mediaeval food
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Rue (Ruta graveolens) is another fascinating medieval herb. Here are some interesting facts about it: Medicinal Uses Digestive aid: Rue was used to treat digestive issues, such as indigestion, bloating, and gas. Menstrual relief: The herb was used to ease menstrual cramps, bloating, and other symptoms associated with PMS. Anti-inflammatory: Rue’s anti-inflammatory properties made it…
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Here is an excellent article about mediaeval myths. It discusses the “right of the first night” (here called prima nocta and supposedly imposed by Edward I in Scotland, according to Braveheart), table manners, the frequency of open warfare as opposed to sieges, the standard of food and the chastity belt.
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While the traditional Yule Log is associated with Great Britain – as its television broadcast/DVD version is associated with America – it seems to have originated in the misty past of Central Germany and Westphalia. It is certainly of pagan origin as are many of our Christian customs. To quote Sir James George Frazer in…
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It’s always rewarding to find a site that is helpful with medieval research. By this I mean everyday research, not the highly specialised work of historians. This site was stumbled upon because I needed to find out how sturgeon would have been served in the medieval period. Yes, it had been a royal fish…
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According to The Folklore of Gloucestershire by Roy Palmer, there was a traditional dish in the south of the county known as whitepot, and it was served at Whit Sunday “revels”. The ingredients of whitepot were: “….four quarts of milk, a pound of flour, a pound of golden syrup, eight eggs, two ounces of butter,…
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Well, we know that the people of the medieval period loved their colours. The brighter the better, it seems. But, it also seems that this liking didn’t extend to their food. I found this wonderful article on the British Medieval History Facebook group, and just had to share it here. However, it has to…
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Good Friday falls today and in commemoration of the crucifixion of Christ we offer several meat free loosely-based receipts from the medieval manuscript Le Menagier de Paris or The Goodman of Paris. First published anonymously in 1391, it is amusingly similar to Mrs. Beeton’s famous 19th century book of household tips covering diverse subjects such…
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There is no disputing that fish was very important to the medieval diet. The Church ruled that not only was it required food on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, but also for Advent and the forty days of Lent. And I’m sure there were other days when it was mandatory too, but the previous sentence covers…
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I was browsing, and came upon the following interesting details about how Henry VII celebrated Christmas and Twelfth Night. It is from Christmas: Its Origin and Associations by William Francis Dawson, which I found in Google Books. The following extract has been tweaked a little by me, to create more paragraphs and thus make it…
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Long before Gourmet Magazine went out of business in 2009, collapsed under too many overwrought articles on bovine emissions, it had been an intellectual colossus in the culinary world. From the 1940s through the ’60s, it featured lush travel articles on world cuisine venturing into far-flung places such as Persia, Bhutan (“a taste of Shangri-La!”)…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 