What did they drink in the Middle Ages? What did they eat and drink in the Middle Ages? This is amazing. "There are no bad foods, there are bad chefs"

Continuing our topic about the mysterious and therefore incredibly interesting Middle Ages, let's move on to the topic of food. This is no less important topic than, because if the main alcohol-containing drinks essentially remained the same - wine, beer, vodka - then the daily diet of the inhabitants of the Middle Ages could differ from our dietary preferences.

How often did people eat?

Let's start with the fact that a person in the Middle Ages ate twice a day. The first, lunch meal was dense, and the evening supper consisted only of soup, which was bread soaked in wine or other liquid. However, often the peasants and working people still could not wait for dinner and ate in the morning. From the 15th century, they were joined by the nobility, who began the morning with bread, meat and wine. An afternoon snack (from the English “nuncheons”), a small snack provided by the employer, as well as a time for taking drinks (from the English “drynkyngs”) were added to the standard meals with noble people.

Two meals a day was considered the only correct one, and snacks and extra meals were criticized by both doctors and clergymen for being too immodest.

The so-called “reresoper”, or eating after dinner, was especially attacked, which could be accompanied by both a regular snack and what we associate parties with today: alcohol, gatherings with friends, gambling, flirting.

What utensils were on the table?

They all ate together at the same table, which often served not only for eating, but also for cooking. It was considered important that the table was covered with a tablecloth. Those who could afford used napkins to help keep the table clean and tablecloths made from fabrics of various prices.

On the table prepared for dinner there was a napkin, a spoon and a tray (from the English “trencher”), which was a thin piece of four-day bread. It could be eaten if it was unbearable to wait, but, as a rule, such food was given to dogs or the poor. Over time, such an edible tray was replaced by wooden and metal ones. In general, its function was to ensure that food taken from the common bowl did not stain the cloth on the table.

An indispensable device on the table was a salt shaker. By its appearance it was possible to determine the degree of nobility and prosperity of a person.

The royals even ordered it from special craftsmen in the shape of a boat. There were no knives on the table, and the guests had to bring them themselves. In addition to quite understandable functions, they also caught a pinch of salt.

Forks, of course, did not exist in the Middle Ages. Its counterparts were much larger and were used to get meat out of the cauldron or put firewood on the fire.

The main device for eating, of course, was their own hands. Moreover, they had to be washed not only before and after eating, but sometimes during it. If there was a meal of noble people, a special person was present in the hall with a towel, a basin for washing hands and a special bowl to test the water for the presence of poison.

Of great importance at the table was alcohol and the dishes from which it spilled. It included both a traditional beer horn and a wooden drinking vessel maser (from the English “mazer”), various bowls and goblets. Glass objects were not only a very rare guest at the table, but also enjoyed less respect than painted pottery from Valencia or Andalusia.

Joachim Beckeler – Rich Cuisine

Who attended the big feast?

If the guests gathered in the house for a large and magnificent celebration, then the venue for the feast turned into a real performance. In addition to musicians, singers, jugglers, jesters, each guest had to observe a certain etiquette, colorfully described in many historical documents of that time. Then all the most beautiful products of modern artisans appeared on the table: silver goblets, painted bowls, amazingly shaped salt shakers, and so on. This helped the owner of the house to demonstrate his status and wealth.

It should be noted that such large feasts were intended for males. The only women who were present at the table were the wives of the owners of the house and the honorary invited female guests with the ladies-in-waiting accompanying them. The wives of the other invited men dined separately in the owner's bedroom. Later, this tradition became a thing of the past, and a private dinner became more of a privilege for invited guests.

It is impossible not to mention that a whole brigade of domestic servants was present at every major holiday.

These included: the housekeeper, the master of ceremonies, who was in charge of the whole feast, the head of the servants and the majordomo taster, the head of the pantry (from the English “pantler”), the cupbearer who was responsible for drinks (from the English “butler”) and, in fact, the aforementioned person with a basin for hand washing. Moreover, some of the servants were required to taste all the wine for the presence of poison.

And now to the most important thing. In addition to products grown in the fields and local farms, a variety of overseas fruits and spices were available to wealthy citizens.

Cereals

Wheat. The second most valuable cultivated cereal after barley. Brought to Europe by the Romans from Iran and Syria, it was in fact synonymous with food in general, as it was the basis for bread. Almost every pastry contained wheat flour, it was also added to sausages and soups. Wheat was considered the highest grade, from which soft and nutritious bread was obtained.

Barley. It was suitable for workers whose stomachs were thought to be less pampered and able to digest coarse grinds. For the poor, barley bread was the basis of the diet, and the rich used it as a tray, which is described above. However, the more individual regions of Europe drank beer, the more often barley production exceeded wheat products. Moreover, doctors considered barley a "cooling" product, so they advised using barley tinctures for fever.

Rye. It was also not considered a good cereal, but was actively used to make bread in combination with wheat flour in northern and eastern Europe. The frequent contamination of rye with ergot (from the English "ergot"), which affected crops and caused hallucinations, poisoning and death in people, complicated the use of this type of cereal.

oats. Unlike the above cereals, oats were first cultivated in Central Europe and were very popular in Scotland, Scandinavia and Russia, where porridge was prepared from it.

In other parts of Europe, it, like barley, was considered a "cold" product for rough people. Thus, the stereotype about "severe Russians" is also explained by food preferences.

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Millet. This cereal was the basis of the daily diet of the Greeks and Romans, consisting of porridge and unleavened bread. The culinary books of Europe very rarely even mentioned the very existence of this culture, which was used in animal feed. And doctors believed that millet caused digestive problems and had virtually no nutritional value.

Rice. Literally the food of nobility and luxury. Introduced from North Africa, rice quickly spread throughout Europe. And by the late Middle Ages, it became the basis not only of the daily diet, but was also used for medical purposes. Allegedly, when adding milk, rice increased blood circulation and promoted recovery.

Vegetables

Beans and beans. A highly controversial product. On the one hand, beans and green beans have often been criticized for being associated with flatulence and even favism (a type of anemia). On the other hand, these cultures were extremely popular with monks and the poor. In addition, high society cookbooks did not ignore this product, and doctors advised us to use beans and beans not as food, but as a cure for a number of diseases.

