Лебеди, как блюдо первой подачи на великокняжеских и царских пирах в XVI - XVII вв. (по письменным источникам)

The article is devoted to the history of one of the most famous dishes of Russian ceremonial cuisine, the princely and the royal - roasted swans. This dish opened tsars banquets was considered prestigious and status. Already for the XVII century, we know that wild swans, caught on the lake by special hunters - “swans”, were kept after capture in special ponds at the royal palaces. For an earlier time (starting from the 12th century), numerous references to swan hunting have been preserved, all related to princely life. The article describes the descriptions by foreign ambassadors of the procedure of tsars  and princely banquets and the nature of dishes from the swan. Numerous examples from Russian folklore and literary monuments are given.