from the kitchen, lest you be thought starved or a glutton.  

Have your nails clean.  

Don’t bite your bread, but break it.  

Don’t quarrel at table, or make grimaces. 

Don’t cram your cheeks out with food like an ape, for if any one should speak to you, you can’t answer, but must wait. 

Don’t eat on both sides of your mouth. 

Don’t laugh with your mouth full, or sup up your potage noisily. 

Don’t leave your spoon in the dish or on its side, but clean your spoon. 

Let no dirt off your fingers soil the cloth. 

Don’t put into the dish bread that you have once bitten. 

Dry your mouth before you drink. 

Don’t call for a dish once removed, or spit on the table: that’s rude. 

Don’t scratch your dog. 

If you blow your nose, clean your hand; wipe it with your skirt or put it through your tippet. 

Don’t pick your teeth at meals, or drink with food in your mouth, as you may get choked, or killed, by its stopping your wind. 

Tell no tale to harm or shame your companions. 

Don’t stroke the cat or dog. 

Don’t dirty the table cloth with your knife. 

Don’t blow on your food, or put your knife in your mouth, or wipe your teeth or eyes with the table cloth. 

If you sit by a good man, don’t put your knee under his thigh. 

Don’t hand your cup to any one with your back towards him. 

Don’t lean on your elbow, or dip your thumb into your drink, or your food into the salt cellar: That is a vice. 

Don’t spit in the basin you wash in or loosely (?) before a man of God. 

If you go to school you shall learn: 

1. Cross of Christ,
2. Pater Noster, 
3. Hail Mary and the Creed, 
4. In the name of the Trinity, 
5. of the Apostles, 
6. the Confession.  

Seek the kingdom of God, and worship Him.  At church, take holy water; pray for all Christian companions; kneel to God on both knees, to man only on one. At the Altar, serve the priest with both hands. Speak gently to your father and mother, and honour them. Do to others as you would they should do to you. Don’t be foolishly meek. The seed of the righteous shall never beg or be shamed. Be ready forgive, and fond of peace. If you cannot give an asker goods, give him good words. Be willing to help every one. Give your partner his fair share. Go on the pilgrimages (?) you vow to saints, lest God take vengeance on you. Don’t believe all who speak fair: the Serpent spoke fair words (to Eve). Be cautious with your words, except when angry. Don’t lie, but keep your word. Don’t laugh too often, or you’ll be called a shrew or a fool.   

Man’s 3 enemies are: the Devil, the Flesh, and the World. Destroy these, and be sure of heaven. Don’t strive with your lord, or bet or play with him. In a strange place don’t be too inquisitive or fussy. If a man falls, don’t laugh, but help him up: your own head may fall to your feet. At the Mass, if the priest doesn’t please you, don’t blame him. Don’t tell your secrets to a shrew. Don’t beckon, point, or whisper. When you meet a man, greet him, or answer him cheerily if he greets you: don’t be dumb, lest men say you have men say you have no mouth. Never speak improperly of women, for we and our fathers were all born of women.  

A wife should honour and obey her husband, and serve him.  

Try to reconcile brothers if they quarrel.  

At a gate, let your equal precede you; go behind your superior and your master unless he bids you go beside him. 

On a pilgrimage don’t be third man: 3 oxen can’t draw a plough. 

Don’t drink all that’s in a cup offered you; take a little. 

If you sleep with any man, ask what part of the bed he likes, and lie far from him. 

If you journey with any man, find out his name, who he is, where he is going. 

With friars on a pilgrimage, do as they do. 

Don’t put up at a red (haired and faced) man or woman’s house. 

Answer opponents meekly, but don’t tell lies. 

Before your lord at table, keep your hands, feet, and fingers still. 

Don’t stare about, or at the wall, or lean against the post. 

Don’t pick your nose, scratch your arm, or stoop your head. 

Listen when you’re spoken to. 

Never harm child or beast with evil eye.

Don’t blush when you’re chaffed, or you’ll be accused of mischief. 

Don’t make faces.

Wash before eating. 

Sit where the host tells you; avoid the highest place unless you’re told to take it.

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

Etiquette and Europe’s Dining History

At the head table, the most important people sat in the middle, at center stage as it were, and the lesser people toward either end.