Garlic. You have certainly seen that in many films about the Middle Ages, they cannot do without associations with the smell of garlic. However, this is true. Garlic smell literally hovered throughout Europe: various sauces were made from it, it was considered a cure for headaches and poisonous bites. And they even believed that it helps protect against the plague and causes lust.

Onion. This vegetable was widely distributed in antiquity and found a place in the Middle Ages. Despite being associated with a low class, onions were an indispensable ingredient for making sauces, broths, and various fillings. This product was especially praised by doctors for its diuretic effect, increased potency and appetite.

Cabbage. For a long time it was a fodder variety, that is, it grew without a head, and in the Middle Ages it was distributed only among the Scots, Germans and Dutch. Evidence of the appearance of ordinary cabbage dates back to the 1st century AD. e. This product was an important part of the diet of the poor, as evidenced by the extremely popular use of Bavarian cabbage. However, doctors believed that it led to melancholy and caused nightmares.

Sometimes cabbage leaves were used like plantain today - they were applied to wounds.

In addition, the diet of a medieval person included spinach, radishes, parsnips, beets, carrots, cucumbers, various mushrooms, and so on.

Fruits and berries

FROM fruits the situation was more complicated. The medical community had a negative attitude towards the consumption of raw fruits. It must be understood that everything sour or "cold" was considered unsuitable for nutrition, causing various diseases. This situation is connected with a delusion, the roots of which rest in the works of ancient authors, including Hippocrates and Galen.

It was believed that four fluids flow in the human body: blood, phlegm, black and yellow bile.

The predominance of one of them had a direct impact on the health, behavior and psyche of a person. For example, black bile led to melancholy and mental disorders. Thus, the "cold" product excited the "cold" liquid.

For this reason, most of the fruit was used for the preparation of alcoholic beverages, pastries, and as a side dish. Apples And pears were much more bitter than today, and were often served with meat dishes. Quince added to stew. From drain made fruit mousse. Peaches eaten before meals to stimulate appetite, although if consumed after, they acted as a laxative. cherry canned. strawberries And Strawberry often associated with the Virgin Mary and were a delicacy. Pomegranate in the Middle Ages it was considered a symbol of fertility and a positive effect on potency. citruses were very popular in the Arab countries, but in Europe they were considered food of the rich segments of the population.

nuts

Nuts were very popular in the Middle Ages. Almond, for example, was widespread to such an extent that in some cookbooks a quarter of the recipes could not do without it. Sauces, marzipan, nougat were made from it. As today, in the Middle Ages, almonds were considered beneficial for the brain. In addition, doctors were sure that a handful of these nuts helps to stay drunk longer from alcohol. walnut And cedar nuts were popular during Lent. chestnuts appreciated for its nutritional properties, especially necessary during the period of famine, but criticized for causing flatulence.

condiments

As already mentioned above, without salt not a single feast was spared. It was of two types: stone and sea. In addition to eating, salt was used to preserve food. Honey often served the same purpose. Medieval cooks sought to ensure that their honey was as white as possible in consistency, and doctors added it to medicines. But the main use, of course, was the production of mead. Vinegar It was called "sour wine" and was a universal seasoning. The so-called verjuice made from the tart juice of a wild apple tree.

Peter Aertsen - Butcher's shop

Meat

Pork considered one of the most nutritious types of meat. A number of medieval physicians even wrote that it tasted closest to human flesh. Such messages were not uncommon.

Although most researchers of medieval history are sure that cannibalism, even during sieges, was extremely rare.

Domesticated pigs were of two types: short-legged, kept in a corral, and long-legged, which could roam both in the local forest and right along the village streets. Not a single part of the pork was wasted, because even the bladder, stomach and intestines of the animal were used as food. By the way, wild meat wild boar considered even healthier than domestic pork.

Beef was less common. Cows were used as arable animals, from whose milk cheese and butter were produced. In addition, beef was considered the cheapest type of meat that could lead a person to melancholy.

Mutton occupied the most honorable place in the market and at a price much higher than the cost of pork. Roasted leg of lamb seasoned with garlic and cooked with cinnamon, saffron, lemon juice and quince was considered the highest culinary masterpiece.

Chicken and to this day remains the most common meat. A quarter of the dishes of the Middle Ages contained chicken meat. The medical community considered it ideal both for daily use and for the quick recovery of a sick person, improving blood circulation and potency.

goose often stood in the center of the monastery feast. Duck criticized by doctors and rarely eaten. Peacock, despite its beautiful appearance, had tough meat, but its presence in the poultry house was used as a demonstration of status.

A fish

It is difficult to imagine the Middle Ages without fish. Firstly, it was more accessible to all segments of the population and provided the population of Europe with protein. Secondly, at the time of fasting, when the consumption of meat was forbidden, believers switched to fish. It was fried, smoked, boiled, baked, added to pies and made fish jelly. However, it should be noted that cooks and doctors rarely made a distinction between different types of fish, considering them equally tasty and healthy.

Joachim Beckeler - The Four Elements: Water

Drink, eat, have fun

It can be concluded that everything that we still eat today was present in the diet of a medieval person, however, the predominance of certain products depended on a number of factors: financial, religious, whether a person trusted doctors and whether he was generally familiar with them. works. Also, what medieval writers called Europe was more of England, France, and partly Germany, but Eastern Europe had its own unique dishes.

Another thing is that the set of rules of behavior at the table and the organization of the process itself were unusual. A real theatrical performance at a medieval festival is still an object of interest for both professionals, scientists, reenactors, and just interested people.

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Looking at medieval engravings or reading the literature of this era, we involuntarily raise the question of how the difficult life of a medieval person was organized. How people ate at that time, what dishes were the most common, and whether the food for the peasants and the nobility differed. Medieval chroniclers, illustrations, and historical research help shed light on many aspects of medieval cuisine.

