The first meal of the day was a light
breakfast, which broke the fast that had lasted the night. Meals
were often prepared according to recipes from cook books which
involved several preparation procedures using flour, eggs, sugar,
cheese, and grated bread, rather than just simple seasoning. Menus
were put together with foods that tasted well together and served
on plates in several courses. Sheffield cutlery was world famous.
Table manners included not making sounds when eating, not playing
with one's spoon or knife, not placing one's elbows on the table,
keeping one's mouth clean with a napkin, and not being boisterous.
There were courtesies such as saying "Good Morning" when meeting
someone and not pointing one's finger at another person. King
Richard II invented the handkerchief for sneezing and blowing
one's nose. There were books on etiquette. Cats were the object of
superstition, but there was an Ancient and Honorable Order of the
Men Who Stroke Cats.
New burgesses were recruited locally, usually from within a 20
mile radius of town. Most of the freemen of the larger boroughs,
like Canterbury and London, came from smaller boroughs. An
incoming burgess was required to buy his right to trade either by
way of a seven year apprenticeship or by payment of an entry fee.
To qualify, he needed both a skill and social respectability.
Towns started acquiring from the king the right to vacant sites
and other waste places, which previously was the lord's right.
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