Author: Stephen Pollington. Communal
meals were an important part of Anglo-Saxon society. They
were enjoyed by nobles and yeomen, warriors, farmers churchmen
and laity. Some of the feasts were informal communal gatherings
(gebeorscipe) while others were formal ritual gatherings (symbel).
Using the evidence of Old English texts - including the epic
Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, Stephen Pollington
shows that the idea of feasting remained central to early
English social traditions long after the physical reality
had declined in importance......
