Sat 23rd April
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We are often asked when we will be next holding a Tudor Banquet which individuals can attend. (Most of our Banquets are for private Dinners, Parties or Weddings). We always reply when a suitable occasion comes along. Is there any more suitable occasion than that very rare date when the 23rd April is a Saturday and falls during the Easter weekend ? We think not. So here is your opportunity.
Tudors at a Tudor Feast at Kentwell Hall
23rd April
St George's Day - for some centuries St George has been England's patron saint though he had very little to do with England. England's saint had been St Edward, King Edward the Confessor, who reigned in England just before the conquest but whose influence continued after the conquest.
St George was a Christian martyr of Roman parentage born in Syria. He became a Roman soldier and a successful one but opposed the Emperor Diocletian's decree to exclude all Christians from the Roman Army. The Emperor sought to persuade George to recant, then to bribe him to do so and eventually resorted to torture but George was steadfast. The Emperor finally had him beheaded.
St George was taken up by the crusaders and brought to England by Richard the Lionheart in the 12th Century. The notion that St George either fought or killed a dragon would seem to be pure fable but the legend was rife when the Crusaders adopted St George. The dragon, if one was killed by anyone, was probably a crocodile. St George probably never came within a thousand miles of England but his Christian stoicism in the face of oppression appealed to the Crusaders as much as his clear emblem of a red cross on a white ground, which they adopted. The English took up him and his dragon-slaying and adopted him as their own.
April 23rd is probably the date of Shakespeare's birth (based upon his baptism) and is certainly the day of his death in 1616. One of Shakespeare's most famous speeches put into the mouth of Henry V before the Battle of Agincourt invokes St George.
Incidentally one of the Cloptons of Kentwell was at Agincourt and may have been present as squire to his uncle, Sir Thomas Erpimgham, when the latter made his famous exhortation to the English (mostly Welsh) archers immediately before the battle.
Cervantes author of Don Quixote also died on 23 April 1616. You might think that that was the same day as Shakespeare's death but England still operated a Julian calendar then while Spain had moved onto the Gregorian one so they actually died 10 days apart but each on 23rd April. How quixotic !
A Kentwell Tudor Banquet
We try to make our Feasts as authentic a Tudor Feast as possible: the right food & drink, served in the right way, by our Tudor retainers, to diners sitting at appropriate boards using tudor style vessels & utensils and with appropriate music, song & dance.
Timetable
7.30pm Arrival for a Glass of Mulled Wine or Apple in the Great Hall
8.00pm Take your seats in the Overcroft at a High Board and two long low boards.
8.15pm Procession & Presentation of the Fare followed by the Serving of the First Remove
9.15pm Void between Removes. Setpiece by Minstrels
9.35pm Serving of the Second Remove
10.30pm Procession and Serving of the Subtlety followed by singing of rounds & grounds
11.00pm Close
Bill of Fare
Remove the Firste
Salmon Pockets
Spyced Mutton
(a Dysshe of Funghi for those that eat no fleshe)
Dish of Wortes
Sallets
Tarte of Brie
Warden-Pears in Red Wine
Remove the Seconde
Baked Fresh Figs in Bacon
Roasted Honeyed Pygge
(Pease Pudding for those that eat no fleshe)
A Mess of Braised Carrots
Syllabub
Ginger Breads Gilded
Fine Manchet Loaves from the Bakkus & Fresh Butter from the Dairy
Ale of the First Brew from the Brewers& Wines from the Vintners.
Minstrels
Will play during the evening and invite the company to try some Tudor dance steps.
Costume
It is in no way obligatory but diners are invited to attend in Tudor costume.
Booking & Tickets
Tickets cost £55.00 per person + VAT. There are no additional costs. Please book on-line or by telephone during Office hours (01787 310207).
Refunds
We don't give refunds but upon giving at least two days notice (excluding the day of the Event) we may (at our discretion) give a credit to be used against some future Kentwell Event.
