, and leaves the large hall
which was made for men to take their meals in together.[438] The walls
of these chambers with chimneys are painted or covered with hangings;
tapestries represent (as do those of Edward II.) the king surrounded by
his nobles,[439] or (like those of the Black Prince) the "Pas de
Saladin," or "sea-sirens," with a border of "swans with ladies' heads,"
in other words, chimeras, "and ostrich feathers"; or, again, like those
of Sir John Falstofe, in the following century, the adoration of the
shepherds, a hawking scene, the siege of Falaise (taken in 1417), a
woman playing the harp near a castle, "a giant piercing a boar with a
spear": all of which are the more noticeable as they are nothing but
literature put into colours or embroidery.[440]

The conveniences and elegancies of the table are now attended to; cooks
write out their recipes in English; stewards draw up in the same
language protocols concerning precedence, and the rules which a
well-trained servant should observe. Such a one does not scratch his
head, and avoids sneezing in the dish; he abstains from wiping the
plates with his tongue, and in carving takes the meat in his left hand
and the knife in his right, forks being then unknown; he gives each one
his proper place, and remembers "that the Pope hath no peere." When the
master dresses, he must be seated on a chair by the fire, a "kercheff"
is spread over his shoulders, and he is "curteisly" combed with an ivory
comb; he is rinsed "with rose-watur warme"; when he takes a bath the air
is scented with herbs hanging from the ceiling. When he goes to bed the
cats and dogs which happen to be in his room should be driven away, or
else a little cloth provided for them.

The food is rich and combines extraordinary mixtures. Hens and rabbits
are eaten chopped up with pounded almonds, raisins, sugar, ginger, herbs
dipped in grease, onions and salt; if the mixture is not thick enough,
rice flour is added, and the whole coloured with saffron. Cranes,
herons, and peacocks are cooked with ginger. Great attention is paid to
outward appearance and to colour; the dishes must be yellow or green, or
adorned with leaves of gold and silver, a fashion still preserved in the
East. Elaborate cakes, "subtleties" as they were then termed, are also
served; they represent:

Maydon Mary that holy virgyne
And Gabrielle gretynge hur with an Ave.[441]

People adorn their bodies as well as their houses; lu