[Sca-cooks] Just one of those weird little questions...

[Beth Ann Bretter]

What a great question.  The only answer I have found so far is this quote: "According to St. John Chrysostom in the 3rd.cent. "let no food derived from any spined thing pass your lips on these days of the Great Fast...""

Which is available in the Florilegium here: http://www.florilegium.org/?http%3A//www.florilegium.org/files/RELIGION/idxreligion.html

Since bees are not spined I think that it might be reasonable to assume honey was not be prohibited.  On the other hand, medieval fasting was much more strict than modern day fasting and being meat free was not the only consideration.  

I don't really have an answer, but thank you for prompting me to borrow Fast and Feast from the university library.

Peyton