Eating Utensils and "Feast Gear" of the Late Middle Ages

Small bowl with geometric decoration, ceramic with sgraffito, Thessalonika, 1250-1380
Bowl with a bird, ceramic with sgraffito, Thessalonika, 1250-1380
Bowl with champlevé decoration, Constantinople, 1250-1380
Mill Green ware, 1270-1350
Glass goblet, 14th century, probably made in Italy or southern France
Set of five silver beakers made in Prague c. 1350 (with heraldry)
Silver beaker with silver-gilt bands, 14th century France
Feast in The life and miracles of St. Louis (BNF Fr. 5716, fol. 187), 14th century
While the illustration is a bit vague on the details of the tableware, it does provide a distinct illustration of the differences between the king's table and the paupers'; notice the presence of a great many vaguely-drawn items on Louis's the table, including the gilt bowls, goblet (or saltcellar?), and flagon; the few colored-in dishes on the paupers' table are brown, either treen or pottery.
pottery vessels from Medieval York
The Table of Elbing, an exhibit displaying a "typical" medieval table using 14th-15th century artifacts found in Elbing. Included are imported polychromatic dishes from Malaga, stoneware Bartmann jugs, glassware, and carved stoneware. The caption notes, that the atmosphere of a fine meal was enhanced by the possession of expensive prestige objects, and secured the social position of the lord of the house and his table.
German stoneware beakers found in and around London, 14th-15th centuries
Last Supper, Duccio di Buonisegna, Siena, 1308
Several bowls (either ceramic or treen); a blue and white maiolica pitcher; eating knives. The tablecloth has a very visible diamond twill pattern with striped brocading at each end.
Marriage at Cana, The Queen Mary Psalter (British Library Royal 2 B. VII, fol. 168v), c. 1310-1320
Various dishes are outlined against the white tablecloth, including a flagon, a footed bowl, a knife, and a saltcellar. (This is also the only time I remember seeing a woman serving in a formal banquet setting.)

Then attendants set a table upon trestles broad,
And lustrous white linen they laid thereupon,
A saltcellar of silver, spoons of the same.
He washed himself well and went to his place;
Men set his fare before him in fashion most fit.
There were soups of all sorts, seasoned with skill,
Double-sized servings, and sundry fish,
Some baked, some breaded, some broiled on the coals,
Some simmered, some in stews, steaming with spice,
And with sauces to sup that suited his taste.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
(late 14th century England)
Part II, lines 884-893

The Luttrell family at dinner from the Luttrell Psalter (British Library MS Add. 42130, fol. 208), c. 1325-1335
There are a variety of dishes on the table -- most figures (except for the monks, who are being given bowls) have a knife, rectangular trencher, and a bowl in front of them. There seem to be a few round metal platters; there are two spoons towards the right side of the table, and one being used by a male diner, second from the right (notice the detail of the round knob on the ends of the spoons). The bowls seem to bend inward at the sides, except for a few rounder bowls (though those may be bits of bread used as trenchers; it's hard to tell from the miniature). One of the servants (kneeling) has a Perugia-style towel wrapped around his neck. The only thing that is clearly a drinking vessel is the beaker that Sir Geoffrey (?) is drinking from. There is a covered golden saltcellar in front of Sir Geoffrey Luttrell's wife Agnes.
Ataxerxes' banquet, Speculum Humanae Salvationis (ÖNB s.n. 2612, fol. 45r), c. 1330-1340
An illustration of Agravain, Lancelot du Lac (BNF Fr 122, fol. 93v), 1344: a repast served at an open pavilion. On a white tablecloth are various accoutrements: two red bowls (one footed, and one holding a big fish); a pewter flagon; two knives (one of which seems to be pronged like the Maciejowski Bible knives); a round loaf of bread; rectangular things which look like hot dog buns but which are probably meant to be gilt trenchers.
Illustrations of banquets at Arthur's home (fol. 151) and at Guinevere's home (fol. 286v) show similar dishware in use.
Fols. 44r and 52r, Voeux du paon (PML G.24, fol. 44r), c. 1350
Sir Galahad presented to take his place at the Round Table
The table is set with a linen with a brocaded pattern at the end (a checked band). It is interesting to note which items are to be found at each place setting (eating knives, breads or small bowls, glass beakers), and which seem to be set for two adjacent knights to share (saltcellars, large platters or round trenchers). The servers all seem to be small boys wearing matching livery (blue cotes and chausses); the one acting as a kerver has a towel knotted around his torso.
