Page:A History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England During the Middle Ages.djvu/181

 and Sentime?its. 6i the liquor J further to the right we have the carver cutting the meat ; and lafl: of all the cook bringing in another difh. The table is laid much in the fame manner in our third example, cut No. 112. We have again the cups and the bread, the latter in round cakes ; in our fecond example they are marked with crofles, as in the Anglo-Saxon illuminations 5 but there are no forks, or even fpoons, which, of courfe, were ufed for pottage and foups, and were perhaps brought on and taken oft" with them. All the guefts feem to be ready to ufe their fingers. There was much formality and ceremony obferved in filling and pre- fenting the cup, and it required long inftru6tion to make the young cup- No. 112. ARoyalFeajl. bearer perfeft in his duties. In our cut No. iii, it will be obferved that the carver holds the meat with his fingers while he cuts it. This is in exa6t accordance with the rules given in the ancient "Boke of Kervyng," where this officer is told, " Set never on fyflie, flefche, beeft, ne fowle, more than two fyngers and a thombe." It will be obferved alfo that in none of thefe pi6tures have the guefts any plates 3 they feem to have eaten with their hands, and thrown the refufe on the table. We know alfo that they often threw the fragments on the floor, where they were eaten up by cats and dogs, which were admitted into the hall without Y refl:ri6tion