Quant fut houre del manger,
Et qe tuz alerent lauer,
Li prodoms a manger s’assist,
Les .iii. valez seeir i fist,
Argentille lez son seignur;
Serui furent a grant honur.
[1726.] Kranes, swannes, veneysun, &c. We have here the principal constituents of what formed the banquets of our ancestors. The old Romances abound with descriptions of this nature, which coincide exactly with the present. See Richard Cœur de Lion, l. 4221; Guy of Warwick; The Squyr of Lowe Degre, l. 317; and Morte Arthure, ed. Perry, p. 7.
“Wine is common,” says Dr Pegge, speaking of the entertainments of the 14th century, “both red and white. This article they partly had of their own growth, and partly by importation from France and Greece.” A few examples will illustrate this:
He laid the cloth, and set forth bread,
And also wine, both white and red.