The Pleasures of the Table

Gastronomy from ancient days to modern times — the feasts of Greece and Rome, the great chefs and their schools, the literature of the table, and Ellwanger's own views on the aesthetics of dinner-giving.

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At Table with the Clergy (W Bishop and Abbot and Prior)

W "Bishop and Abbot and Prior were there; Many a Monk and many a Friar."

INGOLDSBY LEGENDS: The Jackdaw of Rheims.

At Table with the Clergy (W Bishop and Abbot and Prior) — from The Pleasures of the Table (1902)

HETHER cookery is indebted to the Roman Catholic Church to the full extent that is commonly supposed is questionable. It is certain, however, that the olden monks and friars performed considerable service in preserving ancient recipes and inventing new formulas, many of which have been improved upon as the science has advanced.

Previous to the Renaissance the higher cultivation of cookery was confined largely to the monasteries, which prided themselves upon their excellent cheer and the hospitality they extended to distinguished visitors. Indeed, numbers of food preparations may be traced to the monastic orders, especially forms of cooking fish,

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