Medieval Cooking The medieval diet, of course, depended much on the class of the individual.

Amon g things eaten by the prosperous were starlings, vultures, gulls, herons, cormor ants, swans, cranes, peacocks, capons, chickens, dogfish, porpoises, seals, whal e, haddock, hedgehogs, cod, salmon, sardines, lamprey eels, crayfish and oysters . Turnips, parsnips, carrots, peas and fava beans were common vegetables, and us e of onions and garlic was common. Far more varied than first thought. At the other end of the social spectrum, peasants survived on broths thickened w ith barley or other grains, and oatcakes cooked in the ashes of fires or on heat ed stones. It was common throughout Europe to leave a stockpot on the fire ember s during the day into which greens or other foods foraged were added, and then t hickened before eating. There may have been some small amount of meat as well, b ut meat was expensive and usually only available on special occasions. Whatever the meal, it was usually well spiced. The Roman conquest brought nutmeg and cloves to Northern Europe, and cinnamon was used before that. Ale and wine were very important elements in the medieval diet. Both contain vit amin and yeast complexes that the medieval diet, especially during the winter, d id not provide. The preservation of food was a difficult matter in that era, and the alcohol in ale and wine represe nted a large number of calories stored in an inexpensive and effective fashion. The following are authentic medieval recipes with their translations: CAUDELL - A frothy wine or ale-based drink. PERIOD: England, 15th century ORIGINAL RECIPE: Caudell. Take faire tryed yolkes of eyren, and cast in a potte; and take good al e, or elles good wyn, a quantite, and sette it ouer e fire / And whan hit is at b oyling, take it fro the fire, and caste ere-to saffron, salt, Sugur; and ceson hi t vppe, and serue hit forth hote. TRANSLATED RECIPE: Beat together the egg yolks ("faire tryed yolkes" means yolks separated from the whites) and wine/ale (use fresh ale or a slightly sweet wine) ; place in a pot over medium to high heat. Bring to a boil while continually stirring with a wire whisk. As the mixture heats up, it will begin to become thick & frothy. (Add mo re egg yolks if needed - the more egg, the thicker & frothier the result. You want the consistency of a well-whipped milkshake.) As soon as it comes to a boil , reduce heat. Beat in sugar to taste, saffron, and a dash of salt. Taste for se asoning and adjust as needed. Serve at once in small bowls or as a drink in glas ses. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tourteletes in fryture - Small fig pies basted with honey. PERIOD: England, 14th century ORIGINAL RECIPE: Tourteletes in fryture. Take figus & grynde hem smal; do erin saffron & powdur fo rt. Close hem in foyles of dowe, & frye hem in oyle. Claryfye hony & flamme hem e

rwyt; ete hem hote or colde. TRANSLATED RECIPE: Finely dice figs; mix in the saffron and the *powder fort spice mixture (to tast e). Roll out the pastry dough and cut into medium-sized circles. On one pastry c ircle place a spoonful of figs, then cover with another circle of dough; seal th e edges well. Fry in hot oil until lightly browned & crispy; remove from heat an d allow to drain. In a pot, heat honey, skimming off any scum that rises. As soo n as the pies have drained, brush on the honey. Eat hot or cold. *Powder fort - a Medieval blend of strong spices, almost always containing peppe r (and never sugar). A nice mix might consist of such spices as black pepper, wh ite pepper, cardamom, ginger, cubeb, clove, etc. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Almond Milk was a standard ingredient in many medieval recipes. Fresh animal mil k did not stay fresh for long and was not readily available at the time. So, rat her than animal milk, medieval cooks used the milky liquid produced by grinding almonds or walnuts. Unlike animal milk, it could be prepared fresh whenever need ed in whatever quantities. Because it was not animal milk, it could be consumed during Church designated meatless days. ALMOND MILK RECIPE: 1 cup ground almonds 2-4 cups boiling water Combine almonds and water. Steep for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sieve the mixture to remove coarse grains. Yield - 2 cups. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FRYTOUR OF PASTERNAKES, OF SKIRWITTES, & OF APPLES - Batter-fried carrots, parsn ips & apples, dressed in almond milk. PERIOD: England, 14th century ORIGINAL RECIPE: Frytour of pasternakes, of skirwittes, & of apples. Take skyrwittes and pasterna kes and apples, & perboile hem. Make a batour of flour and ayren; cast erto ale & yest, safroun & salt. Wete hem in e batour and frye hem in oile or in grece; do e rto almaund mylke, & serue it forth. TRANSLATED RECIPE: Dissolve yeast in luke-warm ale; wait about 10 minutes for the yeast to become a ctivated. Make a thick batter of flour and eggs (beaten); beat in the yeast/ale mixture, saffron, and salt to taste. Thoroughly coat parsnips, carrots and apple s with the batter, then drop into hot oil. Cook until lightly brown and crispy. Remove from oil and drain; place in a serving dish. Cover or drizzle with a thic k Almond Milk. Serve. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------OYLE SOPPES - Onion-ale soup served over bread