Greens were most often consumed raw (onions of different varieties, sorrel, parsley). Carrots were most often boiled with pieces of meat, and legumes were eaten in large quantities, especially among the peasantry, simply by boiling them. Raspberries and wild strawberries were especially popular. The orchards grew cherries and plums.

Beef and pork meat was consumed both separately and as a filling for pies. Cheese was often added to them. Wealthy people ate flat white loaves made from wheat flour, while the villagers were content with bread made from rye flour. In times of famine, bread was replaced with pea cakes, to which oats and acorns were added. Porridge was cooked from lentils, after soaking it.

Milk and its derivatives were more often food for the villagers, and not for the rich townspeople and the nobility. City artisans could have breakfast with fish, bread cakes, ale or cheese, dine with hot meat, often boiled soup. The simpler people usually dined with what was left from breakfast and lunch.

The nobility could eat more varied, not only beef and pork meat. The diet of rich people included all game, without exception. It is known that the nobles themselves loved to hunt and arranged whole games or festive events in someone's honor from hunting. On Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, the devout nobles always fasted, so they had to be content with fish (most often they were pike and carps).

The poor population could not afford to season meat with spices, but they were available to the nobility and the middle class of the population. Cane sugar had already been brought to the European continent, and honey also did not lose its popularity. The cost of almonds, cinnamon, cloves and peppers was very high.

One of the interesting components of the feast among the nobility was bread plates - trenchers. They were not eaten, they served as coasters for the rest of the food, and the servants cut the trenchers. After the meal, they, along with the remnants of other food and sauces, were given to the poor or animals. They were baked from very coarse flour - especially in order to make it more convenient to put food on them.

If the nobility could afford to eat meat almost daily, the peasants "got hold of" meat much less often. Basically, they ate rye bread and sheep cheese, nuts, berries and fruits. Hot in peasant families was served only once a day: usually it was a stew made from grains, where vegetables were added, and on holidays - meat.

An interesting fact: Medieval doctors believed that two meals a day would be enough for all segments of the population. This, they believe, prevents overeating and health problems. In addition, constantly maintaining a fire in the hearth was a very troublesome task. Also, doctors of the Middle Ages advised to sit down to eat again only if a person feels hungry. This meant that the earlier food had already left the body. If a person started a meal when the previously eaten food did not have time to be digested, it was considered harmful. Maybe we should heed similar advice in order not to overeat.

A lot has already been written about medieval cuisine and even more has been said. This question is very popular among researchers.
But it is necessary to clarify one point again, namely: the dishes served on the tables of the gentlemen - aristocrats, landowners, people convicted of power, both spiritual and secular - were very significantly different from what ordinary people ate who worked on their lands and dependent on them, including financially.

However, when in the XIII century, the boundaries between the classes began to blur, the powers that be took care of how to keep the workers, and decided to play on the love of the "hearth", allowing the peasants to feast on food from their table.

Pasta
There are many legends about cuisine and recipes. The most beautiful of them was described by Marco Polo, who in 1295 brought with her from his trip to Asia a recipe for making dumplings and "threads" of dough.
It is assumed that this story was heard by a Venetian chef who began to tirelessly mix water, flour, eggs, sunflower oil and salt, and did this until he achieved the best consistency for noodle dough.
It is not known whether this is true or whether noodles came to Europe from the Arab countries thanks to the crusaders and merchants, but the fact that European cuisine soon became unthinkable without it is a fact.
However, in the 15th century, there were still bans on the preparation of pasta, since in the event of a particularly unsuccessful harvest, flour was needed for baking bread. But since the Renaissance, the triumphal march of pasta across Europe has been unstoppable.

Porridge and thick soup.
Until the era of the Roman Empire, porridge was present in the diet of all strata of society, and only then turned into food for the poor. However, it was very popular with them, they ate it three or even four times a day, and in some houses they ate exclusively on it alone. This state of affairs continued until the 18th century, when potatoes replaced porridge.
It should be noted that the porridge of that time is significantly different from our current ideas about this product: medieval porridge cannot be called "porridge-like", in the sense that we attach to this word today, it was hard, hard enough that it could be cut. Another feature of that porridge was that it did not matter what it consisted of.
In one Irish law of the 8th century, it is clearly stated which segments of the population, what kind of porridge should have been eaten: “For the lower class, oatmeal cooked with buttermilk and old butter for it is quite enough; representatives of the middle class are supposed to eat porridge from pearl barley and fresh milk, and put fresh butter in it; and the royal offspring should be served with honey-sweetened porridge made from wheat flour and fresh milk.
Along with porridge, since ancient times, mankind has known a "one-course lunch" - a thick soup that replaces the first and second.
It is found in the cuisines of various cultures (Arabs and Chinese use a double pot for its preparation - meat and various vegetables are boiled in the lower compartment, and rice “reaches” steam on the rising from it) and just like porridge, it was food for the poor, while for its preparations did not use expensive ingredients.
There is also a practical explanation for the special love for this dish: in medieval cuisine (both princely and peasant), food was cooked in a cauldron suspended on rotating mechanisms over an open fire (later in a fireplace). And what could be easier than throwing all the ingredients that you can get into such a cauldron and making a rich broth from them. At the same time, the taste of the soup is very easy to change by simply changing the ingredients.
Although archaeological finds show that much more often the peasants ate barley porridge and vegetables, they also ate meat.

Meat, fat, butter
Having read books about the life of aristocrats, impressed by the colorful descriptions of feasts, modern man firmly believed that representatives of this class ate exclusively game. In fact, this dish was only 5% in their diet.
Pheasants, swans, wild ducks, capercaillie, deer... It sounds magical. But in fact, chickens, geese, sheep and goats were usually served at the table.
A special place in medieval cuisine occupied roast.
Talking or reading about meat cooked on a skewer or a grill, we forget about the more than insignificant development of dentistry at that time. But how to chew hard meat with a toothless jaw? Ingenuity came to the rescue: the meat was kneaded in a mortar to a mushy state, thickened by adding eggs and flour, and the resulting mass was fried on a spit in the form of an ox or a sheep.
They also sometimes acted with fish, a feature of this variation of the dish was that the "porridge" was pushed into the skin skillfully pulled off the fish, and then boiled or fried.
The corresponding state of dentistry also influenced the fact that vegetables were usually served in the form of mashed potatoes (chopped vegetables were mixed with flour and egg). The first who began to serve vegetables to the table cut into pieces was the meter Martino.
It seems strange to us now that fried meat in the Middle Ages was often also cooked in broth, and the cooked chicken, rolled in flour, was added to the soup. With such a double treatment, the meat lost not only its crispy crust, but also its taste.
As for the fat content of food and ways to make it fat, the aristocrats used sunflower oil, and later butter, for these purposes, and the peasants were content with lard.

canning
Drying, smoking and salting as methods of food preservation in the Middle Ages were already known.

