[Sca-cooks] 100 Mile Feasts

[Terry Decker]

> Either of these could help with giving a more period feel to events by 
> helping the local resources use to more closely mirror the historic local 
> resources.  I do realize that to some degree a 100 mile radius could be 
> historically extravagant and that 10 miles might more closely represent a 
> radius for an average historic market day.  And I could be off on the 
> historic radius as I haven't researched it.  I am just thinking about 
> descriptions of people walking/riding  in with a cart /wagon of produce, 
> participating in the market and going back home that day or the next.
>
> What other kind of events or projects do you think would be fun to do with 
> this concept?
>
> Sharon

Ten miles is about the average days journey for an ox cart.  A trip to 
market would likely be no more than a couple of miles because you want the 
food to arrive in reasonable time to sell it and return home.  Distances and 
times will vary depending on how perishable the food is and where the best 
market is.

In England, bakers liked to purchase foreign wheat imported from regions 
that used a larger bushel than the Winchester bushel.  This allowed them to 
squeeze out a little extra flour, which meant extra income under the Assize 
of Bread.

Salt cod travelled hundreds of miles to market, as did oil, olives, sugar 
and spices.  Cattle, sheep, goats and pigs were herded long distances to 
slaughterhouses all over Europe.  If you want to get a feel for the 
complexities of European trade and the distances involved, I would suggest 
reading the works of Fernand Braudel.  Even the manor system, which comes 
closest to the 100 mile radius idea, had a large number long distance 
transactions.

Bear