Linneah's Research Paper

[linneah at erols.com]

As I received over 20 requests (and don't know how to CC) I decided to post=
 to the =

list.  I apologize to anyone who doesn't want to get it.

I welcome comments, but it is too late to correct the graded copy (sigh).

Linneah


Stephanie Rudin wrote:
> =

> Lady Linneah:
> =

> I would be very interested in receiving a copy of your paper.  My
> address is rudin at master.ceat.okstate.edu
> Thank you.
> =

> Mercedes
Please  note that this paper was written as a broad overview.  It probably =
won=B9t =

have a lot of new information for those of you who are well versed in Medie=
val =

cooking.  I do believe that it will help people new to the =B3sport=B2.  It=
 might even =

be interesting reading for the rest.
Thank you for your interest.  Linneah Gordon/Kerry Romano

(Note - The use of the pronoun =B3he=B2 and the term =B3man=B2 throughout t=
his paper =

are meant to be generic and to encompass the entire human race and are not =

intended to affront any member thereof.)
	In the beginning, the ancestors of modern humans spent their time either =

looking for something to eat, or looking to avoid something that wanted to =
eat =

them.  The earliest diet was probably composed of easy-to-obtain fruits, nu=
ts, =

seeds, and leaves.  As humans evolved, animal protein was added.  With the =

discovery of weapons, meat became a larger and larger part of the diet.  By=
 one =

million B.C., Homo erectus erectus ate a high proportion of meat.  By 30,00=
0 B.C. =

Homo sapiens had controlled use of fire, allowing him to add to his diet =

previously inedible foods.1
	  Even though humans began to eat more meat, gathering of wild plants was =

still very important.  As the gatherers returned to the settlements to shar=
e their =

bounty, invariably seeds were dropped.  Seeds also ended up in the trash pi=
ts.  It =

is from these seeds that some scientists believe that the seeds of agricult=
ure =

sprouted.  =B3Primitive peoples were extremely untidy,=B22  The seeds of ce=
rtain =

=8Cweed=B9 plants, such as wheat and barley, thrived in the environment aro=
und =

human settlements.  Man disturbed the ground, allowing weeds easy access to=
 =

the soil, and man unintentionally enriched the soil though manure and =

garbage.3  As these weeds grew close to human settlements, humans soon =

discovered the advantages to growing them intentionally.  Thus, agriculture=
 =

began.
	Animal domestication, it is believed, began in much the same way.  Pigs an=
d =

wild dogs were attracted to man=B9s garbage and when man recognized the val=
ue =

of having them close, he began to domesticate them.4  From there, he moved =
on =

to capture and keep the same animals that he had previously followed on the=
ir =

migratory paths.  At first man simply caught and kept the animals to have t=
hem =

convenient.  Soon, however, as with the wild grains, man began to take a =

deliberate hand in their development.5   =

	With agriculture and animal husbandry man was able to increase his =

population.  As techniques improved further, man=B9s numbers increased even=
 =

more.  The population of England alone tripled between the years 1100 and 1=
340 =

A.D. from 1.5 million to 4.5 million.6  The most significant agricultural =

improvements, which began around 500 - 900 A.D., were the wind and the wate=
r =

mills, the horse shoe and horse collar, iron tools, the heavy wheeled plow,=
 the =

three-field rotation of crops, and the increased use of the horse.7  Betwee=
n 1000 =

and 1500 A.D. a small town of 3000 people needed 1000 to 1500 tons of grain=
 a =

year and required 10,000 acres of land on which to grow it.8 =

	Because of these improvements, Medieval people were not only able to grow =

more food, but the food was of better quality.  Beans were grown to enrich =
the =

soil, but eating these beans, along with grains, gave the peasants complete=
 =

proteins that had been missing
from their diet due to a relative lack of meat.9  Healthier peasants meant =
even =

more labor, which, in turn, created a surplus of both food and peasants.  T=
his =

led, somewhat indirectly, to the Crusades, which, in turn, led to new and =

different food stuffs being introduced to the West.10 =

	The foods available to cooks of the Medieval West the were about the same =
as =

those available to the Romans.  Roman cereal crops were wheat, which was =

central, followed by barley, then oats and rye.  The former two were nutrit=
ious, =

storable and glutenous11 (gluten being the proteins which bind with each =

other, thus making bread hold together).  These grains were, in earliest ti=
mes, =

pounded, mixed with water and cooked to form a porridge.  Grinding to make =

flour and baking to make bread came later.12  These grains were still in us=
e, =

and in much the same way, in Medieval times.
	Also in use by the Romans were dairy products.  In fact, the dairy industr=
y had =

a long history.  It had been well developed as far back as Ancient Sumer in=
 3000 =

