"The Royal table". Catálogo de la exposición "The majesty of Spain". Mississippi Commision for International Cultural Exchange, 2001, pp. 222-225. (original) (raw)
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Charles V, Prince Philip, and the Politics of Succession Imperial Festivities in Mons and Hainault, 1549, 2020
Prince Philip of Spain’s first official journey through his hereditary lands was of momentous importance to the development of royal Spanish etiquette, or so it is commonly believed. The Royal Household of the Spanish kings was ruled in a consuetudinary way during the 16th century, with different partial instructions and ordinances for specific offices. They developed in a convoluted way. The Household of Castile, for instance, received a real compilation of Etiquettes no earlier than 1575, when Philip II put the household of his fourth wife, Anne of Austria, in order, and only in 1651 a “definitive” version was elaborated for the entire Royal Household. The first attempt to compile those norms was achieved under Charles V, supposedly in a clear break with historic precedent. Especially relevant were the ordinances of his son´s, Prince Philip’s household, first in the Castilian way, in 1535, and then, in 1548, in the Burgundian manner, for the Felicissimo Viaje. But was it exactly like this, as most of the authors have explained to us? We believe that these types of document, and specially their application to events such as the Viaje, must be studied within a broader perspective, taking into account the different influences on the ceremonial of the Spanish court at that moment. For example, if we consider the different offices described in the instructions of 1548, we realize that some of them were duplicated (Castile-Burgundy) and even that the different areas of the service of the prince were divided between both ceremonials: the Royal Stables, the Chamber and the Royal Table (those closest to the prince, in effect) were predominantly Burgundian, while offices related with the contact with the territories and kingdoms that were going to be visited, were established in the Castilian manner. In this paper, we will analyse the different services of Emperor Charles V and Prince Philip during the years of the Felicissimo Viaje (specially the offices related with the ceremonial), the mixture of ceremonial traditions that converged on them, and the way that they acted during the journey.
Dining at the Lisbon Court, 1500-1700, edited by Hugo Miguel Crespo
The first publication in English which takes a closer look at dining, etiquette and ceremonial of royal and princely tables in Portugal from 1500 to 1700. Also spotlighted are documents and inventories related to dining and eating in this period, including the transcription of an accounts book of the household and kitchen of Catherine of Austria Essays by Annemarie Jordan Gschwend, Hugo Miguel Crespo, Sasha Assis Lima and Letizia Arbeteta Mira
The King's High Table at the Palace of Westminster
The Antiquaries Journal, 2012
Archaeological and engineering work that took place in Westminster Hall in 2005–6 led to the discovery of further remains of the King's High Table, to add to those discovered in 1960. The Purbeck marble table stood at the south end of the hall from the thirteenth century to the seventeenth century and was the focus and symbol of English monarchy, serving particular roles in coronation feasts and in the development of the law courts. This paper suggests a reconstruction of the original table and its later extensions from the recovered fragments, and reviews the evidence for the construction, usage and destruction of the table in the context of the evolution of the hall and the palace, tracing its history through to its recent rediscovery and exhibition.
hat did the medieval word 'banquet' denote? Today, it means (at least in Dutch) either all those things baked at the baker's besides the bread, like pies and pastries, or a full-scale festive dinner. We no longer recognize that the second definition is a pars pro toto: a part of a festive meal that was obviously considered so important as to give its name to the dinner as a whole. Literally, it meant a little bench or wooden table, smaller than but comparable to the fish-stalls at a market. At medieval feasts, such a table was usually located somewhere other than the dining-hall itself, so that the cook might dress it with a variety of dishes while the guests were otherwise occupied and which could then be made available to guests for them to help themselves. In the dining-hall, guests were served in courses by domestics who circulated among the (trestle) tables with the hot dishes, carved the meat and offered it to the diners. The dishes did not stay on the table but we...
