That Lady that conseuyd by the Holy Ghost
Hym that destroyed the fendes boost
Presented pleasantly by the Kinges of Coleyn.”[8]
Chaucer alludes to the extravagances of “soteltes” in the Parson’s Tale:—“Pryde of the table apereth eeke ful ofte: for certes, riche men bene cleped in feestes and poure folk ben putte away and rebuked. Also in excesse of dyverse metes and drynkes: and namely suche manere bake metes and dish metes: brennenge of wilde fyr and peynted and castellated with papir and scurblable wast: so that it is abusive for to thinke.”
BANQUET IN LONDON, TEMP. EDWARD IV.
From MS. in British Museum. Royal E4.
The people of mediæval times loved everything to be sweet, as is shown above in their pouring a sweet sauce over their birds, and honey over their meat; they also sweetened their wine. Each course, which consisted of three or more dishes for an ordinary dinner, was a dinner in itself, containing fish, flesh, fowl, and sweets. For instance, at a certain dinner there were two courses only, but of eight or nine dishes to each course; thus we have in the first course, lamprey, codling, shoulder of mutton, chicken, wild goose, wood dove, worts (vegetable) and “tortous” in paste. In the second we have eels, sea horse, lamb, mallard, quail, goldfinch, and “pynnondde”; but there was an interval between each course. As we shall see immediately, table manners were carefully taught and insisted upon. One curious regulation was that cooks were forbidden to go out of the City in order to meet victuals coming in, so that they might get them more cheaply than in the open market. The Mayor also took account of the deceitful ways of certain pastelers or piebakers, who dared to put giblets and rabbits into their pies, and to sell beef pies for venison pies. And the sale of meat that was putrid was punished by pillory, while the meat itself was burned under the offender’s nose. The great City merchant fed as well as the King, and sometimes entertained the King quite royally. The humbler man, the well-to-do burgher, and even the craftsman, there is every reason to believe, fared well and plentifully: they lived on beef and mutton, meat pies, pork, capons, wild birds, and sea fish. The wild birds were brought up in great quantities from the counties of Essex and Suffolk; there was a plentiful supply of fish; from all the country round along every track that they called a highway, down the rivers—the Thames, the Brent, the Wandle, the Fleet, the Lea, the Ravensbourne, came boats and barges laden with farm produce. The City was well supplied; and there was seldom any dearth. As for the food of the middle classes—the better sort—was not the Company at the Tabard chiefly composed of the middle class? Among them was the Cook. What did he cook for them?
“A cook they hadde with them for the nones,
To boil the chicken and the marrow bones,