Aristocrats eating outdoors
The Middle Ages saw the beginnings of the picnic in Britain. Basically, if you weren’t somebody out hunting, you didn’t get a picnic, as it was food brought out to the huntsmen while they were on horseback. It even features on the Bayeaux Tapestry. But if you had told those hunters to expect a picnic, they would have stared at you with blank faces. The word didn’t exist in the Middle Ages. It’s French in origin and dates back to 1692 as ‘pique-nique’.
Even so, a pique-nique didn’t involve shivering in a sudden breeze while chomping on a fish paste sandwich. The term described a social event, usually held indoors, where guests would each turn up with a contribution for the meal ahead, either an entire course, a dish or a monetary contribution.
Another explanation for the name is based on Pique-Nique, a character in a 17th century French satire who guzzles away regardless, at a time when his peers endured food shortages.
The French Revolution was a key part in the picnic coming to Britain. With many members of the aristocracy fleeing for their lives, the Isles were a handily placed retreat. In setting up a new life, it was logical that some customs would filter through into British society and the pique-nique was one of them. It was a group of French settlers who started London’s Pic Nic Society in 1801, a mixture of dining and amateur theatrics, where each member was required to bring along a dish and six bottles of wine.