How to ask for bread with your hands

That one, no that one! There! Look where I'm pointing!

The Benedictine monks of 12th century Cluny were under vows of silence and were restricted from speaking, particularly while eating. The clever monks invented a universal language using their hands that was used at monasteries throughout Europe.

For the sign of bread: make a circle with the thumb and its two adjacent fingers, because bread is customarily round.

For the sign of bread, which is cooked in water and which is better than that served on most days: after making the general sign for bread, place the palm of one hand over the outside of the other as if oiling or wetting.

For the sign of marked bread, which is commonly called torta: after making the general sign of bread, make a cross through the middle of the palm, because bread of this type is generally divided into quarters.

- Signa Loquendi, 11th century, sign language of Cluny