3. Siete partidas by Alfonso X.¶
3.1. Partida 2, Book 5, Law 2: A King Should Be Temperate in Eating and Drinking¶
A king should eat and drink at a convenient time, whenever he can do so, provided it is not too early or too late. Moreover, he should not eat except when he has an appetite and only of such things as impart health and strength and do not cloud the understanding. Whatever is served him should be clean and well cooked: for, as wise men said, eating was instituted for the purpose of living, and not living for the purpose of eating. They also declared, that one of the noble qualities which a king ought to possess was to control himself well, and in a proper way, and for his own benefit. King Solomon spoke as follows: “Happy is that land which has a noble king for its master, and whose great personages eat at proper times, rather for the sustenance of their bodies, than for the gratification of inordinate appetites.” And, concerning those who act in a contrary manner, he said: “Woe to that land whose king is a child, and whose nobles eat in the morning.” He employed the symbol of a child, because children would rather eat than to do anything else. And with regard to drinking, we declare, that it is one of the things in the world against which the king should be greatly on his guard, because it should not be done except at such times as are necessary for the body, and, even then, it should be practised with great moderation. For it would be a very injurious thing if he, upon whom God conferred authority over all persons in his dominions, should permit wine to master him: for excessive drinking draws man from this things which are fitting for him, and impes him to do those which are outrageous. For this reason the ancients were accustomed not to give wine to their kings until they were of age, and then only moderately and sparingly. They did this because wine has great power, and is something which is opposed to every excellence, for it causes men to disown God and themselves, and reveal secrets, and alter judgments, and complicate disputes and remove them from justice and from law. And, in addition to all this, it weakens man’s body, enfeebles his brain, makes him liable to many diseases, and causes him to die before his time. Wherefore kings, who do not pay attention to this, will receive from God, by way of punishment, much sickness and affliction in this world; and in the next He will cause them to be like those who adopt the life of beasts and abandon that of men.
3.2. Partida 2, Book 5, Law 4: A King Should Perform His Actions With a Good Demeanor¶
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In eating and drinking, the king should be careful to do so in a well-bred manner, because this is something in which men cannot readily restrain themselves, on account of their great eagerness; and, for this reason, the king should be very circumspect, in order that he may not eat and drink too fast, , much, nor, when he retires, should he lie drawn up, nor across the bed, like some do who do not know where to keep their heads or their feet.
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3.3. Partida 2, Book 7, Law 5: What Should Be Taught the Sons of Kings, in Order That They May Be Elegant and Cleanly¶
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They declared the first thing that tutors should teach boys is how to eat and drink in a cleanly and polite manner; for although this is something that no creature can avoid, nevertheless, men should not do it in a coarse or awkward way: and especially does this apply to the sons of kings, on account of the race from which they spring, and the place which they will have to occupy, and from the fact that others will have to follow their example. They gave three reasons for this: first, in order that they might receive benfit from eating and drinking; second, to enable them to avoid the injury which might result to them from eating or drinking to excess; third, in order to accustom them to be cleanly and graceful, which is something that is very becoming to them. Children who eat and drink when they have need of it, become, for this reason, healthier and more vigorous; and if they eat too much, they will become, on that account, weaker and ill, and the food and the drink which should give them life and health, will bring upon them sickness and death. They declared that they should teach them to eat and drink in a well-bred manner, not putting a second morsel into their mouths until the first has been swallowed; for, leaving out of consideration the ill-breeding which will result from this, there is great danger that they will be suddenly suffocated: and that they should not permit them to grasp the morsel with all five fingers of their hand, for fear they will make it too large. Also that they should not permit them to eat inordinately with the entire mouth, but with a part of it: for, by doing so, they show themselves to be gluttons, which is rather a characteristic of beasts, than of men: and he who does this, cannot easily prevent what he is eating from dropping out of his mouth, if he should desire to speak. Moreover, they declared that they should teach them to eat slowly, and not in haste, because whoever adops the other way, cannot thoroughly chew what he eats,; and therefore it cannot be well ground up, and necessarily must cause injury, and produce bad humours, from which sickness arises. And they should compel them to wash their hands before eating, that they may be clean and free from what they have handled for the cleaner food is when it is eaten, the more beneficial it becomes. After eating, they should also cause them to wash them in order that they may be free to handle the face and the eyes, and that they may be clean and neat they should wipe them on towels and on nothing else; for they should not wipe them on their clothes, like some people do who do not know anything about cleanliness or politeness.
