The late Middle Ages saw the increase in desire for private spaces, as
well as domestic comfort. The great hall still formed the focal point of
castle life and architectural design and the stage for ceremony and feasting
(Documents 68 and 69). The lord and lady of the castle and their
guests seated at the high table were served a banquet of three to five
courses, each of which might have as many as fifteen dishes. Those at
the tables in the hall usually had a buffet with much less food. Heavy
food was served first and delicacies and sweets at the end. Wine was the
usual drink; spiced wine was served at the end of the feast. Between the
last courses spectacular displays of food, such as swans or peacocks that
had been roasted and then returned to their skin and feathers, might be
presented. At this time live human actors might perform skits or juggling
or gymnastic acts. From the minstrel’s gallery over the screens passage
musicians entertained. The musicians might be in the permanent employ
of the castle or they might wander from place to place, and so they also
brought the latest news and gossip. In the fifteenth century they even organized
into guilds.
World History
