This week I was asked to provide the correct form of the grace in use at Churchill College. I asked Dr Frank King, Praelector at Churchill College and Chairman of our Archives Committee, for help in determining the exact wording for the grace. On his advice I went to the Dining Hall in search of the ‘Grace Boards’ – small wooden framed versions of the Grace which are used as an aide memoire by the person saying grace and are kept in the kitchen office. Tara Fraser, in charge of the Dining Hall, kindly gave me a slightly tatty Grace Board to add to the college archive:
College Grace Board.
I wanted to write an accurate and informative catalogue description for my new arrival, so back I went to Dr King. He exceeded my expectations with the full explanations he provided:
Who is responsible for saying Grace?
By custom, Grace is said by the Master, if present. In the absence of the Master, Grace is said by the Senior Fellow present and, if no Fellows are present, then the Senior Member present says Grace.
I have avoided using the term “presiding” but whoever says Grace is, de facto, presiding. This is the person that the catering staff will ask for instructions (for example when to finish).
All Churchill M.A.s have dining rights as indeed do many others and I can imagine a quiet night when the Master is away and no Fellows are present when the handful dining have to decide amongst themselves who says Grace!
When is the long grace used, and who decides which form to use?
Hmmmm! A good deal of personal taste and preference goes into the mix on this one. The short answer is:
The long Grace is used at the start of a Feast or other special dinners. The short Grace is used before other meals when there is a High Table.
Hermann Bondi {Master of Churchill College, 1983-1990], as an atheist, refused to say the long grace on ANY occasion. He was happy with Benedictus benedicat because that is essentially a secular grace. It definitely doesn’t mention God in any form!
My standpoint is quite different. I never miss an opportunity to declaim in Latin and would always use the long form even if I found I was the only person dining in!!!
A couple of times a term, I host the lunches that we give to Graduands before they go to the Senate-House to collect degrees. I use the long grace on those occasions even though it is lunch rather than dinner.
That’s not just to satisfy my own fancies but also to set the scene for what is to follow. The Graduands and their Mums and Dads are going to spend the better part of an hour in the Senate-House listening to Latin so I start things off as they are going to go on!
Moreover, I like to act out the part. At the “dona tua” I hold up a bread roll and at the “salubriter nutriti” I pat my tummy! I want my clients to know what’s happening!
With many thanks to Dr King for his help,
Natalie Adams, Churchill College Archive