They declare moreover, that they should not talk much while thay ate, because where they do so, they must necessarily suffer loss in their food, and be deficient as well with regard to what they discussed. Nor should they sing while they eat, as it is not the proper place for this, and it would appear that they did so, rather through excitement of wine, than for any other reason. They also declared that their tutor should not permit them to bend down over the porringer while they were eating: first, because it is a mark of great ill-breeeding; second, since it would appear that he who acts in this way wanted all the food for himself, and desired that no one else should have any share of it.
3.4. Partida 2, Book 7, Law 6: The sons of Kings Should Be Temperate in Drinking Wine¶
The sons of kings should be taught to drink wine in moderation, and to mix it with water. For, as wise men have said, if they drink it strong, or to excess, it will result in great harm, because tumors are produced in the heads of boys who drink much wine, and they are liable on that account to other serious diseases, so that men think that wine is the devil. It also blunts their senses and gives them bad habits, for it inflames their blood so that they, necessarily, become ill-tempered and disobedient; and, afterwards, when they mature, they grow negligent towards those with whom they live, which is a bad habit, and very injurious to great lords, and, even without all this, it causes them to lose their health, and shortens their lives. They also declared that they should teach them not to drink much at a time: for this produces a great diminution of food, and an increase of thirst, and injures the head, and weakens the sight. Nor should they accustom them to drink wine frequently during the day, for this is something which causes great injury to the stomach, not permitting it to digest food, and, for this reason, it injures the head. Nor should they drink after they have eaten, because it is a bad habit; and those who practice it appear as if they could not live without it; and, besides, it causes a man to be very sleepy, and to dream bad dreams, and frequently to catch cold.
They also declared that they should not drink as soon as they awake, for whoever does so, will contract serious ailments, as, for instance, dropsy, and affections of the brain, which are diseases that cause men greatly to despise those who suffer from them. They declared, moreover, that they should not drink while fasting, because it takes away the desire for food: and whoever practises it much suffers from trembling of the limbs, and impediments in his speech. They also declared that they should be on their guard against drinking much after eating: for this impels man to lasciviousness on improper occasions; and great injury will result to him who practices it at such times, for it weakens the body, and if any children are born to him, they will be small and weak.
Wherefore, for all these reasons, tutors should be vigilant in the care of the sons of kings, and what relates to their eating and drinking: and as the king should be very grateful to those who protect them from these things, and they should be well rewarded for this service; so those who act in a contrary manner, should receive a proportionate punishment, and where they are men of honorable rank, they should be banished from the kingdom, because they did not perform their duties to their lords; and where they are persons of inferior station they should lose their lives for this reason, as being men who taught the sons of their master how constantly to disgrace themselves.
3.5. King’s stewards, Partida 2, Book 9, Law 11¶
Sustenance, as for instance, that of eating and drinking, is something without which the body cannot be maintained: and for this reason, the officials whose duty is to serve the king in this respect, occupy a more important position than the others we have mentioned above, so far as preserving his life and health are concerned; for although his physicians may exert all their efforts to protect him, they cannot do so if he who prepares his food is unwilling to watch over him: and we declare that this applies to those who provide him with bread, wine, fruit, and everything else which he has to eat and drink.
