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The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 11.1406  Friday, 14 July 2000.

From:           Sean Lawrence <seanlawrence@writeme.com>
Date:           Thursday, 13 Jul 2000 21:49:01 -0700
Subject: 11.1392 Re: "carving to"
Comment:        Re: SHK 11.1392 Re: "carving to"

Werner Brönnimann's suggestion that

> Possibly Vittoria's breach in The White Devil Passage
> resides in the very assumption of the role of the carver at table,

would seem to be born out by the short article on Carving ("Découpage")
in Larousse Gastronomique:

"The art of carving was formerly held in great esteem and attended by a
certain amount of ceremony (see _écuyer tranchant_). . . . Noblemen in
the Middle Ages liked to show off their skill, and Joinville recounts
with pride that he carved one day at the King of Navarre's table.  In
the 17th century, young gentlemen were trained in the carving of meat
and thus learned how to distinguish the best joints . . . [a long list
of best joints follows].

[Technical stuff on how to cut across the grain] ... The introduction of
service à la Russe (Russian style), in which meat is presented already
cut up, has caused the disappearance from many tables of an operation
that was formerly done with pride by the master of the house."

While Ian's citation of Ovid is much more to the point, I'm fairly
certain that the assumption of a male role (perhaps also in sex) is a
secondary meaning.

Cheers,
Seán.

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