In Western Europe in the late Middle Ages, at great formal banquets, both the diners and the dinner were the show. The host and his special guests would sit along one side of the table set at the head of the great hall of the castle. This allowed the other diners to view the actions of the great and powerful. At the head table, the most important people sat in the middle, at center stage as it were, and the lesser people toward either end. At some point down the table were placed great salt holders, or salt cellars. This evolved into a natural delineation of status among the diners at the head table. One was either above the salt, that is, close to the important people, or below the salt, with the "hoi polloi."

The French made Burghley Nef salt cellar, circa 1527-1528. It is nautilus shell with parcel-gilt silver mounts, raised, chased, engraved and cast, and pearls, and is on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The proximity to which the nef as a salt cellar was placed next to a guest was indicative of their status. Some nefs held not only salt, but expensive spices and even napkins. Nefs were a tour de force for silversmiths and consequently, highly desirable objects for royal and noble households.

In accounts of medieval dinners a great deal of attention is paid to who sat where. The host sat in the middle of the "high table," so called because it was often placed on a platform. The table was set up on the stage so that the others could watch what their "betters" were doing and how they behaved. This custom is still followed today in some of the old college dining rooms at Cambridge University, England, and at public banquets.

During the Middle Ages, the set-up of the tables, and table manners themselves, were very important. Diners were seated according to their social class at tables of varying heights. Reserved for members of the clergy or, if no clergy were in attendance, the highest in the social class such as the king and queen, were the highest tables. Steel knives, silver spoons, dishes for salt, silver cups, and "mazers." Mazers were shallow, oftentimes silver-rimmed, wooden bowls that soups were drunk from.            

The tables for the other diners were often placed at right angles to the main table. These diners were so far off the social scale, they did not merit being ranked as above or below the salt. Women were even further off the social scale. At first, the wives of the nobles when not even allowed at great banquets and were relegated to a spectators' gallery. Later, they were allowed to sit at the table in a group well below the salt. 

Entertainments were given between the "mets," a medieval term for main course of the dinner. The entertainment might be short plays, songs by troubadours, animal acts, dancing, jesters, or juggling. Many dinners were for political show, and on really special occasions, pageants were performed.  Several of these were so noteworthy that they are mentioned in some history books. One such dinner was the Banquet of the Vow of the Pheasant, given by the Duke of Burgundy in 1453. 

Footman brought out a pheasant for each knight in attendance and placed before him. Each knight vowed by the pheasant and before God to abstain from whatever action his imagination conjured up-- to sleep in a bed, to change his clothes, and so on-- until Constantinople had been reconquered from the Ottoman Turks, who had captured it that year.

An anonymous painting of the Banquet du Voeu du Faisan, (aka "Banquet of the Oath of the Pheasant) was a banquet given by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy on February 17, 1454 in Lille, now in France. Its purpose was to promote a crusade against the Turks, who had taken Constantinople the year before, though the crusade never took place. The knights had come to their senses in the days following the meal and did not try to take back Constantinople.

The vow created a sensation as Constantinople had been thought to be impregnable, and all Christians were humiliated and terrified of the idea of the city in Muslim hands.

Unfortunately for Christendom, the knights came to their senses in the days following the meal and did not try to take back Constantinople.

Guests were given light tidbits to eat while watching the shows. In time, such dishes came to be called “entremets,” literally meaning “between the Mets.” The dinner itself was full of pageantry to entertain and impress those in attendance. The food was brought in in a procession, often with flute players leading the way. The less important foods, called “entrees” came in and were laid out first, building up to the presentation of the piece de resistance, which might be a full roasted ox or a roasted pheasant with its skin and feathers still attached.

A pheasant in flight, as opposed to on one's table.

In time, kings and other nobility found it rather wearisome to be on display. They just wanted to eat with other important people, their friends and allies, in privacy. These intimate meals moved from the great hall to the lord's private living areas. The table changed from a long, relatively narrow strip of wood with seating on only one side, to a square or oblong table where people could sit on all sides. Status was still gained, however, by sitting close to the lord or other notables, and the women were grouped either at another table or the end of the table away from the host.

The wider tables allowed more food to be put on the table itself. This in turn permitted far greater displays of food. The table would almost crack under the weight of joints of meat, fish, fouls, and side dishes. With diners on all sides of the table, however, it was not possible to bring each dish in after people sat down. The table had to be largely set before the diners arrived, which meant that the food would get cold while the diners filed in to take their places. Essentially, the nobles gained the ability to talk and dine intimately with their companions at the expense of hot meals. This was not as great a loss as it might appear to us today.