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In addition to all these things which we have mentioned, it is especially fitting that they should be neat and clean, in order that what they have to cook to provide the king with food and drink, should be well-cooked and served to him in a cleanly way; for, when it is clean, he will be pleased with it and by being well-cooked he will relish it better, and it will do him more good. When the king has men of this kind for such offices, he should love them and confer benefits and honors upon them: and where one of them is guilty of a fault, through not performing his duties as faithfully as he ought to do, as above stated, he should inflict such corporeal punishment upon him, as is inflicted upon person guilty of the greatest act of treason that can be committed.
3.6. King’s butlers, Partida 2, Book 9, Law 12¶
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The butler is also in charge of care of the fruit, salt, knives with which they carve in kings’ presence, and certain other things pertaining to the food, which are brought before him and which the butler has in his keeping.
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3.7. Knights should be temperate, Partida 2, Book 21, Law 19¶
Eating, drinking, and sleeping are natural conditions without which men cannot exist. They should make use of these, however, in three ways; first, according to the time; second, with moderation; third, with propriety. For this reason knights were formerly accustomed to, as a rule, act in this manner, for, as in time of peace, it was their practice to eat at appointed times, so that they could go to the table twice a day and eat good, and well-cooked, and palatable food, so, also, when they went to war, they ate but once in the morning and very little, and took their principal meal in the evening: and this was done for the reason that they might not be very hungry or very thirsty, and that if they should be wounded, they might be more readily cured. In those times they gave them coarse and strong meat abounding in fat, in order that they might eat but little of it, and it might greatly benefit them, and make their flesh strong and hard. They also gave them to drink weak wine mixed with much water so that it might not interfere with their understandings or their prudence, and, when fever was prevalent, they gave them a little vinegar mixed with much water to quench their thirst and not permit the fever to attack them, by which they would become ill, and this they drank during the day when they were very thirsty. They also drank during the day when they desired to do so. The ancients caused them to practice this in order that their eating and drinking might lengthen their lives and improve their health, and not deprive them of the latter, through eating and drinking too much.
3.8. Castles food provisions, Partida 2, Book 18, Law 10¶
In What Way Castles Should Be Furnished with Provisions and with All Other Things Which are Necessary.
Food is something without which men cannot live; it is necessary that they have it continually, and if they cannot do without it elsewhere, much less are they able to do so in castles where they are, as it were, shut up and guarded, so that they cannot go out anywhere without the order of the governor; and, moreover, it might happen that even if he commands them to go forth, they are powerless to do so, through being besieged or constantly attacked by the enemy.
For this reason it is necessary for him always to keep the castle furnished with provisions and especially with water, which can be less dispensed with than other things, and if there is a supply of it, that he may know how to preserve it, and use it in moderation so that it may not fail. Search must be made, and everything else that is possible be done, in order to have water; for as a castle cannot be defended without men, so they cannot exist or protect it. if they do not have the means of sustenance; therefore the first thing that should he provided is water, for not only is it needed to drink, but for many other purposes which are indispensable, and since, from the lack of it rather than the want of anything else, they may more quickly perish, great care should be taken that it does not fail: for, although water is very common and cheap, among men nothing is more dear when it cannot be obtained, for which reason it should be well guarded. Moreover, bread should be provided, and of such a kind as is understood will keep best in the climate of the country. The same precaution should be taken with regard to meat and fish, nor should salt, oil, vegetables, or other things which are very useful for the provisioning of the castle, be forgotten. Care should also be taken to provide mills or hand-mills, charcoal, wood, and all those other articles called utensils, without which provisions cannot easily be made use of, even although they are supplied; and men’s clothing and shoes should also be included, because they are things which cannot be dispensed with, since they assist them to live and to make a more creditable appearance. It is better for the castle to be provided with what we have specified before it becomes necessary to use haste, wherefore everything which is furnished the governor for the use of the castle, should be deposited in it, not only what we have mentioned, but also all other articles which are necessary. For, if he should act otherwise and the castle be lost through the want of any of these things, he will incur the penalty of treason, as one who had the means to defend the castle of his lord, and did not avail himself of them, for which reason it was lost.