On the Fifteenth-Century Table

The first printed cookbooks were plain in appearance, but the lifestyle they described was anything but modest. Any pretense of gastronomy—and a great deal of pretense was going on—was limited to the very wealthy: royalty, nobles such as the dukes of Burgundy and Savoy, and the princes of the church. Almost all early cookbooks assume dozens, if not hundreds, of servants and a complex household hierarchy in the kitchen and dining hall. Indeed, a military-style organization typically prevailed in these large households, likely designed to reflect the family’s similar control in the outside world. When hosts invited guests to dine, the feast that followed was not just for pleasure; it was a visible, inescapable symbol of power. As in summit meetings today, the lineup of guests at high table made the top players visible, and recognizable, to all.