B.C.13  Milk, butter and cheese were staples for Roman as well as Medieval =
man.
	Added to dairy products and grains were vegetables such as lettuce, =

cucumbers, beets, cabbage, turnips, radishes, and  asparagus, and fruits, s=
uch as =

apples, pears, peaches, grapes, mulberries, and raspberries.  Beverages =

included wine, water, milk, and cider.14  Meats included practically any fo=
wl, =

mammal,
shellfish, or fish that they could get their hands on.  All of these ancien=
t =

foodstuffs were still available to the Medieval cook.  In the mind of Medie=
val =

man, if it was edible, it could be eaten.
	The cooking methods were also little changed over the years.  Boiling, bak=
ing, =

frying, and roasting were, and in fact still are, the only methods of chang=
ing =

food from a raw state to a cooked one.15  Where techniques differed were in=
 =

how these methods were employed.  In the south of Europe where deforestatio=
n =

made fuel for the cooking fire a scarce commodity, cooks used simple enclos=
ed =

ovens and fried food quickly in a pan.  In the north where fuel was abundan=
t, =

huge cauldrons boiled for days and whole animals were spitted and roasted o=
n =

great roaring fires.16 =

	Before 1066, Anglo-Saxons believed that cooking was an art.  Manuscripts =

studied by Reverend Oswald Cockayne describe =B3Oyster patties and deliciou=
s =

stuffings... milk junkets, goose-giblets, pigs-trotters, pigeon cooked with=
 a =

piquant sauce of vinegar, peas sweetened with honey, broths of cabbage, bee=
f =

and marrow boiled with young swine, and nettles cooked in water.=B217   =

	While the Romans and early Anglo-Saxons had taken pride in creating =

different dishes and using unusual methods, examination of some Medieval =

manuscripts shows a definite lack of creative direction.18  Innovation was =
left =

up to the individual cook, his skill and imagination.  Early recipes contai=
ned =

lists of
ingredients and some vague rules.  Quantities and measures were =

left out as it was assumed that the cook would know what to do.19   Also, a=
t the =

time there were no standard measures so even if measures had been given, th=
e =

cook would have still had to decide how much the measure contained.20 =

	Even when the Medieval cook might have wanted to be creative with the =

methods, he might have been prevented by convention.  A creative dish, in t=
he =

mind of the diner, may be hiding something unsavory and cases of death bein=
g =

delivered through unscrupulous manipulations of food were well known.21  =

	The accepted principal in preparation of early Medieval dishes was that th=
e =

diner had to be able to eat them with his knife, a spoon, or his fingers.22=
  Forks =

did not come into common use until very late.  Therefore, =B3nearly every d=
ish =

was soft and mushy.  Everything was mashed or cut into very small pieces, a=
nd =

all the dishes were so smothered in spices that it made it impossible to te=
ll what =

they were originally made of.=B223  This passage, aparently refers to dishe=
s of =

mixtures of food and not to such things as roasts and breads.  However, it =
makes =

one wonder why the Medieval diner was worried about poison in fancy dishes =

when he couldn=B9t tell what he was eating anyway.
	Later in the period, meals for the rich improved in quality while peasant =

meals remained relatively unchanged.  Coarse, dark bread, something in the =

stock pot and maybe some cheese or curds was a generous meal for the poor. =
 =

Servants in large households might add beef or goose, dried fish and ale.24=
 =

	Because, in the author=B9s opinion, the feasts of the wealthy are more =

interesting than those of the clergy and better represented than the food o=
f the =

peasants, the remainder of this paper will deal with how and what the noble=
s =

ate.
	In the upper class households meals were not only for sustenance.  They we=
re =

both a way for the =B3idle=B2 rich to break the monotony in their lives25 a=
nd a way =

for a wealthy house to show off its wealth.  Conspicuous consumption was =

important to the Medieval mind.  Nobles felt compelled to display their ric=
hes in =

everything - homes, horses, clothing and food.  Because of the need to show=
 off, =

a rich household was expected to host huge feasts, especially for special =

occasions, such as Christmas, Easter, and weddings.  These feasts were =

expensive: a wedding feast for a wealthy family might have to feed as many =
as =

