In many ways the diet of the poor in Eastern Europe and Russia was similar to that of the poor in Western Europe. Thought, to have been written between 1550 and 1580 by a priest, Silvester, who served in one of t he Kremlin cathedrals (Moscow), the Domostroi is a book that suggests the rules and, manners by which Russian nobles and wealthy merchants ought to govern their houses. This passage provides detailed information on the diets of simple household, servants and the nonresidehti poor who sought sustenance from their social betters. It is important to remember that the menus listed in the Domostroi are prescriptive; that is they are recommendations only, and should not be regarded as definitive records of what the poor actually ate on a daily basis. Note how constructions of social status are highly connected to dining rituals.

When the...