Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776Reilly, S. A.
History
Our Legal Heritage: King AEthelbert - King George III, 600 A.D. - 1776
Reilly, S. A.
Law -- England -- History
The King's family, immediate circle, and most distinguished
guests dined elegantly in the Great Hall at midday. They would first
wash their hands in hot water poured by servants over bowls. The table
had silver plate, silver spoons, and cups of horn, crystal, maple wood,
or silver laid on a white cloth. Each guest brought his own knife in a
leather sheath attached to a belt or girdle. A procession of servitors
brought the many dishes to which the gentlemen helped the ladies and
the young their seniors by placing the food in scooped-out half-loaves
of bread that were afterwards distributed to the poor. A wine cup was
handed around the table. In the winter after dinner, there would often
be games of chess or dice or songs of minstrels, and sometimes dancing,
juggler or acrobat displays, or storytelling by a minstrel. In the
summer there were outdoor games and tournaments. Hunting with hounds or
hawks was popular with both ladies and gentlemen. The King would go to
bed on a feather mattress with fur coverlet that was surrounded by
linen hangings. His grooms would sleep on trundle beds in the same
room. The queen likewise shared her bedchamber with several of her
ladies sleeping on trundle beds. Breakfast was comprised of a piece of
bread and a cup of wine taken after the daily morning mass in one of
the chapels. Sometimes a round and deep tub was brought into the
bedchamber by servants who poured hot water onto the bather in the tub.
Baths were often taken in the times of Henry III, who believed in
cleanliness and sanitation. Henry III was also noted for his luxurious
tastes. He had a linen table cloth, goblets of mounted cocoa-nut, a
glass cup set in crystal, and silk and velvet mattresses, cushions, and
bolster. He had many rooms painted with gold stars, green and red
lions, and painted flowers. To his sister on her marriage, he gave
goldsmith's work, a chess table, chessmen in an ivory box, silver pans
and cooking vessels, robes of cloth of gold, embroidered robes, robes
of scarlet, blue, and green fine linen, Genoese cloth of gold, two
napkins, and thirteen towels.
In the King's 1235 grant to Oxford, the Mayor and good men were
authorized to take weekly for three years 1/2 d. on every cart entering
the town loaded with goods, if it was from the county, or 1d. if it
came from outside the county; 1/4 d. for every horse load, except for
brushwood; 1/2 d. on every horse, mare, ox, or cow brought to sell; and
1/2 d. for every five sheep, goats, or pigs.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account