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Medieval plates for a Dinner Party?


wacki

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I'm trying to throw a Game of Thrones dinner party. I need plates (i've searched everywhere) and a good table linen. Any ideas? Feel free to expand as you wish as I tend to go all out. As far as plates go... I'm nervous about pewter. I know modern ones aren't supposed to have lead but all the cheaper plates on ebay make me nervous and it's hard to prove this isn't a cheap knock off. Lead + acidic food = poison.




So far I have


  • challaces
  • horn cups
  • wooden medieval bowls
  • clay pitchers (ethiopian Choco)
  • wrought iron forks & knives
  • A feast of Fire and Ice official cookbook.
  • Natural Crystal Salt Tealight Candle Holder
  • Game of Thrones canvas Map
  • Maps printed on fabric
  • Custom wine labels
  • wax seals (house stark, targaryen,)



which were bought from


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I know you've got the wrought iron forks and knives, but try to get as many people to rip into their food with their fingertips. Every book I've ever read the "grease is dripping down their fingers". I know every time I eat a hen or some duck and I'm feeling medieval, I eat the old fashioned barbaric way. har!



Sounds like fun. I've done a GoT feast before. My wife and I decorated, but not quite to the extent you are. It will be lots of fun regardless whether you get EVERY detail exactly right. Make sure to have lots of candles.


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Make sure to have lots of candles.

Candle count will be at a total of 23. 13 very realistic electric candles (helps air quality and flicker like the real thing... just not as bright). 6 salt tea light holders w/ soy candles (soy = air quality). 2 scented bowls powered by soy tea lights. And a couple of tall pillar candles.

I have a fireplace next to the TV as well. Other than the TV, no electric lights will be used.

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Cast iron? http://www.amazon.com/Cast-Iron-Sizzling-Steak-Plate/dp/B000MU6TN0 course that may break your budget.

I almost bought that but this is from the reviews:

  • Small and cheap looking. A steak and vegetables won't even fit on one of the plates. Immediately returned the product.

The plate was great! It's just to small for steak. So you wind up having two diffrent plates in front of you

Shipped quickly, Plates were of good quality however they are too small for anything other than a petite sized steak only

So I might have to find a bigger steak sizzler. I grill steaks a lot so I will get plenty of longevity out of cast iron sizzlers.

The lodge version might be a bitter fit.

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-LFSR3-Pre-Seasoned-Fajita-Set/dp/B00008GKDP/ref=sr_1_3?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1390238650&sr=1-3&keywords=Cast+iron+sizzling+steak+plate

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No plates. They don't use plates. You need trenchers of bread. Basically long flat (can be round pieces of bed) which you eat the meat off, or if it's stew you hollow out and fill with.



Classically old/stale bread was reused for this, but you could splash out and use fresh bread.






I know you've got the wrought iron forks and knives, but try to get as many people to rip into their food with their fingertips. Every book I've ever read the "grease is dripping down their fingers". I know every time I eat a hen or some duck and I'm feeling medieval, I eat the old fashioned barbaric way. har!





This. You should only have a knife for the meat or a spoon for stew.


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Here are some ideas for the table linen:


Deck the table with fine linens similar to those used for medieval tables. Pure white linen tablecloths embellished with fringe, embroidery, colored borders and woven patterns typified some of the finest medieval table linens available. Rough, hemp tablecloths were used by the poorer social classes. A sanap, one strip of cloth running the entire middle length of the table, was sometimes placed over the tablecloth. Often a surnape, a piece of cloth laid entirely over the top of the main tablecloth, was used to avoid soiling the main tablecloth.



Read more: http://www.ehow.com/info_8679451_medieval-table-ideas.html#ixzz2rZW6dwiJ
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  • 2 weeks later...

No plates. They don't use plates. You need trenchers of bread. Basically long flat (can be round pieces of bed) which you eat the meat off, or if it's stew you hollow out and fill with.

Classically old/stale bread was reused for this, but you could splash out and use fresh bread.

This. You should only have a knife for the meat or a spoon for stew.

Seconded on all points.

Mediaeval banqueting is really more similar to modern tapas-style eating than conventional modern dining: you'll have a variety of dishes in front of you and you'll take some on your own "plate" (trencher) and eat that with your hands, helping yourself to (or being served with) more as you go along rather than having an individual portion of everything that you eat as a single course. So you don't really need a large plate, and trenchers are definitely the most authentic option.

If you really don't want to use trenchers for whatever reason, then wooden or metal plates or bowls would serve. High-ranking noblemen or royalty might well eat off silver or gold tableware, because they can.

I'd use stale bread trenchers if you can; they tend to work better (and be less porous, if you're worried about the state of the tablecloth).

Napkins might be optional, depending on the supposed date of your feast.

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  • 1 year later...

I suppose its way too late to ask how it went, let alone offer advice, but...



1/ How did it go?



2/ In addition to all Gallowsknight has said: your guests should bring their own spoons, or expect to share (unless they are guests of honour, on the dais). Also, people expected to share a trencher/platter (wood or clay), and optionally a knife, one per two guests.



Only the special guests on the dais get salt (served in a box with a saltspoon, not a shaker)


The rest of the guests might not be worth their salt, or might be the salt of the earth, but they sit below the salt, so they don't get any (and they might also not get offered some of the special dishes, or the best parts of the roast).



There are a lot of class distinctions between guests at medieval feasts - the feast that Joffrey's wedding was based on, for example, gave 77 courses of 2 dishes - one dish prepared for the laity, and one one dish with no dairy and no 'meat' (although fish was permitted and quite a lot of things we don't usually call 'fish' - eg. Puffin, goose) for clergy if they were feasting on a fast day (and literally half of every week was a fast day.) Hence, serve hot fish tarts (or lamprey pie) for the observant with the pigeon pie.



If you are only an affluent member of the middle class, (any class other than clergy or highborn, really) neither your nor your table should be dressed in purple, or in cloth of gold. Depending on rank and jurisdiction, furs, pearls, silver daggers, brass buttons, hair pieces, and swords could be banned. Those who are not Christian might be obliged to wear something that identifies them - although maybe it would be better just to remind your guests in the invites that "None shall wear any velvet in gowns, furs of leopards, embroidery of silk: except the degrees and persons above mentioned, the wives of barons' sons, or of knights..."



Sumptuary laws might also regulate the number and type of dishes you can serve your guests - so maybe they shouldn't expect 77 courses, or peacock, or aurochs on your table. If you can afford such fare, distribute the leftovers among the poor of the parish, if you are godly and not Cersei.



Also not on the table: Corn, polenta, tomatoes, potatoes, pumpkin, zucchini.



If you respect your health, and that of your guests, you will have plenty of roast meat, avoid raw plant matter (although moderate amounts of fermented or cooked vegetables and fruits are safe, as are dried or candied cherries etc.) For the sake of every bodies health, the meal should finish with hippocras to aid digestion.


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