500 people per day and require the services of up to 50 chefs and kitchen =

boys.26  =

	Because of the importance of feasting and hosting feasts, a large househol=
d =

could expect to spend one half to two thirds of its income on food and drin=
k (this =

includes food for the horses).27  =

Part of the reason for the great cost was that the emphasis in European fea=
sts =

was not necessarily quality, but quantity.  One came to a feast expecting t=
o =

gorge oneself, sometimes using the tactic of induced vomiting in order to m=
ake =

room for more food. The person who stayed at the table the longest often to=
ok =

great pride in having proven himself the greatest glutton.28 =

   	A feast served for Christmas could stretch over several days and the fo=
od =

would be as elaborately prepared and presented as the lord=B9s coffers woul=
d =

allow.  The dishes served might include; baked Christmas pies, meats enclos=
ed in =

elaborate pastries, spiced fruit mixtures preserved in wine and ale, smoked=
 =

boar=B9s head, and all manners of fowl baked in pastry.29   Added to this w=
ould be =

rivers of wine and ale, fields of bread, and mountains of sweets.  =

	One of the traditional western dishes for Christmas was the Grete Pye, or =
Great =

Pie.  One recipe for this huge dish began:
	Take faire yonge beef, And suet of a fatte beste, or of Motton, and hak al=
l this =

on a borde small; and caste thereto pouder of peper and salt; and whan it i=
s =

small hewen, put it in a bolle... Then take Capons, Hennes, Mallardes, =

Connynges, and parboile hem clene; take wodekokkes, teles, great briddes, a=
nd =

plom hem in a boiling pot; And then couche al this fowle in the Coffyn...30=
 =

	The food of the rich differed from that of the poor in many ways.  While t=
he =

lower class meals were based on cereals and vegetables, the upper class din=
ed =

on a great deal of meat.31  Meat was eaten a throughout the day.  A typical=
 =

breakfast for an Earl and his Countess might consist of =B3three loaves of =
bread, =

one
quart of beer, one quart of wine, and then either a chine of boiled mutton =
or =

beef, or on fast days two pieces of salt fish, six baked herrings or a dish=
 of =

spratts.=B232 =

	Food in religious communities differed from that of the rich, =

in theory.  There, meat was to be reserved for the ill and the old because =
of its =

supposed benefit of warming the bodies and replenishing the blood.  While =

most of these communities were to have eaten frugally and simply, some =

religious leaders allowed themselves a bit better fair.  The Bishop of Swin=
field =

of Hereford at the end of one October was reported to have had =B3venison s=
oused =

in vinegar, nutmeg, cloves, and mace, and covered with butter; tripes and o=
ffal =

were pickled in ale for priced umble pie...(and) fruit dried and preserved.=
=2E.=B2 for =

the upcoming Christmas feast.33  =

	Some of the nobility seemed better able to keep =8Cfaith=B9 with food than=
 the =

above mentioned bishop.  An account written in 1249 A.D. told of how King =

Henry III prepared for a holy feast day.  =B3On the approach of the feast o=
f the =

blessed Edward, which is on the eve of the Epiphany, the lord king summoned=
 =

by letter a large number of magnates to celebrate that feast with him =

splendidly in St. Peter=B9s Church, Westminster.  He himself, on the eve of=
 the =

feast, that is the Monday, fasted on bread and water wearing woolen clothes=
, as =

was his custom.=B234 =

	In October of 1399, a great feast was served for the wedding of Henry IV o=
f =

England. The food was presented in three courses.  During the first course =
there =

were three dishes of meat and three of fowl (including boar=B9s head and he=
ron), =

fish, and two sweet dishes.  The second course had seven meat and four fowl=
 =

dishes (including suckling pig and peacocks cooked and then redressed in th=
eir =

plumage), small cakes and a porridge-like dish.  The third course had three=
 =

meats, eight fowl, and three sweet dishes.35   =

	Each course above was followed, with great ceremony, by a subtlety.  This =
was =

often a complex and costly creation made from sugar and almond paste and =

served, as above, between the courses of a feast.  Cooks took great pains t=
o create =

as imaginative and astounding a piece as possible.  Great ships were recrea=
ted =

including a crew.  Religious structures were formed and filled with edible =

replicas of actual interiors.  Animals were fashioned and presented in thei=
r =

ferocity or beauty.36  This was also where the Blackbird Pie of children=B9=
s =

nursery rhymes came from.  The pie was baked empty, then a hole was cut int=
o =

the bottom and the live birds (sometimes even frogs) were put inside just b=
efore =

being served.  The idea was for show, not for culinary delight, as neither =
the =

birds nor the pie were eaten.
	Sometimes a subtlety was not edible but was a gift or presentation.  At a =

banquet for the Duke of Clarence (14th century) there were 30 courses and =

between them courtiers came in with a flourish to present gifts.  =B3Betwee=
n two =

courses alone, seventy horses adorned with silk and silver,... (between) an=
other =

