The Furniture of Commensality

The provisioning of the household, the processing and the cooking of foodstuffs were the initial phases in the sustenance of the household. The ultimate purpose was often consumption, although in many households some foodstuffs were processed for economic benefit. We might feel justified in making the assumption that food and drink were consumed in a manner historically established, of the household group seated around a table. Engravings of the period (Figure 4.1) do show such scenes, providing one strong strand of evidence. However, since this study is based primarily on the inventory evidence, this assumption should be tested against the listed furnishings. Seating and tables of various types were well represented; in addition, cupboards, used for the storage and display of drinking vessels might also be taken as valuable indicators. The association of these three elements of furnishing in a household space might then be seen as a fair indication of commensality. It should be noted that in the compilation of the probate inventories these three furnishing elements were frequently listed and valued as a group, suggesting not only physical association in place but also conceptually in the minds of the appraisers. The great majority of tables were listed with seating of some sort; those that were not were frequently in service areas such as the kitchen and buttery, or in chambers. Similarly a very high percentage (89%) of all seating was found in the same space as table furniture, and 54% when cupboards were also present. It could be argued that the simple listing of seating and tables in a particular space does not necessitate their use together; seating could be used independently of tables in the same room, and a table could be one used either in conjunction with seating or not. In addition, seating and tables together could be used for purposes other than the consumption of food and drink, although in the domestic setting this does seem from pictorial evidence to be the probable reason for a household group to be seated around a table. Only cupboards served a fairly unambiguous purpose – for the display and storage of drinking vessels – although again the assumption that consumption was occurring where they were located is open to question.