The Royal Gold Cup, Paris, 1370-80
Dance of Salome in John of Berry's Petites Heures (BNF Latin 18014, fol. 212v), ca. 1372-1390
Bowl with geometric decoration, 14th century Greece
Pheasant, Tacuinum Sanitatis (BNF Nouvelle acquisition latine 1673, fol. 67), 15th century
What I find interesting here is not so much the tableware (which is sparse) but the details on the linens.
Another meal in a pavilion: Aramant kidnaps the squire, Lancelot du Lac (BNF Fr. 119, fol. 346), beginning of the 15th century
Bronze hunt-beaker c. 1400, Burgundy? (also here and here)
Hunters pausing, Gaston Phoebus' Book of the Hunt (BNF Fr. 616, fol. 67), beginning of the 15th century
Most of the huntsmen eat on tablecloths that are laid directly on the ground, but Gaston, Count of Foix, sits at a small table where he is attended by two servants (and has guests on either side). Dishes are yellow, but may be golden, bronze, or a light-colored treen. Most of the other huntsmen eat from gray dishes (which could be pewter, silver, stoneware, or treen). There are three costrels (two men are drinking from costrels, another lies at the edge of a tablecloth). A flask and two golden pitchers rest in an odd pink thing -- an improvised butler's table, perhaps, designed to keep the drinks cool in the stream?
15th century carving set
Mazer and cover with the shields of Flanders and Ghistelles combined, 15th century Flanders
Redware divided condiment dish, 15th century
Beaker and drinking glass, 15th century Central Franconia
Prunted glass beaker (krautstrunk), 15th century-early 16th century
Brillware biconical bottle and pear-shaped jug, Buckinghamshire, 15th-16th century
Manuscript made in Poitiers (BNF Fr 111) c. 1480, with the stories of Lancelot, the quest of the Grail, and the death of King Arthur
Indoors, fols. 42, 47, 55v, 182, 201, 236; dining just outside a pavilion, fol. 141; outside on a tablecloth spread across laps, fols. 171 and 182v.
De proprietatibus rerum, (BNF Fr 9140), c. 1480
50v: Two men dining at a table in private chambers use matching glass beakers, and small round pewter or silver plates. One eats directly from the platter of food at the center of the table. There is a plain white tablecloth. (There is another meal scene on 193.)
Aristotle's Politics and Economics (BnF Fr 22500), 15th century
In this illustration: A table covered by a cloth with a diamond-pattern weave and a few stripes along the end. The only tableware is an oval platter and one eating knife, apparently shared by the five men sitting around the table, one of whom drinks from a costrel. One man in the background carries a large flagon.
A banquet scene, Romance of Lancelot (BNF Fr. 112, fol. 45), 15th century
Each place setting seems to have at least a trencher and eating knife (or other utensil). A few larger serving-platters -- round, perhaps pewter or silver -- the one in front of the king has a pie, the one in front of his guests has some small roasted fowl.
Three medieval silver beakers
Tacuinum Sanitatis, 15th century (BNF NAL 1673), c. 1390-1400
Pea-soup (fol. 46), Boiled Wheat (fol. 51), Galantine (fol. 65v), Pheasant (fol. 67), Chicken (fol. 69), Head (fol. 73), Liver (fol. 73v), Marinated Fish (fol. 78v), Crayfish (fol. 80): Trestle table covered with white cloth with geometric bands on either end. Glass beakers for red wine; round bread-manchets on the table; small round bowls for soup.
The Birth of Mary, Master of the Pfullendorf Altar, early 15th century
A servant feeds St. Anne some broth in a bowl (ceramic? metallic?) using a treen spoon.
January, The Book of Hours of Margaret d'Orleans (BNF Latin 1156 B, fol. 1), early 15th century
A lone diner at a small table, which has a diamond-patterned tablecloth and a fairly simple pattern woven along the edges. The flagon, goblet, large bowl, and covered saltcellar appear to be made of pewter or silver. The knife seems to be of an exaggerated large size (perhaps the artist's best attempt at the slanted perspective).
Andalusian lusterware dish made c. 1400 and found in London
Pair of silver beakers, made in France around 1400-1420
Boiled wheat, Tacuinum Sanitatis (BNF Latin 9333, fol. 51), 15th century
The Holy Family with Angels, Germany, 1410
Mary holds a treen spoon and bowl; a woman carries water to the bath with a thumbed-bottom dark-glazed jug
The Garden of Eden, Germany, 1410
On Mary's hexagonal table, there is a prunted glass beaker and a bowl (are those apples in the bowl?); a female saint scoops water using a ladle.
January, Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, workshop of the Limbourg Brothers, 1412-1416
The kerver, butler, pantler, and other servants busy themselves on one side of the table (covered by a diamond twill-patterned tablecloth), while the Duke and his guest sit on the far side of the table. Most of the dishes are gold, as well as a nef on the far right-hand side and an aquamanile (or perhaps an animalier?). There are a few silver (or pewter) dishes on the table as well. The kerver has a Perugia towel on his left shoulder.
Oakleaf-ornamented drug jars made in Florence in the 1420s-1450s (see for example 85.DE.56 and 84.DE.98 from the Getty; an apothecary jar from the Met; these jars from the Louvre, including vessels from the workshop of Giunta di Tugio from around 1430 and 1431, and other examples from Florence and Tuscany around 1430 here, here, here, here, and here); and yet another Giunta di Tugio apothecary jar with a fish; are good extant examples of a style of blue and white maiolica which appear on pitchers in paintings such as Annunciation by Robert Campin, 1420s (see detail); The Mérode Altarpiece by Robert Campin, 1427 (see detail); and The Death of the Virgin by Hans Multscher, 1437 (see detail).
Enamelled beaker known as the Monkey Cup, 1425-1450
The Decameron (BnF Arsenal ms 5070), 1432
All tableware (except for eating knives) seems to be either pewter or silver. All meals are served on white tablecloths with no discernable pattern in the weave. Notice that the middle classes and families tend to eat from a single platter, and have a low saltcellar, but upper-class scenes show fancier footed saltcellars and sometimes small trenchers at each place of the table.
25v: Two aristocrats at a table. Both have trenchers; other items on the table include two round platters, small hemispherical bowls, an eating knife, and two small vessels that maybe spice-boxes or saltcellars. The dishes here are gold-colored, in contrast with the silver color used to depict tableware in other illustrations.
120: A large platter of pears is served at the center of the table, from which the four figures seem to be serving themselves. While the table is partially blocked by the figures in the foreground, one can see a footed saltcellar, a lady holding a beaker, and another lady with a small square trencher. (I think the golden item on the right side of the table may be a spice-box of some sort.)
215v: The color of the tableware is brown in this illustration (perhaps intending to show that their tableware is made of wood or redware). There is a beaker, a flagon, two platters or bowls, two eating knives, and a pair of (copper?) candlesticks.
304: Oval-shaped trenchers, an oval-shaped platter, some beakers of red wine, and a low saltcellar; an eating knife is also visible.
314: A domestic dining scene; the man and woman dine in their bedchamber. There are two beakers, two eating knives, two smaller oval trenchers, a large platter, a flagon, and a saltcellar.
347v: Two beakers, and a flagon; all three diners appear to be eating from a shared round platter or bowl, and share a low saltcellar too.
387: Utensils are hard to make out. There are two flagons, a beaker, two small items which could be saltcellars, and two large round platters.
Decameron (BNF Fr 239), second quarter of the 15th century, fols. 134, 173, 250, 259v, and 277v. Note that the shapes and colors are similar to the previous Decameron; some are depicted as outdoor meals served on trestle-tables.
Christ in the House of Simon, Dieric Bouts the Elder, 1440s
Two different sizes of thumbed-bottom jugs, and two different sizes of round (pewter) platters. Glassware includes a plainbeaker and a prunted beaker. Two of the figures are eating with knives.
Last Supper, Andrea del Castagno, Florence, 1447
Easier to see in these details. Most of the tableware seems to be clear glass.
Chronicles of Alexander (BNF Fr. 9342), Jean Wauquelin, 1448-1449
Fol. 13: Both tables have coordinating diamond-textured white tablecloths with no additional ornamentation. Except for the square trenchers and a few small bowls, most of the other visible tableware on the main table -- goblets, saltcellars, platters, etc. -- are gilt. The servers wear different colors, but the same outfit; the kerver has a napkin slung over his left shoulder. The butler has two large flagons and a few other bits of tableware. (There are trumpeters at the left side of the picture.)
Fol. 105v: There are three candlesticks (copper or perhaps bronze or a gilt metal) -- two on the main table, and one on the butler's table. Most of the diners have square-shaped metal trenchers; there are also gilt bowls, goblets, and saltcellars on the table. The butler's table also features a few large flagons and some other tableware. The tablecloths on both tables have a diamond texture and coordinating borders.
