Das große Fressen

Too many and overly plentiful meals create physical suffering. That is the message of an unusual allegorical tale of the 15th and 16th centuries about the scheming of a personified banquet for the life and limb of his guests, for which he pays with his life in the end. The material comes across as an imaginary description of a tapestry, as moral theatre and, after 1500, also as a series of rich tapestries. The tale questions and discusses the cultural idea of banquets according to the prevailing dietary guidelines of Ms Experience. Such issues about nutrition and the bad habits it can engender have not lost their relevance even today.