1. They dried fruits - pears, apples, cherries - and vegetables. Dried or dried in the oven, they were preserved for a long time and were often used in cooking: they were especially liked to be added to wine. Fruits were also used to make compote (fruits, ginger). However, the resulting liquid was not consumed immediately, but thickened and then cut: it turned out something like sweets - pra-candy.

2. They smoked meat, fish and sausage - this was primarily due to the seasonality of slaughtering, which took place in October-November, since, firstly, in early November it was necessary to pay a tax in kind, and secondly, this allowed do not spend money on animal feed in winter.

3. Sea fish, imported for consumption during fasting, was preferred to be salted. Many varieties of vegetables were also salted, for example, beans and peas. As for cabbage, it was fermented, that is, it was placed in brine.

condiments
Spices were an integral part of medieval cuisine.
Moreover, it makes no sense to distinguish between seasonings for the poor and seasonings for the rich, because only the rich could afford to have spices.
It was easier and cheaper to buy pepper. The import of pepper made very many rich, but also many, namely those who cheated and mixed dried berries into pepper, led to the gallows. Along with pepper, the favorite spices in the Middle Ages were cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg. Saffron must be specially mentioned: it was even several times more expensive than the very expensive nutmeg (in the 20s of the 15th century, when nutmeg was sold for 48 kreuzers, saffron cost about one hundred and eighty, which corresponded to the price of a horse).
Most cookbooks of that period do not specify the proportions of spices, but based on books from a later period, one can conclude that these proportions did not correspond to our today's tastes, and dishes seasoned, as was done in the Middle Ages, might seem to us very sharp and even burn the palate.
Spices were not only used to show off wealth, they also masked the smell of meat and other foods. Meat and fish stocks in the Middle Ages were often salted so that they would not deteriorate for as long as possible and would not cause illness. And, consequently, spices were designed to drown out not only smells but also taste - the taste of salt. Or sour. Sour wine was sweetened with spices, honey and rose water so that it could be served to the gentlemen.
Some modern authors, referring to the length of the journey from Asia to Europe, believe that spices lost their taste and smell during transportation, and essential oils were added to return them to them.
Zelenyushka
Herbs were valued for their healing power, treatment without herbs was unthinkable. But in cooking, they occupied a special place.
Southern herbs, namely marjoram, basil and thyme, which are familiar to modern man, did not exist in the Middle Ages in northern countries.
But such herbs were used, which we will not remember today.
We, as before, know and appreciate the magical properties of parsley (a favorite green in the Middle Ages), mint, dill, cumin, sage, lovage, savory, fennel; nettle and calendula are still fighting for a place in the sun and in the pot. But who will remember today, for example, lily flowers or beet tops?

Almond milk and marzipan
In every medieval kitchen of the powerful, in addition to spices, almonds were always present. They especially liked to make almond milk from it (crushed almonds, wine, water), which was then used as the basis for preparing various dishes and sauces, and during fasting they were replaced with real milk.
Marzipan, also made from almonds (grated almonds with sugar syrup), was a luxury in the Middle Ages. In fact, this dish is considered a Greco-Roman invention. The researchers conclude that the small almond cakes that the Romans sacrificed to their gods were the forerunners of the sweet almond dough (pane Martius (spring bread) - Marzipan).

honey and sugar
Food in the Middle Ages was sweetened exclusively with honey.
Although cane sugar was known in southern Italy already in the 8th century, the rest of Europe learned the secret of its production only during the Crusades. But even then, sugar continued to be a luxury: at the beginning of the 15th century, six kilograms of sugar cost as much as a horse.
Only in 1747, Andreas Sigismund Markgraf discovered the secret of sugar production from sugar beets, but this did not particularly affect the state of affairs. Industrial and, accordingly, mass production of sugar began only in the 19th century, and only then did sugar become a product "for everyone."

These facts allow us to take a fresh look at medieval feasts: only those who possessed excessive wealth could afford to arrange them, because most of the dishes consisted of sugar, and many of the dishes were intended only to be admired and admired, but in no way were used for food.

Feasts
We read with amazement about the carcasses of hazel dormouse, storks, eagles, bears and beaver tails, which were served at the table in those days.
We think about how tough the meat of storks and beavers must taste, about how rare such animals as push dormouse and hazel dormouse are.
At the same time, we forget that numerous changes of dishes were intended, first of all, not to satisfy hunger, but to demonstrate wealth. Who could be indifferent to the sight of such a dish as a peacock "spewing" a flame? And the fried bear paws flaunted on the table were definitely not to glorify the hunting abilities of the owner of the house, belonging to the highest circles of society and hardly earning his living by hunting.
Along with amazing hot dishes, sweet baked works of art were served at feasts; dishes made of sugar, gypsum, salt, human height and even more.
All this was intended mainly for visual perception.
Especially for these purposes, holidays were arranged, at which the prince and princess publicly tasted dishes from meat, poultry, cakes, and pastries on a hill. There was an incredible amount of food and, it should be noted, to the honor of the princes, that the remnants of food, not eaten by servants and maids, were divided among the poor.

colorful food
Multi-colored dishes in the Middle Ages were extremely popular and at the same time easy to prepare.
Coats of arms, family colors and even whole pictures were depicted on pies and cakes; many sweet foods, such as almond milk jelly, were given a wide variety of colors (in the cookbooks of the Middle Ages you can find a recipe for making such a tricolor jelly).
Meat, fish, chicken were also painted.