The Grandes Chroniques of France (BNF Fr 6465), Jean Fouquet, 1460
Banquet at the home of Charles V, the Wise (fol. 444v): There seems to be an idealized degree of formality in this scene; whether it is a realistic interpretation of a formal occasion, I'm not sure. Each place setting is lined up in a precise order, near the edge of the table furthest from the diner, so that the servers will be able to serve the food without spilling too much on the plain white tablecloth (or on the diner). [From the diner's left to right, each place setting seems to be set as follows, with only occasional variation: A white napkin, folded in a fairly narrow manner, draping off the end of the table; a small square item (perhaps a bit of bread, or a covered dish]; two utensils, probably a knife and spoon; a gilt shallow bowl; and two smaller bowl-like shapes.) Three trumpeters in matching outfits blow on horns with matching trumpet-banners. The servers all wear matching outfits, with a towel slung over the left shoulder, as they carry covered gilt dishes; the master of the hall wears a longer version of the same thing, though with fur trim, and a towel knotted baldric-like across his body. The walls and settle are covered with a golden cloth.

The Birth of Mary, c. 1460-1465
The table is draped with a narrow towel (one of three or four visible in the painting); there is also an eating-knife, prunted glass, a plate or shallow bowl, and a goblet and beaker (both apparently pewter); elsewhere, there are other examples of pitchers, flagons, etc.
Last Supper, Dieric Bouts the Elder, 1464
Easier to see in this detail. Prunted colored glass beakers, some with indented bottoms. A small covered saltcellar, a flagon, and Jesus's goblet seem to be made of silver or pewter. A large round or oval pewter platter at the center of the table seems to hold soup. There are two eating knives on the table as well.
Cavalry Triptych, Left Wing, Hugo van der Goes, 1465-1468
The people of Israel are drinking after Moses has sweetened the waters of Marah. A lady drinks from a green glass; a man drinks from a leather costrel; others drink from treen bowls.
Drypetina serves her father, De mulieribus claris (BNF Fr. 598, fol. 113v), 15th century: Golden dishes of various types (including a flagon, a round plate, and a bowl) are arrayed on a white tablecloth on a trestle table.
The History of Olivier de Castille and Artus d'Algarbe, 15th century
181v: Servers present large bowls of food to the guests and the host; it seems that the bowls are shared by every two or three people, though each person has his or her own eating knife and a fairly narrow dark-colored (pewter?) trencher. The butler's table, dressed with a thin but ornate tablecloth, features an odd variety of drinking vessels; some larger flagons are on the floor near the guests' table. One of the guests has an amber-colored prunted beaker. (There are trumpeters in this scene.)
The History of Renaud de Montauban, 1468-1470
BNF Arsenal 5072, Res.: Men dine in a house at the sign of the swan. On the table are a few gilt pieces of tableware -- a covered saltcellar, two goblets (or are they saltcellars too?), and a shared platter at the center of the table, with another on its way from the kitchen. Other servers bring gilt flagons too.
BNF Arsenal 5073, fol. 148: A wedding banquet. The bride and bridesmaids at the center of the image (seated at a table on a dais); other (male) guests seated along one side of the hall. Servers are presenting a course (apparently a roasted bird of some sort), on a gilt platter to the bride, and on pewter or silver platters to the guests. The guests' table also features an ornate saltcellar, and the bride's table has a few footed plates. The butler's table includes several flagons of pewter or silver, as well as displaying five ornate-looking plates (possibly of maiolica). (There are trumpeters in this scene.)
Last Supper, Jaume Huguet, 1470
Prunted glass beakers; a small open saltcellar; long-necked wine decanters. A round or oval platter at the center of the table; could be bronze, treen, or ceramic.
Detail from St. Oswald gives alms, from an Austrian altarpiece with the legend of St. Oswald, c. 1470-1475
Small circular trenchers, an eating-knife, and a server who elegantly pours fom a flagon into a silver beaker; the tablecloth features a brocaded or embroidered decoration in orange or red.
The Last Supper from the altarpiece of St. Martin at Spisska Kapitula, c. 1470-1478
Last Supper, Master of the Housebook
Small round trenchers; oval platter at center of table; eating knife; shallow bowls with wide brims; green glass beakers with indented bottoms.
Announcement of Death to St Fina, Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1473-1475
A glass wine-bottle (with an indented bottom) has a tumbler glass over its top. The large golden plate may be a cooking utensil (possibly for making shaped cakes or jellies).
Beaker, Germany, 1475-1500
Prunted beaker, Germany, late 15th or early 16th century
Goblet, Venice, late 15th or early 16th century
Goblet, Murano, 1475-1500
The Temperate and the Intemperate, an illustration from a Flemish Memorable Deeds and Sayings of the Romans, 1475-1480
The dishes, bowls, beakers, and flagons at both tables are a dark grey (possibly pewter); a few of the noblemen have bone-handled eating knives.