17th century Dutch, steel-bladed knife and steel-tined fork, with carved ivory handles.

Up until the 19th century, the cooking area was always set well away from the main part of the house lest a cooking fire get out of control and burn everything down. Thus the food lost a good bit of heat while being carried to the dining room.

Over time, what it started out a small private meals grew into pageants in their own right. This came about in the 17th century, when absolute monarchs ruled most of Europe. 

In keeping with the ethos of the era, every aspect of the king's life was made a display. Vast an elaborate meals were one way to assert power, wealth, and status, and they once again moved back into public view. But, this time, women fully participated as the bold innovation of alternating men and women at the dinner table took hold. This practice arrived in England from Holland in the 1600s and was known as the Dutch style of seating. The practice of alternating men and women at the dinner table, arrived in England from Holland in the 1600s and was known as the “Dutch” style of seating.

The last ingredient in the evolution of formal Victorian dining came about the early 1800's, as the combined weight of England and Russia was defeating the military genius of Napoleon. Ironically, even as the French were losing on the battlefield, they were about to emerge victorious on the culinary front. They developed a highly sophisticated culinary style, drawing in large part upon what they learned from the Italians.

Catherine de Medici of Florence, the great granddaughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent, married the future King of France, Henry II in 1533.

Italian cooks and courtiers came to France in 1533 when fourteen year old Catherine de Medici of Florence, great granddaughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent, married the future King of France, Henry II. Their arrival helped transform French cooking and manners. New tastes and flavors were introduced, along with new dishes, such as sweetbreads, truffles, and artichoke hearts. Prior to this, the Italians had looked down on the French. It has been said that before Catherine's arrival, “all the French had was raw military power. Afterward, they were on their way to haute cuisine.”

Numerous sources were used for this post, including Site Editor, Maur J. Graber, Demita Usher, the books “The Rituals of Dinner,” “Forgotten Elegance,” and Lillian Eichler’s books on etiquette.

🍽️Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber of The RSVP Institute of Etiquette, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette, Daniel of Beccles and The Book of Civilized Man

The Latin, "Urbanus Magnus Danielis Becclesiensis," or "The Book of Civilized Man" by Daniel of Beccles, is thought to be the first English book of manners, or courtesy book.  It most likely dates from the beginning of the 13th century.  To date, there is no full translation into English, but there is an edited Latin edition of 1939 by the Irish scholar Josiah Gilbart Smyly. It is a significant book, because in the later Middle Ages dozens of this type of courtesy book were produced. 

Books of etiquette, both ancient and modern, have a long history. As a general rule, a book of etiquette is a mark of a dynamic and spirited society, as opposed to a stable society. Beccles' book, being the earliest known, represents the awakening to etiquette and decorum in English court society. 

The royal court of Henry II~ Historians believe that Daniel of Beccles may have been a member of Henry II's court.  In the 16th Century, John Bale, wrote that he had seen a document showing Daniel in Henry's court for over 30 years. A Henry is mentioned in the text, and some of the manuscripts can be dated to the early 13th century, make it very probable the poem dates from that period.

The Book of Civilized Man is a 3000 line, Latin verse poem, offering proper advice on a wide range of social situations encountered in daily, typical medieval life.  These examples include:

• 'If you wish to belch, remember to look up to the ceiling.' 
• 'Do not attack your enemy while he is squatting to defecate.' 
• 'If there is something you do not want people to know, do not tell it to your wife.' 
• 'Say thank you to your host.' 
• 'Don't mount your horse in the hall.' 
• 'If visitors had already eaten, give them drink anyway.' 
• 'Loosen your reins when riding over a bridge.' 
• 'Receive gifts from great men with gratitude.' 
• 'If you are a judge, be just.' 
• 'Eating at the table of the rich, speak little.'
• 'Sitting at table as a guest, you should not put your elbows on the table.'
• 'In front of grandees, do not openly excavate your nostril by twisting your fingers.'
• 'While food is hidden in your mouth, let your tongue not minister to words.' 

The book ends with 'Old King Henry first gave to the uncourtly the teaching written in this book.'




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