Banquets & Ettiquette

A banquet hosted during the Tudor period was definitely a rich persons affair. It would be chaotically loud with many people in the room. The dining area would also be filled with servants busily frolocking around the room pouring wine, serving food of extravagant taste and handing out new clean dishes. The wealthy diners would also bring their retainers (servants) as well as tasters to test whether the large amount of food is poisoned. There would also be dogs eating at the bones and food scraps that were thrown on the floor as a sign of completing a dish. There would most likely be entertainment present at the banquet in the forms of music and acrobatics.

During the Tudor Period, there were certain rules that you would have to abide by when attending a banquet. The rule that was enforced the most was that of having clean hands. A person would wash and clean their hands before entering the dining room in front of everyone to ensure them that your hands were clean. Other rules that were included are similar to what they are today and are basically up to common sense. Some of the rules are as following:


     * do not place your fingers in your ears during the banquet
     * do not touch your head with your hands during the banquet
     * do not blow your nose with your hand during the banquet
     * men are to avoid the act of 'scratching' during the banquet
     * no farting

Some of the other things that were frowned upon during a banquet was the wiping of sweat off your forehead or blowing your nose with your napkin or poking around or scraping a plate.