The Middleton Accounts of 1526: #18

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was dated 15th April. It was described as payment for showbread and wine. The amount was 1 penny, which was the equivalent of about £1.84 today.

This entry poses a lot of questions that we have been unable to answer. There is no question that Sir Henry Willoughby was a very devout Catholic. However, showbread is categorically not a feature of the Catholic religion. It is only present in the Jewish religion. We also think that the date of this entry would coincide with Passover in 1526. Passover is followed by the Festival of Unleavened Bread and for its duration, from the 15th until the 21st, only unleavened bread could be eaten and all leaven bread had to be removed.

Showbread consisted of 12 loaves of unleavened bread that were made with a fine flour and arranged on a table with frankincense placed on top of each pile. The bread would be left on the table for a week, then replaced with new ones on the Sabbath, so that there were always fresh loaves. The Jewish priests would then eat the old bread, but the biblical text (Leviticus 24:9) instructed that they had to eat them in a holy place.

The showbread table, from Biblia, by Peter Fjellstedt, 1890. Scanned by User Lavallen, PD, via Wikimedia Commons.

Catholic theology perceives showbread as the precursor of the Eucharist. It considers that whilst showbread was the bread of the presence of God in the Old Testament, the Eucharist is the real presence of Christ in the New Testament. Moreover, its placement on a table in a holy place, foreshadowed the Catholic altar and similarly the use of frankincense. The presence of the showbread as a continual offering also mirrors the Catholic “daily bread”. Hence, the role of showbread was fulfilled, mirrored and completely replaced by the Eucharist in Catholicism.

We welcome any insights.

Next entry: 17th April

Further Reading: W. H. Stevenson, Report on the Manuscripts of Lord Middleton, Historical Manuscripts Commission, 1911. p.379.

Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.

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