Most common dyes:
Green: parsley or spinach
Black: grated black bread or gingerbread; clove powder, black cherry juice.
Red: vegetable or berry juice, (red) beets.
Yellow: saffron or egg yolk with flour
Brown: onion skin

They also liked to gild and silver the dishes, but, of course, this could only be done by the cooks of the gentlemen, who were able to put at their disposal the appropriate means. And although the addition of coloring substances changed the taste of the dish, they turned a blind eye to this in order to obtain a beautiful color.

However, with colored food, sometimes funny and not so funny things happened. So, at one holiday in Florence, guests almost got poisoned by the colorful creation of an inventor-cook who used chlorine to get white and verdigris to get green.

Fast
Medieval cooks also showed their resourcefulness and skill during fasting: when preparing fish dishes, they seasoned them in a special way so that they tasted like meat, invented pseudo-eggs and tried by all means to circumvent the strict rules of fasting.
The clergy and their cooks especially tried. So, for example, they expanded the concept of "aquatic animals", including the beaver (its tail passed under the category "fish scales").
After all, fasting then lasted a third of a year. Today it seems wild to us, however, it was so, and even more than that: there were still fasting days - Wednesday and Friday - on which it was forbidden to eat meat.
Strictly speaking, fasting is not limited to the rejection of meat. It is also the rejection of eggs, milk, dairy products such as, for example, cheese and cottage cheese. Only in 1491 was it allowed to eat milk and eggs during fasting.

This is what concerns rules for ordinary people. In addition to them, there were rules for certain groups of the population, in particular, for members of spiritual orders. So the Benedictines (respectively, the monks, and not the higher clergy) could not eat four-legged animals.
There were problems with the consumption of chicken until the ninth century, when Bishop von Mainz found a loophole in the law: birds and fish were created by God on the same day, so they should be classified as one type of animal. And just as you can eat fish caught from the depths of the sea, you can also eat a bird fished out of a bowl of soup.

Four meals a day
The day began with the first breakfast, limited to a glass of wine.
Approximately at 9 o'clock in the morning it was time for the second breakfast, which consisted of several courses.
It should be clarified that these are not modern "first, second and compote". Each course consisted of a large number of dishes, which were brought to the table by the servants. This led to the fact that anyone who arranged a banquet - whether on the occasion of christenings, weddings or funerals - tried not to lose face and serve as many goodies to the table as possible, not paying attention to their abilities, and therefore often getting into debt.

To put an end to this state of affairs, numerous regulations were introduced that regulated the number of dishes and even the number of guests. So, for example, in 1279, the French king Philip III issued a decree stating that "not a single duke, count, baron, prelate, knight, cleric, etc. has the right to eat more than three modest meals (cheeses and vegetables, unlike cakes and pastries, were not taken into account)

The modern tradition is to serve one dish at a time. comes to Europe from Russia only in the 18th century.

At dinner, it was again allowed to drink only a glass of wine, biting it with a piece of bread soaked in wine.
And only for dinner, which took place from 3 to 6 pm, an incredible amount of food was again served.
Naturally, this is a "schedule" for the upper strata of society.
Peasants and workers were busy with business and could not devote as much time to eating as aristocrats (often they managed to have only one modest snack during the day), and their incomes did not allow them to do this: instead of a morning glass of wine - beer, instead of fried meat and sweets - barley porridge and vegetable "soup".

Cutlery and crockery
Two eating utensils were hard to win recognition in the Middle Ages: a fork and a plate for individual use.
Yes, there were wooden plates for the lower strata and silver or even gold ones for the higher strata, but they ate mainly from common dishes. Moreover, instead of a plate, stale bread was sometimes used for these purposes, which slowly absorbed and did not allow to stain the table.

Here it is necessary to say a few words about sauces. Medieval sauces were different from today: they were very thick, to the point that they could be cut. Therefore, the thought of expensive gravy boats on the princely tables should be abandoned ... But it is quite possible to imagine the sauce lying on stale bread, acting as a stand.
The fork “suffered” from the prejudices that existed in society: its shape earned it a reputation as a devilish creation, and its Byzantine origin earned it a suspicious attitude. Therefore, she was able to “break through” on the table only as a device for meat. Only in the Baroque era, disputes about the merits and demerits of the fork became fierce.
On the contrary, everyone had their own knife, even women wore it on a belt.

Tables also featured spoons, salt shakers, rock-crystal glasses, and drinking vessels—often richly decorated, gilded, or even silver. However, the latter were not individual, even in rich houses they were shared with neighbors. Crockery and cutlery for ordinary people were made of wood and clay. Many peasants in the house had only one spoon for the whole family, and if someone did not want to wait until it reached him in a circle, he could use a piece of bread instead of this cutlery.

Behavior at the table
They threw chicken legs and meatballs in all directions, wiped their dirty hands on their shirt and trousers, burped and farted to their heart's content, torn food into pieces, and then swallowed it without chewing ...
So or so, having read the records of cunning innkeepers or their adventurous visitors, we imagine today the behavior of knights at the table. In reality, everything was not so extravagant, although there were also curious moments that amazed us. In many satires, rules of conduct at the table, descriptions of the customs of eating, it is reflected that morality did not always take a place at the table along with its owner. For example, the prohibition against blowing your nose on a tablecloth would not be so common if this bad habit were not very common.
There were no tables in their modern form (that is, when the tabletop is attached to the legs) in the Middle Ages. The table was built when there was a need for it: wooden stands were installed, and a wooden board was placed on them.

Therefore, in the Middle Ages, they did not remove the table from the table - they removed the table ...

Powerful medieval Europe highly valued its cooks.
In Germany, since 1291 the chef has been one of the four most important figures at court. In France, only noble people became cooks of the highest ranks. The position of the chief winemaker of France was the third most important after the positions of chamberlain and chief equerry. Then followed the manager of bread baking, the chief cupbearer, the chef, the restaurant managers closest to the court, and only then the marshals and admirals.

