Elizabethan Banquet March 11, 2013 Today, March 11, 1590, there will be a banquet to which Elizabeth 1 is invited. While Queen Elizabeth is in her chambers dressing, her lord prepares the carriage and horses to accommodate her travel. She is dressed in one of her finest gowns with jewels for the banquet. “The Queen's gowns would be gorgeously hand embroidered with all sorts of colored thread, and decorated with diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and all kinds of jewels.” Heather, Thomas (1998-2013) from http://www.elizabethi.org/us/wardrobe/. Arrived at the banquet Elizabeth is accompanied by her Lord Robert Dudley. She is greeted by many high royalty people before being seated at her table. “Banqueting tables at grand feasts were decked with spectacular dishes - providing the perfect opportunity for the nobleman to show off his wealth. Everyday jellies, pies, fritters and stews were accompanied by magnificent animals such as peacocks, seals, porpoises, and even whales. Jellies and custards were dyed with vivid natural colourings - sandalwood for red, saffron for a fiery yellow and boiled blood for black. But the most visually alluring pieces at the table were special sugar sculptures known as sotiltees (or subtleties). These sculptures came in all sorts of curious forms - castles, ships, famous philosophers, or scenes from fables. Sotiltees were also known as 'warners,' as they were served at the beginning of a banquet to 'warn' (or notify) the guests of the approaching dinner. Unlike today, meals were not separated into savoury main courses and sweet desserts. Instead, many dishes were laid out together in luxurious chaos.”The British Library Board from http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/booksforcooks/med/medievalfood.html. Queen Elizabeth is now seated at the table to enjoy this huge feast with everyone else that has been invited to the banquet this evening. The servants brought the meal to the table; it took 12 servants to fill the entire table with the amount of food that was placed on it.

At the end of the huge feast everyone prepared to discuss matters about public affairs, and royalty matters, including marriage. Marriage was big in the Elizabethan era. “Just as today a woman's wedding was one of the most important days of her life. The major difference to Elizabethan wedding customs to a modern day Western marriage is that the woman had very little, if any, choice in who her husband might be. Elizabethan Women were subservient to men. They were dependent on their male relatives to support them. Elizabethan woman were raised to believe that they were inferior to men and that men knew better! Disobedience was seen as a crime against their religion. Marriages were frequently arranged so that both families involved would benefit. Marriages would be arranged to bring prestige or wealth to the family - a surprising fact is that young men were treated in a similar way as to women! Many couples would meet for the very first time on their wedding day! This particular Elizabethan custom usually applied to the nobility but the married or religious life was the only real options for the Elizabethans (a career for a woman was absolutely unheard of!) Regardless of their social standing women and men were expected to marry.” Alchin, L.K. (2012) from http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-marriages-and-weddings.htm
After a two hour discussion people started to head back to their palaces. Queen Elizabeth was escorted back to