When the heavy armor was laid aside, the cavaliers entered the banqueting hall, and, amid the flourish of trumpets, seated themselves under silken banners, with their favorite falcons perched above their heads. The guests were placed two by two, every knight with a lady by his side. To eat from the same trencher, or plate, was considered a strong proof of affection. In the Romance of Perceforest it is said, “there were eight hundred knights all seated at table, and yet there was not one who had not a dame or damsel at his plate.” An invitation to a feast, from a lady to her chosen knight, is thus described:
“——the attendant dwarf she sends;
Before the knight the dwarf respectful bends;
Kind greeting bears as to his lady’s guest,
And prays his presence to adorn her feast,
The knight delays not; on a couch designed
With gay magnificence the fair reclined;
High o’er her head, on silver columns raised,
With broidering gems her proud pavilion blazed.
Herself a paragon in every part,