PERIOD: England, 15th century ORIGINAL RECIPE: Oyle soppes. Take a good quantite of onyons, and myce hem, noyt to smale, & seth hem in faire water, And take hem vppe; and then take a good quantite of stale a le, as .iij. galons, And there-to take a pynte of goode oyle that is fraied, and cast the onyons there-to, And lete al boyle togidre a grete wile; and caste the re-to Saffron and salt, And en put brede, in maner of brewes, and cast the licour there-on, and serue hit forth hote. TRANSLATED RECIPE: Boil chopped onions until only partially cooked; remove from the water and allow to completely dry. When dry, fry the onions in hot oil until completely cooked through; remove from oil. In a large soup pot, combine ale (stale, flat), onions , saffron, & salt to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cont inue to cook for 15 minutes to hour.Cut the (day-old) bread slices into small st rips or squares; place these in the bottom of your serving bowl or in individual soup bowls. Serve the hot soup over the bread. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------CHARMERCHANDE - Lamb stewed with sage and parsley PERIOD: England, 1500 ORIGINAL RECIPE: For to make charmerchande: Take coastes of motton chopped and putte theym in a f ayre potte and sette it upon the fyre with clene water and boyle it welle: and thanne take percely and sage and bete it in a mort er with brede and drawe it uppe with the brothe and put it in the potte withe the fresshe flesshe and lette it boyle welle togyder: and salte it and serue it. TRANSLATED RECIPE: Place the lamb ribs in a large soup pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, t hen reduce heat and simmer until the ribs are fully cooked. Remove the ribs from the broth. In a food processor or blender, combine bread crumbs, parsley, sage, & broth into a smooth, thick mixture. Return to the pot, add the ribs, & bring to a low boil. S immer for several additional minutes, adding salt to taste. Serve. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PUDDYNG OF PURPAYSSE - Stuffed porpoise stomach PERIOD: England, 15th century ORIGINAL RECIPE: Puddyng of purpaysse. Take e Blode of hym, & e grece of hym self, & Ote-mele, & Sa lt, & Pepir, & Gyngere, & melle ese to-gederys wel, & an putte is in e Gutte of e pur ays, & an lat it see esyli, & not hard, a good whylys; & an take hym vppe, & broyle hym a lytil, & an serue forth. TRANSLATED RECIPE: Combine porpoise blood, porpoise grease, and oatmeal, & season it with salt, pep per, & ginger. This should be a thick & moist stuffing-like mixture. Stuff the p

orpoise stomach about half full with this, as the stuffing will swell during coo king. Sew up the stomach tightly & prick it all over with a large needle to avoi d bursting. Put an upturned plate in the base of a pot of boiling water, stand t he stomach on this and bring back to a boil; boil steadily for 3 to 4 hours. Coo k until done; remove from water and drain well. Place in a broiler and cook for several minutes on both sides to slightly crisp the skin, then serve. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Medieval and Renaissance Clothing and Fashion Trends In the medieval period, just as today, you could find clothing of different styl es. However, the largest variety of styles in the medieval period was generally found with the upper class and the very wealthy who could afford to make the fas hion statements. In short, ones class determined the variety of clothing that wa s worn. Essentially, the more money you had, the better you could dress. For the peasant, the garb was basic and simple. The outer clothing was commonly made of wool with undergarments of linen. As one would expect, the wool garments were hot, heavy and itchy, but fortunately, the linen undergarments made the wo ol a bit more comfortable. The undergarments were laundered, but it was rare to wash the outer garments. While one might think this would serve to create a rath er pungent society, such was not necessarily the case. Though the peasants worke d very hard, frequently at manual labor, they also spent a great deal of time ar ound open fires and smoke. The smoke permeated their clothes and acted as a natu ral deodorant reducing the odors. In the winter and colder months, cloaks, mitte ns and woolen hats were worn as protection from the elements. Shoes were worn, b ut were often a luxury. Leather boots could be found among the peasants, but it was not uncommon for peasants to go without shoes. Along with their woolen dress es, women often wore simple caps. Among the peasants, the wool was generally sho rn from the sheep and spun into the thread for the cloth by the women in the fam ily. Surprisingly enough, dyes were somewhat common, so even the lower class pea sants frequently wore colorful clothing that they dyed themselves. The clergy also had their own style of dress which could be more ornate dependin g on the position of the clergy. A simple friar at a small parish would have sim ple woolen robes and perhaps a rope belt and simple shoes while clergy at larger churches sometimes dressed more ornately. However, the basic style of clothing, robes with belt, was a constant. You could identify the order of the clergyman by the color of robe that was worn. The nobility and upper class was home to the true fashion of the day. Though fas hion changed with the times, there were a number of constants. While still made of wool, wealth meant brighter colors, more flare and a better grade of material . Men wore tunics or jackets with hose, leggings and breeches. The women wore fl owing gowns and elaborate headdresses. The wealthy could also be seen wearing fu rs or jewelry, though the art of cutting gems had not developed significantly, s o the stones were of lesser quality. As the period developed, the clothing becam e more fitted and was often adorned with silver or other metals. The wealthiest could afford silk and fine leather for belts and other accessories. It was also common for knights to have sleeveless coats adorned with elaborate coats of arms though their other dress fit their station in life. Just as wool formed the cornerstone of the early English economy, so was it the foundation of everyone s wardrobe, high-born or low. The vast majority of clothin g was fashioned of this extraordinarily useful renewable resource shorn from she ep. Most of the holy orders wore long woolen habits in emulation of Roman clothing.

