Bread trenchers was [Sca-cooks] Tableware

[Terry Decker]

The appears to have been a general increase in meat consumption  in the 15th
and 16th Centuries as measured by the sale and slaughter of animals.
However, similar studies of grain suggest that the standard diet was about
two pounds per day of cereal, mostly as bread, and that this did not change
appreciably across time or locales.  However, these studies usually cover
cities.

The changes in bread consumption are specific to the great households.  The
represent a change in total expenditure rather than a shift in expenditure
from on class to another.

Bear

>
>I'm wondering if another factor in the drop in bread consumption might
>simply have been an increased consumption of meat. Such an increase
>would probably result in a decrease in the amount of bread eaten. With
>the tremendous drop in population in the late 14th Century, the available
>land was stretched less and marginal land for crops was taken out of
>production. At the same time, the wages of the peasants went up allowing
>them to afford more meat. It would be nice to see if there is a
>corresponding increase in meat consumption when this bread consumption
>dropped.
>
>--
>THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
>   Mark S. Harris            Austin, Texas          stefan at texas.net
>**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****
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