If Dante's engagement with food has been explored relatively infrequently, his preoccupation with power and station has instead garnered extensive critical attention. There is, however, a popular posthumous anecdote that brings these two themes together, and it suggests that Dante's sensitivity to the way food could be used to wield power and express status was recognized by his contemporary audience. In his late fourteenth-century Novelliere, Giovanni Sercambi recounts an apocryphal tale of a dinner hosted by King Roberto of Naples to which Dante was invited at the king's behest. The poet, arriving in a state of dress unbecoming of the royal court, is seated last and at the least important table, thoroughly ignored by the king. When King Roberto finally bothers to inquire where the great poet might be, Dante has already departed, and a messenger must be sent after him to request his audience once again. This time, Dante returns dressed richly, and he is promptly seated next to the king at the head of the first table. Yet upon being served, the poet splashes his food and wine into his lap, soiling his beautiful clothes while the court looks on in confusion and distaste.