As for the kitchen hierarchy - and there a huge number (up to 800 people) of interdependent workers were employed - the first place was given to the head of the meat. A position characterized by the honor and trust of the king, for no one was immune from poison. At his disposal were six people who every day chose and prepared meat for the royal family. Teilevant, the famous cook of King Charles the Sixth, had 150 people under his command.
And in England, for example, at the court of Richard the Second, there were 1,000 cooks, 300 lackeys, who daily served 10,000 people at the court. A dizzying figure, demonstrating that it was important not so much to feed as to demonstrate wealth.

In the Middle Ages, along with spiritual literature, it was cookbooks that were most often and willingly copied.
Between about 1345 and 1352, the earliest cookbook of this time, Buoch von guoter spise (The Book of Good Food), was written. The author is considered to be the notary of the Bishop of Würzburg, Michael de Leon, who, along with his duties to mark budget expenditures, was involved in the collection of prescriptions.
Fifty years later, "Alemannische Buchlein von guter Speise" (Alemanian little book on good food) appears, by Master Hansen, a Württemberg cook. This was the first cookbook in the Middle Ages to have the name of the compiler on it. A collection of recipes by the meter Eberhard, the cook of Duke Heinrich III von Bayern-Landshut, appeared around 1495.

Around 1350, the French cookbook "Le Grand Cuisinier de toute Cuisine" was created, and in 1381, the English "Ancient Cookery".
1390 - "The Forme of Cury", by the cook of King Richard II. As regards the Danish collections of recipes from the thirteenth century, it is worth mentioning "Libellus de Arte Coquinaria" by Henrik Harpenstreng.
1354 - Catalan "Libre de Sent Sovi" by an unknown author.

The most famous cookbook of the Middle Ages was created by the master Guillaume Tyrell, better known by his creative pseudonym Teylivent. He was the cook of King Charles the Sixth, and later even received the title. The book was written between 1373 and 1392, and published only a century later and included, along with well-known dishes, very original recipes that a rare gourmet would dare to cook today. Today it is believed that the real author of the book was not Teylivent at all, however, he did not just copy the recipes, but improved them and brought them into line with his era.

Every year there is a higher and higher level of preparation for medieval festivals. The most severe requirements are imposed on the identity of the costume, shoes, tent, household items. However, for a stronger immersion in the environment, it would be good to adhere to other rules of the eras. One of them is identical food. It happens that the reenactor spends money on the costume of a rich nobleman, selects a yard (team), entourage, and buckwheat porridge in a bowler hat and on the table.

What did the inhabitants of various classes of the city and village eat in the Middle Ages?

In the XI-XIII centuries. the food of most of the population of Western Europe was very monotonous. They especially ate a lot of bread. Bread and wine (grape juice) were the main staples of the unprivileged population of Europe. According to French researchers, in the X-XI centuries. secular persons and monks consumed 1.6-1.7 kg of bread per day, which was washed down with a large amount of wine, grape juice or water. Peasants were often limited to 1 kg of bread and 1 liter of juice per day. The poorest drank fresh water, and so that it would not go rotten, they put marsh plants containing ether - aronnik, calamus, etc. in it. A wealthy city dweller in the late Middle Ages ate up to 1 kg of bread daily. The main European cereals during the Middle Ages were wheat and rye, of which the former prevailed in Southern and Central Europe, the latter in Northern Europe. Barley was extremely widespread. The main grain crops significantly supplemented spelt and millet (in the southern regions), oats (in the northern regions). In Southern Europe, mainly wheat bread was consumed, in Northern Europe - barley, in Eastern Europe - rye. For a long time, bread products were unleavened cakes (bread in the form of a long loaf and carpets began to be baked only towards the end of the Middle Ages). The cakes were hard and dry because they were baked without yeast. Barley cakes were preserved longer than others, so warriors (including crusader knights) and wanderers preferred to take them on the road.

Medieval mobile bread maker 1465-1475. Most of the ovens were naturally stationary.	The feast in the Matsievsky Bible (B. M. 1240-1250) looks very modest. Whether the features of the image. Whether in the middle of the 13th century it was difficult with food.
They kill the bull with a hammer. "Book of Trecento Drawings" Tacuina sanitatis Casanatense 4182 (XIV century)	Fish seller. "Book of Trecento Drawings" Tacuina sanitatis Casanatense 4182 (XIV century)
Feast, page detail January, Book of Hours by the Limburg brothers, cycle "The Seasons". 1410-1411	Vegetable trade. Hood. Joachim Beuckelaer (1533-74)
Dance among the eggs, 1552. thin. Aertsen Pieter	The interior of the kitchen from the parable of the feast, 1605. Hood. Joachim Wtewael
Fruit merchant 1580. Art. Vincenzo Campi Vincenzo Campi (1536–1591)	Fishwife. Hood. Vincenzo Campi Vincenzo Campi (1536–1591)
Kitchen. Hood. Vincenzo Campi Vincenzo Campi (1536–1591)	Game shop, 1618-1621. Hood. Franz Snyders Franz Snyders (with Jan Wildens)

The bread of the poor differed from the bread of the rich. The first was predominantly rye and of low quality. Wheat bread made from sifted flour was common on the table of the rich. Obviously, the peasants, even if they grew wheat, hardly knew the taste of wheat bread. Their lot was rye bread made from poorly ground flour. Often, bread was replaced with cakes made from flour of other cereals, and even from chestnuts, which played the role of a very important food resource in Southern Europe (before the appearance of potatoes). In famine years, the poor added acorns and roots to bread.

Next in frequency of consumption after bread and grape juice (or wine) were salads and vinaigrettes. Although their components were different than in our time. Of the vegetables, the main plant was the turnip. It has been used since the 6th century. in raw, boiled and mushy form. Turnip necessarily included in the daily menu. Behind the turnip came the radish. In northern Europe, turnips and cabbages were added to almost every dish. In the East - horseradish, in the South - lentils, peas, beans of different varieties. They even baked bread from peas. Stews were usually prepared with peas or beans.