One could tell the order by the color of the habit: the Benedictines wore black; the Cistercians, undyed wool or white. St. Benedict stated that a monk's clothe s should be plain but comfortable and they were allowed to wear linen coifs to k eep their heads warm. Throughout medieval times(450-1100) women wore a fairly slender undergarment, or shift, with long, narrow sleeves. In coloured illustrations this is generally white, indicating linen. It is not known how long the shift was, and it most pro bably varied in length. Peasant women wore long woolen gowns over the shift and wimples to cover their h air. Colors were plain; shades of gray, brown, dark blue and red. Shoes were lea ther wrapped around the foot. Beginning in the late 7th century Frankish fashion had a strong influence on Ang lo-Saxon women's clothing. The new gown style was ankle-length, with wide sleev es to the elbow, and was slipped on over the head. Wide bands of contrasting col our adorn these gowns, edging the sleeves and hem and collar line, and sometimes running down the front. These may have been woven bands of wool sewn on, or bro ad areas of dense embroidery. Peasant men wore stockings or tunics. Men generally enjoyed the freedom of going bare-headed except in cold weather when furred caps were worn. By the end of t he period a tall pointed, conical hat was commonly worn. Sheepskin cloaks and mi ttens were worn in winter for protection from the cold and rain. Leather boots w ere covered with wooden patens to keep the feet dry. Better materials, brighter colours and a longer jacket length were usually sign s of aristocracy . The clothing of wealthy merchants tended to be elaborate and changed according to the dictates of fashion. The 7th to 11th century men's tuni cs generally sported sleeves, and a wide variety of sleeve lengths are depicted, including those with long full sleeves, long tight sleeves, and contrasting col oured cuffs along with contrasting collar bands. Illustrations from the 10th and 11th centuries show some very long, calf-length tunics, especially for kings. Towards the end of the medieval period, men of the wealthy classes sported hose and a jacket, while wealthy women wore flowing gowns and elaborate headwear. Kin gs and queens would wear crowns and brightly colored silks, imported from the Ea st at fabulous cost. Men of the Renaissance Age commonly wore boots, pants, a shirt and a vest. Durin g the Renaissance men of wealth began to wear hats of various shapes, richly dec orated to match their splendid costumes. The beret originated in Italy at this t ime. It was made of a circular piece of cloth gathered onto a band decorated wit h jewels or embroidery. Inside the band was a string, which could be tightened t o fit any head. The tiny bow on the inside of men's hats today is a survival of that string. For women, early in the Renaissance period there appeared a long, rigid, almost cone-shaped corset reaching well below the waist to a V in front. The breasts we re forced upward above the corset until fashions changed with the French Revolut ion in 1789. Although the basic garments remained much the same as they had been in the Middle Ages, the relatively natural look was replaced with elaborate sha pes, lacing, padding, and rigidity. Women's hair reappeared, elaborately trimmed with thin veils, ribbons, and jewels. The use of lace and perfume became more c ommon. The German Renaissance was also marked by the development of a unique method of ornamentation known as slashing. Two layers of cloth were placed one over the ot her. The outer was then slashed to reveal the contrasting inner one. Slashing wa