two, silver vessels, falcons, hounds, armor for horses, coats of mail, brea=
st =

plates... helmets and corselets, jewels, purple cloth and cloth of gold wer=
e =

administered.=B237  A subtlety=B9s function was mostly for entertainment an=
d, as =

feasts could last throughout the day for days at a time, these interruption=
s of a =

strange and wonderful nature would be more than welcome.
	In addition to copious amounts of food, the Medieval cook used huge amount=
s of =

spices on the food.  As already stated, sometimes the amounts of spice were=
 so =

large, and the mixture so involved in a dish, that the diner had no idea wh=
at he =

was eating.  =

A rich household=B9s spice locker would have included ginger, cinnamon, clo=
ves, =

galingale, mace, nutmeg, pepper, cubebs, coriander and cumin.38  These spic=
es =

came into Europe with the returning crusaders and were very expensive.  Kep=
t =

under lock and key, these spices were doled out in exact measurements by a =

trustworthy household servant or even by the lady of the house herself.  =

Households that could use spices in large quantities would be able to impre=
ss =

any of their peers.
	In addition to the expensive seasonings listed above, the Medieval cook ha=
d =

access to more common ones.  These included parsley, sage, bay, sorrel, hys=
sop, =

basil, tansy, marjoram, dill,  and mint.39   These were often grown in a ki=
tchen =

garden near the house.
  	Salt was a common, though expensive, seasoning.  Valued for its flavor a=
s well =

as its desiccant properties which help to preserve meat, it was, none the l=
ess, =

difficult to obtain.  Either extracted from sea-water or mined, which took =
a =

great deal of time and money, it then had to be ground finely in order to b=
e =

used.  This time consuming process also contributed to its expense. 			Beca=
use =

of its expense, salt became as status symbol.  It was displayed on the feas=
t table =

in huge, elaborate and costly cellars from which it was dispensed to the di=
ners.  =

Cellars were often made of silver and could at times be quite large.  All t=
he =

better to impress the guest.
	Salting of meat and fish for preservation often had drawbacks other than t=
he =

cost.  Sometimes, due to lack of fresh water for numerous soakings, or to a=
 lazy =

cook, the meat was still very salty when added to the other ingredients for=
 a =

meal.  Medieval cooks developed ingenious ways in which to leech out some o=
f =

the excess salt.  Sometimes a grain, such as oats, was tied in a bundle of =
cloth =

and suspended in the pot.  Dried peas, beans or =

whole grain could be added or the salty dish could be served with bland dis=
hes =

in order to balance them out.40  In contrast, when fresh meat and fish were=
 =

served, rather bland to the Medieval tongue, they were often accompanied by=
 =

highly flavored sauces.41   =

	Sauces were very popular.  They were served with all kinds of food and wer=
e =

made from all kinds of things.  Some examples are: white sugar mixed with =

mustard powder, blended with vinegar; ground black pepper, ground ginger, =

mustard powder, salt and vinegar; and minced parsley, onions, ground garlic=
 =

and vinegar.  All of these are designed for saucing game birds, but there w=
ere =

as many types of sauces as there are types of food.  Sauces were either ser=
ved =

covering a dish of meat, or in separate bowls so that the diner could decid=
e =

which to use.42
	In today=B9s society, the rich pride themselves on how well they eat.  Thi=
s was =

also the case in Medieval times.  The larger and more elaborate the feast, =
the =

greater the status of the lord.  The use of costly ingredients, such as imp=
orted =

spices, elevated him as well.  =

	The foods available to the Medieval cook, with the exception of New World =

additions, were the same then as now.  What makes a meal =B3Medieval=B2 was=
 in the =

preparation and presentation.  Sauces, spices, and subtleties marked the fe=
ast in =

addition to the huge amounts of food available to the diner.  To recreate t=
he =

meals of the Middle Ages today would be not only wildly expensive, but the =

diners would be eating the leftovers for months.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Black, Maggie. The Medieval Cookbook. New York: Thames and Hudson. 	1992.
Brothwell, Don and Patricia. Food in Antiquity - A Survey of the 		Diet of =
Earl =

Peoples. London: Thames and Hudson. 1969.
Dimbley, G.W. and Peter Ucko, eds. The Domestication and 			Exploitation of=
 =

Plants and Animals. London: Gerald Duckworth 		and Company, ltd. 1969.
Duby, Georges. A History of Private Life - Revelations of the =

	Medieval World. Cambridge, Mass: The Belknap Press of =

	Harvard University Press. 1988.
Given-Wilson, Chris. The English Nobility in the Late Middle Ages =

