Bailey, RA (2023) “Noe dish whose tast, or dressing, is unknown / Unto oʳ natives” (ll. 54-55): an examination of local and global material cultures in the food rituals of Thomas Salusbury’s 1634 “Chirk Castle Entertainment”. English Literary Renaissance, 54 (1). pp. 52-75. ISSN 0013-8312

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Abstract

In August 1634, Sir Thomas Salusbury 2nd’s “Chirk Castle Entertainment” was staged by Sir Thomas Myddelton 2nd to welcome John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater and Lord President of the Council of Wales and the Marches. The “Entertainment” acted as a scaffold for a feast which showcased a golden world of Edenic plenty at Chirk. Salusbury’s verse emphasised the food’s “native” (l. 55) qualities. Yet, when read against contemporary recipes and the feast’s sensory experience, the presence of worldwide trade networks is evident on Chirk’s provincial banqueting tables. This intersectionality of the local and global befitted the Myddelton family who amassed their astonishing wealth through Sir Thomas Myddelton 1st’s mercantile ventures in the East Indies and the New World. Such multiplicity was crafted into the fabric of Chirk Castle and displayed in the feast’s food cultures. Yet, Salusbury’s verse elides these cross-cultural encounters, suggesting a difficulty in integrating London merchant culture into 1630s Denbighshire. This essay moves between the local focus of Salusbury’s verse and the global traces inherent in Myddelton’s feast to recreate a glimpse at Chirk Castle of a global whole, underpinned by colonial oppression.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Thomas Salusbury; Chirk Castle; Sir Thomas Myddelton 2nd; London merchant culture; Denbighshire; food cultures; 2005 Literary Studies; Literary Studies
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > D History (General) D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain T Technology > TX Home economics > TX341 Nutrition. Foods and food supply
Divisions:	Humanities & Social Science
Publisher:	The University of Chicago Press
SWORD Depositor:	A Symplectic
Date Deposited:	30 Sep 2022 11:27
Last Modified:	20 Dec 2023 14:00
DOI or ID number:	10.1086/727998
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/17695

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