The assortment of medieval garden crops differed from the modern one. In the course were asparagus, budyak, kupena, which were added to the salad; quinoa, potashnik, curly, - mixed in vinaigrette; sorrel, nettle, hogweed - added to the soup. Raw chewed bearberry, knotweed, mint and bison.

Carrots and beets entered the diet only in the 16th century.

The most common fruit crops in the Middle Ages were apple and gooseberries. In fact, until the end of the fifteenth century. the assortment of vegetables and fruits grown in the vegetable gardens and orchards of Europeans did not change significantly compared to the Roman era. But, thanks to the Arabs, the Europeans of the Middle Ages got acquainted with citrus fruits: oranges and lemons. From Egypt came almonds, from the East (after the Crusades) - apricots.

In addition to bread, they ate a lot of cereals. In the North - barley, in the East - rye grout, in the South - semolina. Buckwheat was hardly sown in the Middle Ages. Millet and spelt were very common crops. Millet is the oldest cereal in Europe; millet cakes and millet porridge were made from it. From the unpretentious spelled, which grew almost everywhere and was not afraid of the vagaries of the weather, they made noodles. Corn, potatoes, tomatoes, sunflowers and many other things known today, medieval people did not yet know.

The diet of ordinary townspeople and peasants differed from the modern one by insufficient protein content. About 60% of the diet (if not more in certain low-income groups of the population) was occupied by carbohydrates: bread, flat cakes, various cereals. Insufficient nutritional value of food was compensated by quantity. People only ate when their stomachs were full. And the feeling of satiety, as a rule, was associated with heaviness in the stomach. Meat was consumed relatively rarely, mainly during the holidays. True, the table of noble seigneurs, clergy and urban aristocracy was very plentiful and varied.

There have always been differences in the nutrition of the "tops" and "bottoms" of society. The first were not infringed upon in meat dishes, primarily due to the prevalence of hunting, since in the forests of the medieval West at that time there was still quite a lot of game. There were bears, wolverines, deer, wild boars, roe deer, aurochs, bison, hares; birds - black grouse, partridges, capercaillie, bustards, wild geese, ducks, etc. According to archaeologists, medieval people ate the meat of birds such as cranes, sea eagles, magpies, rooks, herons, bitterns. Small birds from the order of passerines were considered a delicacy. Chopped starlings and tits diluted vegetable salads. Fried kinglets and shrikes were served cold. Orioles and flycatchers were baked, wagtails were stewed. Swallows and larks were stuffed into pies. The more beautiful the bird was, the more refined the dish was considered from it. For example, nightingale tongue pate was prepared only on major holidays by royal or ducal cooks. At the same time, significantly more animals were exterminated than they could be eaten or stored for future use, and, as a rule, most of the meat of wild animals simply disappeared due to the inability to save it. Therefore, by the end of the Middle Ages, hunting could no longer be relied upon as a sure means of subsistence. Secondly, the table of a noble person could always be replenished at the expense of the city market (the market in Paris was especially famous for its abundance), where you could buy a wide variety of products - from game to fine wines and fruits. In addition to game, the meat of poultry and animals was consumed - pork (a part of the forest was usually fenced off for fattening pigs and wild boars were driven there), lamb, goat meat; goose and chicken meat. The balance of meat and vegetable food depended not only on the geographical, economic and social, but also on the religious conditions of society. As you know, in total, about half of the year (166 days) in the Middle Ages were fast days associated with the four main and weekly (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday) fasts. These days, with more or less severity, it was forbidden to eat meat and meat and dairy products. Exceptions were made only for seriously ill patients, women in childbirth, Jews. In the Mediterranean region, meat was consumed less than in Northern Europe. It was probably the hot climate of the Mediterranean. But not only him. Due to the traditional lack of fodder, grazing, etc. there were fewer livestock. The highest consumption in Europe during the late Middle Ages was the consumption of meat in Hungary: an average of about 80 kg per year. In Italy, in Florence, for example, about 50 kg. In Siena 30 kg in the 15th century. People in Central and Eastern Europe ate more beef and pork. In England, Spain, Southern France and Italy - lamb. Pigeons were bred especially for food. The townspeople ate more meat than the peasants. Of all the types of food consumed then, it was mainly pork that was easily digested, other products often contributed to indigestion. Probably for this reason, the type of a fat, puffy person, outwardly rather portly, but in reality simply malnourished and suffering from unhealthy corpulence, became widespread.

Noticeably supplemented and diversified the table of a medieval person (especially on the days of numerous long fasts) fish - fresh (raw or half-cooked fish was eaten mainly in winter, when there was not enough greens and vitamins), but especially smoked, dried, dried or salted (they ate such fish on the road, just like cakes). For the inhabitants of the sea coast, fish and seafood were almost the main food. The Baltic and the North Sea fed herring, the Atlantic - cod and mackerel, the Mediterranean - tuna and sardines. Away from the sea, the waters of large and small rivers and lakes served as a source of rich fish resources. Fish, to a lesser extent than meat, was the privilege of the rich. But if the food of the poor was cheap local fish, then the rich could afford to feast on "noble" fish brought from afar.

The mass salting of fish for a long time was hindered by the lack of salt, which was a very expensive product in those days. Rock salt was rarely mined, more often salt-containing sources were used: salt water was evaporated in salt pans, and then the salt was pressed into cakes, which were sold at a high price. Sometimes these lumps of salt - of course, this applies primarily to the early Middle Ages - played the role of money. But even later, the housewives took care of every pinch of salt, so it was not easy to salt a lot of fish. The lack of salt was partly compensated by the use of spices - cloves, pepper, cinnamon, laurel, nutmeg, and many others. etc. Pepper and cinnamon were brought from the East, and they were very expensive, since ordinary people could not afford them. The common people more often ate mustard, dill, cumin, onion, and garlic that grew everywhere. The widespread use of spices can be explained not only by the gastronomic tastes of the era, but it was also prestigious. In addition, spices were used to diversify dishes and, if possible, hide the bad smell of meat, fish, poultry, which were difficult to keep fresh in the Middle Ages. And, finally, the abundance of spices, put in sauces and gravies, compensated for the poor processing of products and the roughness of the dishes. At the same time, spices very often changed the initial taste of food and caused a strong burning sensation in the stomach.

