Dining
in Hall
Dining in Hall with the Fellows is
an important aspect of life in all the Colleges. Since the foundation
of Clare, eating together has been the main means of meeting people
from other disciplines and of forging a close scholarly community.
Although we call it Formal Hall, the formalities have been reduced
to the minimum, and students are no longer required to wear gowns,
although they are welcome to do so. There are, however, some basic
conventions of behaviour.
The beginning of the meal
is signalled by the entry of the Fellows, for which everyone stands.
This is out of respect for the College's heritage and not because
the Fellows wish to manifest superiority. A gong is struck, and
a Grace is read in Latin, as required by the College statutes.
During the course of the
meal itself, Fellows and students are expected to remain in their
places, to converse only with those sitting nearly, and to cooperate
with the serving staff. At the formal ending of the meal,
everybody stands when the Senior Fellow present sounds a gong and
says a brief Grace; they remain standing while diners at the High
Table leave the Hall. Once the Fellows have left the
Hall, students may treat the rest of the meal in a less formal manner.
The two Graces are a reminder
of the foundation of the College as a Christian institution, and
those who wish to give thanks in this way are welcome to say ‘Amen'.
Those who do not identify with the words of the Grace are invited
to treat them as a traditional way to start and finish a formal
meal, and perhaps as a general expression of gratitude for belonging
to a College which has been dining together for nearly seven hundred
years.
The Latin text, and English
translation, are as follows:
Oculi omnium
in te sperant Domine:
Tu das iis escam eorum in tempore opportuno.
Aperis tu manum tuam:
Et imples omne animal benedictione tua.
Sanctifica nos, quaesumus, Domine, per verbum
et orationem, istisque tuis donis, quae de tua
bonitate sumus accepturi, benedicito
per Christum Dominum nostrum,
Amen
The eyes of
all await upon thee, O Lord,
And thou givest them their food in due season.
Thou openest thy hand,
And fillest every living thing with thy blessing.
Sanctify us, we beseech thee, O Lord, by thy
word and our petition; and bless the gifts which
of thy bounty we are about to receive,
through Christ our Lord.
Amen
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