After Dinner

Wafers and hippocras

The illustrations which follow portray, in a sequence of nine pages, the service of the Archbishop in his hall in the close of York Minster at his enthronement feast discussed in previous pages. We can trace each operation in turn, assuming that the hall has been prepared and the tables laid as described in the last chapter. The sequence of events closely resembles methods of service shown in thirteenth- and fourteenth-century manuscript illuminations, suggesting that it represents a much older tradition.