Messal

Not to be confused with Messallan, the private dining room where a messal is held.

Context and meaning

Speakers at the Concent of Saunt Tredegarh describe a messal as a small, structured dinner for avout (monastic scholars). The term is said to come from the diminutive of a Proto‑Orth word for a flat surface used to serve food, i.e., a “small table.” Messals are prominent during the current Convox (large avout convocation) hosted at the Concent of Saunt Tredegarh.

Practice at Tredegarh

• Size and setting: A messal is designed so that everyone can follow a single conversation; the stated maximum head count is seven. Each is held in a messallan (private dining room) rather than in a large communal hall.
• Roles: Each senior participant—their doyn (senior sponsor)—is paired with a junior servitor (junior helper) who assists with preparation and service. Servitors stand behind their doyns when not carrying dishes and may, by invitation, contribute to the discussion.
• Kitchens: Rather than a single Refectory (communal dining hall) with one central kitchen, Tredegarh uses many small kitchens attached to messallans, each cooking fourteen servings at a time (for seven doyns and seven servitors).
• Rotation and expectations: Some doyns rotate to different messallans from night to night (reported as unusual). Servitors are expected to understand the evening’s topics well enough to follow the discussion and occasionally participate.
• Formation and agenda: Senior hosts may take days to assemble a particular table, curating the guest list and framing themes. Hosts sometimes distribute books in advance—quietly left in participants’ quarters—to seed the conversation. The same messal may reconvene on successive evenings and carry topics forward.
• Post‑messal custom: Some avout linger in the kitchen afterward, conversing with servitors and helping with cleanup.
• Continuity under reorganization: When most other sessions (such as Lucub) were temporarily canceled, only Laboratorium and messal continued; messal persisted as the essential mealtime to support ongoing work.
• Influence beyond the table: Certain messals bring together figures with enough sway to shape practical responses. Participants credit one influential messal, convened after the landfall at Orithena, with proposing a stratagem to prompt the visitors’ ship to maneuver so that ground telescopes could observe previously hidden features.

Organization and contrast

• Tredegarh’s dining is organized across numerous dowments (house/estate) and chapter houses (order residence) instead of a single central Refectory. Avout here characterize the old free‑seating Refectory style as noisy or chaotic; they claim only fids (novice avout) and a few austere orders still use it.
• By contrast, messals emphasize focused conversation, formal roles, and consistent small groups during the Convox.

Notes

• Usage and details are presented as practiced at the Concent of Saunt Tredegarh during the Convox; customs may vary in other concents.

Cross‑references

• Avout
• Concent of Saunt Tredegarh
• Convox
• Refectory
• Messallan
• Doyn
• Laboratorium
• Lucub
• Servitor