	- The Fourteenth Century Political Community. London: =

	Routledge and Kegan Paul. 1987.
Grigg, David. The Dynamics of Agricultural Change - The Historical	=

	Experience. New York: St. Martin Press. 1982.
Harleian MS 4016. p. 76.
Hartman, Gertrude. Medieval Days and Ways. New York: The Macmillan 	=

Company. 1961
Lovenberg, Miriam E. et al. Food And Man. New York: John Wiley &		Sons. 197=
4.
Mennell, Stephen. All Manners of Food. Chicago: University of 		Illinois Pr=
ess. =

1996.
Pullar, Philippa. Consuming Passions - Being an Historic Inquiry		into Cert=
ain =

English Appetites. Boston: Little, Brown and 		Company. 1970.
Quayle, Eric. Old Cookbooks - An Illustrated History. New York:		The =

Brandywine Press, inc. 1978.
Scully, Terence. The Art of Cookery in the Middle Ages. 				Woodbridge: The=
 =

Baydell Press. 1995.
Tannahill, Reay. Food in History. New York: Stein and Day. 1973.
Trager, James. The Food Chronology. New York: Henry Holt and 			Company. =

1995.
Vaughn, Richard, ed. The Illustrated Chronicles of Matthew Paris - 	Obervat=
ions =

of Thirteenth Century Life. Cambridge: Allan 		Sutton Publishing. 1993.
Footnotes (Which have become endnotes)

1.James Trager, The Food Chronology, (New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1995)=
, =

1-2.
 2. J.G. Hawkes, The Domestication and Exploitation of Plants and Animals, =

(London: Gerald Duckworth and Company, 1969), 22.
 3. Ibid., 22.
 4. Miriam E. Lovenberg, et. al., Food and Man, (New York: John Wiley and S=
ons, =

1974),15.
5.  Hawkes,  Domestication, 219.
6.  David Grigg, The Dynamics of Agricultural Change - The Historical =

Experience, (New York: St. Martin=B9s Press, 1982), 177.
7.  David Grigg, The Dynamics of Agricultural Change - The Historical =

Experience, (New York: St. Martin=B9s Press, 1982), 177-178.
8.  Reay Tannahill, Food in History, (New York: Stein and Day, 1973), 206.
9.  Reay Tannahill, Food in History, (New York: Stein and Day, 1973), 192.
10.  Tannahill, Food in History, 184-189.
11.  Lovenberg, Food and Man,13.
12.  Ibid., 39.
13.  Ibid., 17.
14.  Ibid., 40-41.
15.  Terence Scully, The Art of Cookery in the Middle Ages, (Woodbridge: Th=
e =

Baydell Press, 1995), 34-35.
16.  Tannahill, Food in History,108.
17.  Philippa Pullar, Consuming Passions - Being an Historic Inquiry into =

Certain English Appetites, (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1970), 74.
18.  Eric Quayle, Old Cookbooks - An Illustrated History, (New York: The =

Brandywine Press, Inc., 1978), 17.
19.  Ibid., 13.
20.  Tannahill, Food in History, 190.
21.  Quayle, Old Cookbooks, 17.
22.  Scully, Art of Cookery, 34.
23.  Gertrude Hartman, Medieval Days and Ways, (New York: The Macmillan =

Company, 1961), 43.
24.  Tannahill, Food in History, 221.
25.  Pullar, Consuming Passions, 90.        =

26.  Don and Patricia Brothwell, Food in Antiquity - A Survey of the Diets =
of =

Early Peoples, (London: Thames and Hudson, 1969), 298.
27.  Chris Given-Wilson, The English Nobility in the Late Middle Ages - The=
 =

Fourteenth Century Political Community, (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, =

1987), 94.
28.  Quayle, Old Cookbooks, 21-23.
29. Pullar, Consuming Passions, 90-91.
30.  Harleian MS 4016. p. 76.
31.  Stephen Mennell, All Manners of Food, (Chicago: University of Illinois=
 =

Press, 1996), 40-41.
32.  Ibid., 56.
33.  Pullar, Consuming Passions,  83-84.
34.  Richard Vaughan, ed., The Illustrated Chronicles of Matthew Paris - =

Observations of Thirteenth Century Life, (Cambridge: Allan Sutton Publishin=
g, =

1993), 86.
35.  Pullar, Consuming Passions, 92-93.
36.  Ibid., 93.
37.  Pullar, Consuming Passions, 91.
38.  Ibid., 89.
39.   Scully, Art of Cookery, 30.
40.  Tannahill, Food in History, 217-219.
41.  Ibid., 219.
42.  Maggie Black, The Medieval Cookbook, (New York: Thames and Hudson, =

1992), 103.