In the XI-XIII centuries. medieval man rarely ate dairy products and consumed little fat. The main source of vegetable fat for a long time was flax and hemp (olive oil was common in Greece and the Middle East, it was practically unknown north of the Alps); animal is a pig. It has been noticed that in the south of Europe fats of vegetable origin were more common, in the north - animal fats. Vegetable oil was also made from pistachios, almonds, walnuts and pine nuts, chestnuts and mustard.

From milk, the inhabitants of the mountains (especially in Switzerland) made cheese, the inhabitants of the plains - cottage cheese. Sour milk was used to make curdled milk. Very rarely, milk was used to make sour cream and butter. Animal oil in general was an extraordinary luxury, and was constantly on the table only of kings, emperors, and the highest nobility. For a long time, Europe was limited in sweets, sugar appeared in Europe thanks to the Arabs and up to the 16th century. considered a luxury. It was obtained from sugar cane and was expensive and labor intensive to produce. Therefore, sugar was available only to the wealthy sections of society.

Of course, the provision of food products largely depended on the natural, climatic and weather conditions of a particular area. Any whim of nature (drought, heavy rains, early frosts, storms, etc.) brought the peasant economy out of its usual rhythm and could lead to famine, the fear of which Europeans experienced throughout the Middle Ages. Therefore, it is no coincidence that during the Middle Ages many medieval authors constantly talk about the threat of famine. For example, an empty stomach became a recurring theme in the medieval novel about the fox Renard. In the conditions of the Middle Ages, when the threat of hunger always lay in wait for a person, the main advantage of food and the table was satiety and abundance. On a holiday, it was necessary to eat so that on hungry days there was something to remember. Therefore, for a wedding in the village, the family slaughtered the last cattle and cleaned the cellar to the ground. On weekdays, a piece of bacon with bread was considered by an English commoner as “royal food”, and some Italian sharecropper limited himself to a loaf of bread with cheese and onions. In general, as F. Braudel points out, during the late Middle Ages, the average mass was limited to 2 thousand calories per day and only the upper strata of society “reached out” to the needs of a modern person (it is defined as 3.5 - 5 thousand calories). They ate in the Middle Ages usually twice a day. A funny saying has survived from those times that angels need food once a day, people twice, and animals three times. They ate at different hours than now. The peasants had breakfast no later than 6 o’clock in the morning (it is no coincidence that the breakfast in German was called “frushtyuk”, i.e. “early piece”, the French name for breakfast “degen” and Italian - “didjune” (early) are similar in meaning to it. ) In the morning they ate most of the daily diet in order to work better. Soup ripened during the day (“supe” in France, “sopper” (soup food) in England, “mittag” (noon) in Germany), and people had lunch. By evening, the work was over - there was no need to eat. As soon as it got dark, the common people of the village and city went to bed. Over time, the nobility imposed its food tradition on the whole society: breakfast approached noon, lunch wedged in the middle of the day, dinner shifted towards evening.

At the end of the 15th century, the first consequences of the Great geographical discoveries began to affect the food of Europeans. After the discovery of the New World, pumpkin, zucchini, Mexican cucumber, sweet potatoes (yam), beans, peppers, cocoa, coffee, as well as corn (maize), potatoes, tomatoes, sunflowers, which were brought by the Spaniards and the British from America, appeared in the diet of Europeans. at the beginning of the sixteenth century.

Of the drinks, grape wine traditionally occupied the first place - and not only because the Europeans were happy to indulge in the joys of Bacchus. The consumption of wine was forced by the poor quality of the water, which, as a rule, was not boiled and which, due to the fact that nothing was known about pathogenic microbes, caused stomach diseases. They drank a lot of wine, according to some researchers, up to 1.5 liters per day. Wine was given even to children. Wine was necessary not only for meals, but also for the preparation of medicines. Along with olive oil, it was considered a good solvent. Wine was also used for church needs, during the liturgy, and grape must satisfied the needs of a medieval person for sweets. But if the main part of the population resorted to local wine, often of poor quality, then the upper strata of society ordered fine wines from distant countries. Cypriot, Rhine, Moselle, Tokay wines, and malvasia enjoyed a high reputation in the late Middle Ages. At a later time - port wine, madeira, sherry, malaga. In the south, natural wines were preferred, in the north of Europe, in cooler climates, fortified ones. Over time, they became addicted to vodka and alcohol (they learned how to make alcohol in distillers around 1100, but for a long time the manufacture of alcohol was in the hands of pharmacists, who considered alcohol as a medicine that gives a feeling of “warmth and confidence”), which for a long time belonged to medicines. At the end of the XV century. this "medicine" was to the taste of so many citizens that the Nuremberg authorities were forced to ban the sale of alcohol on holidays. In the fourteenth century Italian liquor appeared, in the same century they learned how to make alcohol from fermented grain.

Crush of grapes. Pergola training, 1385 Bologne, Niccolo-student, Forli.	Brewer at work. the housebook of the brother "s endowment of the family Mendel 1425.
Party at the tavern, Flanders 1455	Good and bad manners. Valerius Maximus, Facta et dicta memorabilia, Bruges 1475

The truly popular drink, especially north of the Alps, was beer, which did not refuse to know. The best beer was brewed from germinated barley (malt) with the addition of hops (by the way, the use of hops for brewing was precisely the discovery of the Middle Ages, the first reliable mention of it dates back to the 12th century; in general, barley beer (braga) was known in antiquity) and what some cereal. From the twelfth century Beer is mentioned all the time. Barley beer (ale) was especially loved in England, but hop-based brewing only arrived from the continent around 1400. Beer consumption was about the same as wine consumption, i.e. 1.5 liters daily. In northern France, beer competed with cider, which was especially widely used from the end of the 15th century. and enjoyed success mainly with the common people.

From the second half of the sixteenth century chocolate appeared in Europe; in the first half of the seventeenth century. - coffee and tea, incl. they cannot be considered "medieval" drinks.