Read the passage from Elizabethan Ettiquette.
Sometimes guests brought their own knives and spoons,
and sometimes they were furnished by the host. If not
eating something soft or soupy that required a spoon,
people ate with their fingers, using their knives only to take
food from the main serving plattehand to cut it when
necessary. The knife was placed on the right side of the
trencher, and the bread was on the left. Cups were not
placed on the table. If a guest wanted a drink, he or she
would ask a servant, who would bring them a cup that was kept on a side table or sometimes in a cool bath of water. When the guest finished drinking they would return the cup to the servant, who would rinse it out, making it ready for the next guest.
