The MeadhallCommunal meals were an important part of Anglo Saxon society. They were enjoyed by nobles and yeomen, warriors, farmers churchmen and laity. Some of the feasts were informal communal gatherings (gebeorscipe) while others were formal ritual gatherings (symbel). Using the evidence of Old English texts including the epic Beowulf and the Anglo Saxon Chronicles, Stephen Pollington shows that the idea of feasting remained central to early English social