s used extensively in men's and women's gowns, shoes, and caps. Women's robes expanded below the waistline and by 1550 became supported by hoops made of wire or wicker which were held together with ribbons or tapes. The hoop skirt, called the farthingale, reached its maximum width around 1600, when it be came a cartwheel or drum shape. This was combined with ballooned sleeves and exp anded ruffs or circular lace collars. Men had a similar look with puffed out tru nk hose, balloon sleeves, padded doublets, and large ruff collars. It is believed that during the Renaissance, clothes were such an important treas ure that those belonging to the upper classes of nobility and aristocracy would spend all their earnings on what they wore. Renaissance clothing was the epitome of the times, the nation was vain, and even serious men among it looked on a ha ndsome and becoming costume as an element in the perfection of the individual. R enaissance men as well as ladies wore extravagant clothing adorned with gold and precious jewels. During this period a person's wealth was gauged by the value o f the gems sewn onto their clothing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Medieval Laws Medieval law is a tricky thing to nail down, since obviously different countries , regions, and ethnic groups/tribes had very different laws that each group of s ociety adhered to. Since Medieval times covers several centuries, that also obvi ously affects the laws and customs one would have been subject to. The Norse often times had a very simple solution to a conflict: trial by combat. If a heinous crime was committed, and everyone knew beyond a shadow of a doubt who it was, then that individual would be hunted, but assuming that there were c harges, a common response would be for the one leveling the charges, and the one being charged, to go an abandoned island, each with a weapon. Whoever won the f ight took the boat home and was viewed as the destined (and therefore justified) winner. The Germanic tribes that conquered the Roman Empire in the 5th century carried t heir own procedure with them into the conquered territories. Their procedure was surprisingly formal: in court, which was a gathering of all the freeborn men, t he parties had to formulate their allegations in precise, traditional language. The use of even a few improper words could mean losing. At this point the court determined what method of proof should be used: ordeal, judicial combat between the parties, or wager of law (which means each side had to attempt to obtain mor e persons who were willing to swear on their oaths as to the uprightness of the party they were supporting). Roman law procedure, even after the fall of the Roman Empire, never entirely dis appeared from the territories conquered by the Germanic tribes. Eventually a mod ified form of Roman law was used in most of Europe, and even Germany itself, wit h the notable exception of Scandinavia which kept its local customs. The Roman-canonical procedure, with its heavy reliance on written, rather than o ral, presentations, created the need for learned counsel, or the beginning of la wyers. The whole procedure was divided into rigidly formalized stages. Precise r ules governed the presentation of evidence but the concordant testimony of two m ale witnesses amounted to full proof, and one witness was ordinarily insufficient to prove any matter, unless he was a high ecclesiastic. There were many other co mplex procedures, but this was not efficient for businesses, which resulted in a lmost a side court for specific business arbitrations to spring up to bring orde r, without harming, mercantile centers.

Of course, to many a person s misfortune, the rule of mob still applied. This was especially true during an inquisition, or anytime a woman was put on trial as a witch. An armed mob was always capable of taking the law into their own hands, a nd often did, which was a sad irony, considering the barbaric law system of the No rse actually helped to prevent that type of thing from happening. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Medieval Weapons In the medieval period, as with any period in history, the weapons of the day we re a product of the available technology and raw materials. Arguably, one of the greatest weapons of the day was the castle, but when one thinks of weapons, the thought is usually of the more offensive devices. To that end, the most popular and perhaps the most frequently discussed weapon is the sword. Virtually every knight would have a sword. Swords were easy to construct and eas y to use. Forged from steel and sharpened, the sword could be used both offensiv ely, to attack, or defensively, to block other attacks. It was also available in many sizes and styles. Knives and daggers were also used and sometimes fashione d from wood or animal bones. While larger than the sword, axes in the hands of the right warrior, could infli ct devastating injuries. Spears were common for attacks at a distance being made of wood or having sharpened tips. Other close quarter combat weapons were the m ace, a club of several feet in length with a large square or round block of wood or metal on the end that was sometimes covered with spikes to cause additional injury. The flail was a variation on the mace having a chain attached between th e club and the spiked end causing more damage by allowing increased velocity in the attack. Much of the medieval fighting was in close quarters which made the weapons above ideal. However, fighting at long ranges became more important as time progresse d and castle defenses developed. Long and short bows were used. Many a medieval battle saw hundreds of archers raining down arrows on their enemy. By launching the arrows high into the air, they would pick up velocity and cause more damage. From the long bow concept, the crossbow was developed. While a simple concept, the crossbow was one of the most lethal weapons of the day. The crossbow fired a heavy arrow fired that caused terrible damage, even being capable of penetratin g a knight s armor. So destructive was this weapon that the church forbade its use , though few abided this decree. Similar to crossbows, the ballista, an infantry form of the crossbow, saw much use. Siege engines were also used to attack castles. The trebuchet was a catapult/sli ngshot hybrid that could hurl huge projectiles to penetrate the walls. Battering rams, catapults, even cannons were used. Greek fire, a mixture of a variety mat erials was also used, when ignited it would burn in almost any condition, even u nder water. By way of defense, knights wore armor and chain mail and carried shields; howeve r, the best defense was to be behind a thick castle wall and to avoid the open f ield combat. As with clothing and fashion, wealth dictated the weapon available. Peasants rar ely could afford traditional weapons and generally fought with what was at hand - sticks, clubs, tools or their bare hands. The development of gunpowder forever changed the concept of medieval weapons by making many of them obsolete.

