Feasts

**__Introduction __** All throughout the kitchen, chefs prepare exotic dishes, appetizers, entrées, and desserts, all worth  compliments of the royal king. However, not all people at a royal feast receive such great foods. The peasants that attend great feasts would normally eat boring, dull flavors, different from the higher class people. The powerful nobles drank great wine, while “peasants drank weak ale made in their village by ale wives” (Macdonald p. 20). Peasants receive stale, plane foods, whereas nobles receive better, bright, and delicious flavors.
 * __Middle Age Feasts __**

**__Background__** In the Middle Ages, peasants normally ate the same things every day. This included things like “black bread, poultry, cabbage, and turnips. Rarely they ate meat, as it would have cost too much” (Deliyannis para. 47). Nobles would eat better foods, including meat, as they would have had more money.

Manners are a big part of Middle Age feasts. Since they did not use silverware, they ate with their fingers. Everyone did this, including the royal families. If they wanted silverware to use, they bought it themselves. Even though they could afford it, royal families would eat with their fingers as well.
 * __Manners __**

Washing their hands was normally a large production. They washed their hands because “they could have been working with animals, not that this applied to royalty” (Tomlin para. 1). Before a meal, “servers would bring out a bowl of scented water for people to wash their hands in” (Brandenberg p. 23). This all was done before they indulged in delicious meals. This left their hands smelling clean and refreshed.

In the Middle Ages, food was normally easy to eat. When meat was served, “it was normally brought out on a slice of stale bread, used to soak up excess juice” (Markham p. 4). This kept food from dripping on peoples’ clothing. At a feast, there was also entertainment, usually by a court jester. After eating they would again clean their hands.

Many poultry dishes were served in Middle Age feasts. Some dishes are Bird Without Head, Cockentrice, and Peacock. All of these dishes are famous feast meals. All are delicately prepared in the kitchen by paid, professional chefs.
 * __Meals __**

When without silverware, people would indulge in delicious finger foods. Some of these enjoyable dishes include “stew, roasts, and puddings” (Macdonald p. 21). Roasts were special as many people such as pe asants and low income workers could not afford them. This was because many jobs did not pay well.

A famous addition to the meals at a feast was bread. Bread was often different for each class, according to how much money you had. An average peasant would be able to afford “black bread” (Deliyannis para. 47). This bread was charred black, the reason it was sold cheap to peasants. Nobles indulged in nice, golden bread that was soft to the touch and chewy.

A bird dish cooked at many feasts was Bird Without Head. This dish includes “onions, herbs, spices, egg, and beef marrow” (Macdonald p. 20). The dish is famous for all to eat at a Middle Ages feast. Bird Without Head was enjoyable all around.
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Poultry Dishes __**

<span style="font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Cockentrice may sound like a mixed breed, and it is. Cockentrice is made by cutting the head of a Capon bird and the bottom half of a pig. “After they are cut, the two halves are sewn together to make a whole” (Brandenberg p.18). The dish is then cooked and placed on a platter for presentation.

<span style="font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Peacock is a very straightforward poultry dish. When Middle Age chefs would prepare a peacock to be cooked, they would strip it of the feathers all along the body, and save them for later. “Once cooked, the peacock would be reassembled with its feathers” (Brandenberg p. 18). The whole bird would then be placed on a platter to be taken out to the dining hall.

<span style="font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">In a Middle Age feast, peasants and nobles would receive different foods. Also dishes prepared back then were precise and delicate, as well as beautiful. The chefs would always cook to make great food. The dishes at feasts were also an important part of the Middle Ages.
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Conclusion __**

<span style="font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">**__Works Cited__**

<span style="font-family: 'Albertus Medium','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Brandenberg, Aliki. __A Medieval Feast.__ New York: Harper Collins, 1983.

Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. "Middle Ages." __World Book Student.__ World Book, 2011. Web. 22 Mar. 2011.

Markham, Lois. "At the Castle." __Middle Ages__ December 2003:4

Tomlin, C.M. "Behind the scenes of the new movie The Tale of Despereaux." __National Geographic kids__ Dec. 2008: 38+. __Student resources Center- Gold.__ Wed. 7 Mar. 2011.

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