ANNALES du 22e CONGRÈS de l’ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONALE pour l’HISTOIRE du VERRE )AIHV22-Lisbon-Portugal; Caparica (Virtuel) 13–17 septembre 2021, 2021
ABSTRACT When D. Luís I (1838–1889) was proclaimed king of Portugal, in 1861, a new era started at the Ajuda Palace, which finally became a royal residence and the centre of the Portuguese court. Shortly after the unification of Italy in 1861, Princess Maria Pia of Savoy (1847–1911), daughter of King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy (1820–1878) and Adelaide of Austria (1822–1855), married King Luís I, moving to her new residence in 1862. She was 15 years old. During her stay in Portugal, from 1862 to 1910, the Queen made several trips to cities throughout Europe (until 1888, accompanied by King Luís), including Madrid, Paris, Nice, Vienna, London, Carlsbad, Turin, Rome, Venice and Murano. On these occasions, she shopped at department stores such as A La Paix, Grand Dépôt and Bon Marché, and at manufacturers such as Baccarat, Moser, J. & L. Lobmeyr, Compagnia di Venezia e Murano and Salviati & Co. She thus came in contact with the very best of European glass production. Queen Maria Pia had a passion for decoration and a particular taste for the applied arts, especially table objects and ornamentation. She acquired silverware and porcelain, towels, lamps and their accessories, glassware services and many other items intended for daily use and formal occasions, but also for leisure activities such as picnics. Many of these items are still present in the collections of Portuguese national palaces, in particular the Ajuda Palace. Their continued availability has made it possible to reconstitute a table of the Portuguese court of the second half of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th, with all its objects and in its full splendour. Crystal services, representing the habits, sociability and etiquette of the court, were an important part of the tableware of the Royal House. With the development of the glass industry in the second half of the 19th century, tableware became even more elaborate and acquired an elevated status, evidenced by its use in complex ceremonial practices during more intimate dining and at court banquets. In this paper, elements of the collection, history and use of those tableware services are presented. Keywords: Portuguese Royal House, King Louis I, Queen Maria Pia, glass, royal table
, Anna, Dowager Electress of Brandenburg, set sail for Sweden. She brought her daughter Maria Eleonora, the intended bride of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, with her. At the court in Stockholm, frantic activity ensued to get all preparations in order for the new Queen and the royal marriage. Foreign policy in the form of negotiations with the Russian tsar, as well as worries about outbreaks of plague, had to be partially pushed aside; energies needed to be focussed on the impending royal wedding. The King fired off barrages of letters to governors, councillors and courtiers. His apothecary was to prepare treats for the wedding party and buy silver dishes in Germany; tapestries were ordered from the Netherlands; a new crown, sceptre, and apple for the Queen had to be made by the Stockholm goldsmith Ruprecht Miller 1. The King's illegitimate brother Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm was to meet the Brandenburg ships with a Swedish flotilla at Kalmar 2. The Livonian nobility was told to send representatives to Stockholm to boost the wedding "because We to that purpose need a large multitude of nobles with Us" 3. For the first reception at the castle in Kalmar, aristocrats were also exhorted to attend; the King wrote that the local nobility should be present for the magnificence of the reception of his princely visitors: "We would like to see them all being received there with suitable Solemnity" 4. The increasing urgency shines through when bed linen had to be borrowed from the Queen Dowager and carriages were ordered to be sent to Kalmar as soon as possible, travelling "through night and day" 5. Also napkins, table cloths, sweets and a cook were sent to Kalmar 6 .
Tudor feasting was an extravaganza of excess. Henry VIII’s court was at its most splendid on feast days, which marked the major festivals throughout the calendar year. This paper will argue that these court festivities were much more than occasions for merely conspicuous consumption. They were an opportunity for Henry VIII to demonstrate his high status manhood: his most powerful and intimate courtiers waited on him, he was the frequent recipient of royal and foreign visitors, and the wealth of his court was highlighted through his lavish hospitality. Another aspect of this paper is to explore the men of the court, who performed key roles in court entertainment that included: jousts, masques, pageants and banquets. My analysis of these men will determine their place on the social hierarchy of manhood at Henry’s court that was shown through where they ate, whom they ate with and what they ate, as dinning became a manifestation of rank and favour. Henry VIII, his court and his men, aimed to embody the virtues of magnificence, thus rich banquets, festivals and chivalrous shows, were all calculated in an deliberate attempt to assert high status manhood. One final aspect that this paper explores is the relationship between Henry’s appetite for food and the effects on the male body. It was particularly important for Henry as a jouster to present a body that was suited to the physical demands of the tiltyard. Thus Henry’s expanding girth in later life signalled a loss of manhood, spurred on by his inability to exercise self-restraint, when it came to his love of rich food.
The Historical Journal
Around 1520, at the court of Henry VIII of England, a new meal type emerged. Called the ‘banquet’, this took place after the main meal, in a distinct space, and consisted of sweet foods, spiced wine, and sculptural sugarwork. Originally developing at court, the sweet banquet was quickly embraced by the nobility and gentry. This article investigates the adoption of this dining practice in the wealthy country houses of early modern England and the reasons for its popularity in this specific context. It draws on state papers, published works, and household accounts to establish the ways in which the banquet was utilized and understood by early modern elites. This evidence makes it clear that a high-status person would have expected to be entertained with a sweet banquet at any important social occasion involving their peers. An examination of the visual and material cultures associated with the banquet establishes that it was a highly effective means by which to express class status at...