It's quite easy to picture King Henry VIII shovelling handfuls of meat into his wide mouth and washing it down with goblets of ale, whilst intermittently belching, but this wasn't the case. The Tudors loved eating animals, but there was nothing animalistic about the way they dined, There were strict rules and procedures in place so that everyone knew their place.
Heard of a banquet? this refers to a costly course, which involved elaborate sculptures made from sugar.
Hygiene was very important to the Tudors, to the point that everyone brought there own Knife and spoon (forks didn't appear in England until 1611). This is why a custom of buying a new-born a spoon for their christening came about.
In a normal household you might sit around a board of wood that could be lifted off the legs in order to give the room more space. The master of the house was the only one who could sit in a chair around the board, the others would sit on benches, this is where we get the expression : chairman of the board. To hear more board-expressions tune into this weeks episode.
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