Medieval Swords The mainstay of the medieval knight was his sword. While a tremendously straight forward weapon, its ingenuity was in its simplicity. It was easy to manufacture, needing only steel and a blacksmith. The steel, iron to which carbon had been a dded, was heated then forged. This created a strong blade that could be given an extremely sharp edge. Initially, swords were shorter and often used with one ha nd. However, improvements such as being made lighter, the addition of a guard on the grip of the sword and the lengthening of the grip added to their effectiven ess and length. The addition of the guard on the grip even gave the religious kn ights the symbol of the cross to carry with them into battle. While the sword was found in a variety of sizes, in medieval times, perhaps the most popular was the long sword. This weapon could be used with two hands thanks to its lengthened grip. This allowed for incredibly damaging blows to be laid u pon an opponent. However, even more deadly than a blow from the sword was the da mage that resulted when the blade was thrust, sometimes completely through an op ponent. This nearly always meant death. Swords could also defeat a knight s armor as the blade could fit between the armor s joints. Swords could also be found in b oth the single and double edged varieties. As with many such items of the day, t he sword was a symbol of position and class. So the finer weapons were generally owned by the wealthier members of society. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Medieval Knights The knight is one of the most recognizable images from the medieval period, but becoming a knight was not as simple as putting on a suit of armor. When the Normans, led by William the Conqueror, invaded England, they needed men to protect their lands. Initially, young men took oaths to provide service and sometimes fight for a lord or nobleman. Overtime, these men in service began to amass wealth and acquire their own land allowing them to pay for the supplies ne cessary to carry out military campaigns and have their own men-at-arms. Before l ong, knights were a class of nobility all to themselves. A knight s training began at an early age. At age 7 a boy would join with a knight becoming a page. This page would serve the knight until he became a squire at a ge 14. While the squire was still a knight s assistant, he would learn how to figh t, wear armor and to act like a knight. Then when the squire turned 21, he would become a knight. To be elevated to the status of a knight from the station of a squire, a knightin g ceremony would be held. As knights were generally quite religious, the ceremony began with a night long vigil in the castle where the squire would remain in th e chapel of the castle, praying through the night. The following morning there w ould be a bath for the candidate then, dressed in white, he would attend mass an d eat breakfast. Then before a group of witnesses, with much ceremony, the squir e would kneel and be touched on the shoulders and head with a sword by a knight or royal. This process, called dubbing would raise the squire to the status of kni ght. A feast would follow to celebrate the occasion. Knights could also be made on the filed of battle where it was done without ceremony or fanfare. Wealth, inheritance, marriage to nobility and the granting of land were common r ewards of knighthood. In return, the knight served a certain number of days for his noble each year. While there was much in the way of reward for knights, some times the knight would pay for his status with his life in battle. When the knig ht was not fighting, they maintained their skills by competing in tournaments an

d other competitions. While many knights were secular, there were also fighting religious knights, the Knights Templar or the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solo mon as they were known were a religious sect of the Catholic Church who initiall y were charged with protecting pilgrims on the way to the Holy Land during the C rusades. However, their role expanded as they amassed great wealth and power as an order pioneering many modern day banking concepts such as lending, safety dep osit repositories and other transactions. While the role of the knight as a nobleman declined, many societies recognize th e concept of the knight today and the honor is stilled bestowed on many by the B ritish Crown.