Medieval Feast

Even what and how much a person was offered to eat could depend on their particular social standing. If it was a king’s feast, the king’s plate would be piled high with everything available so that his wealth could be seen by all and, if he so chose, he could appear extra generous by offering portions of his personal bounty to esteemed guests. Nobles were presented with certain dishes or a certain number of dishes in relation to their station.

As far as the types of food served, meat was again of utmost important. It was fashionable to dine on beautiful birds like swans, peacocks, doves, and heron, served decorated with their feathers and with their feet and beaks gilt. Chicken, a more familiar bird to the modern day, was also offered, as well as other livestock meat from sheep, oxen, and pigs. Peasants were forbidden to hunt wild game like rabbit, deer, and wild boar, so these “delicacies” definitely had a place at the tables of royals and nobles. Soups, stews, and pies were popular dishes made with these ingredients and flavored with saffron, cloves, cinnamon, vinegar, and honey. For dessert, instead of the pumpkin pie we think of as today’s holiday feasting dessert, medieval nobles dined on sweet cream, slices of cheese, and plums stewed in rose water.