Last Supper at the Abbazia di San Michele Arcangelo a Passignano, Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1476
Last Supper at Ognissanti, Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1480
Last Supper at San Marco, Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1486
Most of the bowls and decanters seem to be made of glass (some of the footed bowls are more opaque and may be ceramic); flat disc-like treen trenchers; eating knives.
Banquet of St. Elizabeth of Wartburg, c. 1480-1500, from the Church of St. Aegidius in Bardejov, Slovakia; this detail gives a better view of the bowl, round trenchers, bread, and knives
Three silver beakers made in France between 1480 and 1500 -- one with a floral-vine band, one with a triangle pattern and a belt with an inscription, and one with two inscriptions and heraldry
Drinking jugs of Raeren stoneware excavated in Exeter, dating to 1480-1500.
Maiolica bowl, 1480-1500
Prunted beaker, Germany, 1480-1500
A maiolica dish from Montelupo, Tuscany, dating to about 1480-1520. This particular dish was found in Exeter, but similar maiolica from Montelupo was exported to several cities in England.
Virgin and Child with an Angel by the Master of the Legend of St. Ursula, 1480-1500
On a chest in the background, there's a large maiolica plate, stacked beakers and bowls (either pewter or dark-glazed ceramic), and a tankard. The chest is covered with a tablecloth which is either embroidered or woven in the Perugia style.
Third episode of The Story of Nastagio degli Onesti, Sandro Botticelli, 1483
Though the picnic is in a bit of disarray (thanks to the ghostly apparition), we do see baskets (which seem to have been used for serving something) as well as bowls (which are dark grey, but may be ceramic; note that one on the ground seems to have broken).
Maiolica dish (belle donne variety) from Deruta, ca. 1490-1525
Prunted beaker, Germany, 1490-1530
Portrait of the Artist and his Wife, unknown Flemish master, 1496
Several items are laid out on the table: a tall flagon, an eating knife, a round plate of cherries, and a maiolica vase (or perhaps a pitcher, with the spout pointing towards the viewer?) with flowers. Both the artist and his wife also have matching low drinking vessels which appear to be either dark-glazed ceramic or dark-colored glassware.
Brass tankard made in Herat, Afghanistan in 1498
Christ in the House of Mary and Martha from the altarpiece at Thal, 1498; this detail gives a better view of the round (wooden?) trenchers, wooden spoons, eating-knives, and a (maiolica?) bowl on a wooden stand.
January in a book of hours from the end of the 15th century
Book of Hours of Anne of Brittany, late 15th century
5: A man dines alone. On the table are a flagon, saltcellar, a round plate plate (with a pie), a shallow bowl, and an eating knife. Servants bring the next course, which appears to be roasted fowl, on silver or pewter platters.
Hours of Henry VII, late 15th century
February: A man dines alone; he has, on his white tableclothed table, a pitcher, beaker, round plate with a pie, an eating knife, and a bit of bread resting on the tablecloth. (Both the Henry VII and Anne of Brittany books of hours were made by Jean Bourdichon, which to some extent explains the stylistic similarities between the two.)
Hours of Charles d'Angouleme, late 15th century
1: A gentleman and two ladies serve a man at table; on the simple trestle table (on a diamond-patterned tablecloth with striped ends) are a shallow bowl with a roasted fowl, a low saltcellar (is that a salt-spoon next to it?), and an eating knife. He holds a bowl to his lips, to drink from it.
Cast pewter dish, England, 1490-1500
January in the Grimani Breviary, c. 1490-1510
The Marriage at Cana, Master of the Catholic Kings, Spain, 1495-1500
Easier to view in these details. One servant wears a towel draped over his left shoulder; the other wears one which looks like it's draped over both shoulders. One of the servants holds a glass goblet with an indented bottom. The tablecloth has ornate decoration -- possibly embroidery, or very complicated brocading. Redware two-handled thumbed-bottom wine-jugs on the floor; golden platters on the table, and smaller disk-like things that may be a flatbread. We can also see another dinner in the background: a man drinks from a tall (pewter?) flagon; there are a large disk-like trencher and a horn, treen, or bronze beaker on the table.
The Last Supper from the altarpiece at Kosice, c. 1495-1505; details (1, 2, 3) show beakers, eating-knives, and round wooden trenchers (or bowls?)

Fabulous Feasts: Medieval Cookery and Ceremony

Art, Culture, and Cuisine: Ancient and Medieval Gastronomy