Medieval Food Research Paper

Some of the foods they ate in the Renaissance we still eat today. They ate soups, roasts, salads, pastas, bread, desserts, fruits and pastries. Majority of the people in the Renaissance ate bread. They ate bread with everything. It didn’t really matter of what they eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. People in the Renaissance loved eating food and they really enjoyed it.

Class constraint was strict in the food culture in Medieval England. From the lower class to the upper class, there was a big change in the content of their diets. Poor people were always thin and weak because they

During the Middle Ages social class much different than modern day. In a feudal society “nobles were granted the use of land that legally belonged to the king,” (Doc. 1). The nobles, in return, would give the lord loyalty and military services (Doc. 1). As peasants or serfs worked for nobles and knights they received protection and a portion of the harvest to feed their families (Doc. 1).

Summary: This website tells the history of food at the time of the Elizabethan Era.Poor people had unvaried diets consisting largely of bread, fish, cheese and ale, but the rich of Elizabethan England ate well.All kinds of meats were served to the rich people of Elizabethan England.Vegetables and fruits were regarded with some suspicion and was far more common for roasted and boiled meat to be accompanied with bread.Tudors were fond of desserts.Sometimes wine glasses, dishes, playing cards and trenchers were made out of a crisp modeled sugar called sugar-plate which would be elaborately decorated.

THESIS STATEMENT: During the Elizabethan era various types of foods were eaten and extensive details were added to these foods. Social classes also played a big role in what the rich or poor ate.

During the Elizabethan era various types of foods were eaten and extensive details were added to these foods. Social classes also played a big role in what the rich or poor ate.

Kitchen Equipment: brick ovens, working table, spits, pots, posnetts, chafing-dishes, graters, mortars and pestles, boilers, knives, cleavers axes, dripping-pans, pot-racks, pot-hooks, gridirons, frying pans, sieves, kneading troughs, fire shovels, barrels, tubs, pantry, buttery (wine and other provisions stored here), wet and dry larders, spicery, mealhouse sieving or bolting house, coals kep in squillerie along with brass pots and pans, pewter vessels and herbs, covered dishes, court cupboard, sideboards. Drinking vessels: gold, silver, pewter, horn, leather, glass, earthenware.

The evidence shows pictures of four different kitchens in the United States colonial time period. Each kitchen is very open with fireplace being the center. There are a lot of pots, pans and a variety of utensils. The fireplaces are fueled by wood, which is shown in every picture. Three pictures show kitchens of middle class, single family homes. The last picture portrays the kitchen of Thomas Jefferson, who was wealthy and able to afford more than the other families.

Frankish society was entirely rural and was composed of three orders or classes: (1) clergy (those who pray), (2) nobility (those who fight), (3) peasants (those who work). In general, life was harsh and brutal for the early medieval peasant. Even in the wealthiest parts of Europe, the story is one of hardship and poverty. Many peasants died from malnutrition, due to poor diet. Most peasants were illiterate although a few were practicing Christians. The majority could not understand the language of the church, which was Latin. While nobility was better off, and had more food, their diet still not very nutritional. Living in larger houses and castles, these were often just as cold as the peasant's small structure. Additionally, most nobility

During the medieval period, the feudal system was the social structure of Medieval Europe. It classified the social statuses from monarchs, lords and bishops, knights and clergy, to peasants being the lowest class. Most of the pilgrims were knights. Knights that pilgrimaged were usually former crusaders or chivalrous men of numerous wars. During pilgrimages, knights usually took squires along with them as an act of chivalry (25). Another popular group of pilgrims was the clergy. The clergy contained clergywomen and clergymen. Clergywomen were usually nuns and clergymen were mostly monks and priests. (29). Members of the clergy were usually required to partake in pilgrimages since they were men and women of God. Aside from people of the higher classes, peasants were also a popular group during pilgrimages. Those pilgrims ranged from serfs, millers, freemen, plowmen, artisans, and farmers (Housley 656). In The Canterbury Tales, other types of peasants pilgrimaged. There was a reeve, a yeoman, and a cook (Chaucer 23). Artisans or guildsmen were people that were skilled in their jobs and supplied others with the products they mastered in creating. Besides millers, there were artisans who made tools that were useful for several activities like spoons and spoons for eating. Lastly, criminals usually went on pilgrimages for punishment including crimes like murder, incest, etc. (Housley 656).

Food is a staple in life. Everyone needs it, but not everyone gets what they want from it. In England during the Elizabethan Era there was a variety of foods. There were many imported foods and spices but a great deal of people never had the chance to try those amazing foods, except for the rich people. In the Elizabethan time period, the food eaten by the different classes, at feasts, and the ingredients used, played a major role in the civilization of England.

Bakers would charge a fee if you brought something that wanted to be baked. Forks were uncommon, everyone had a small knife and a spoon. Also there would be a towel and some water nearby to wash up after each meal. Most households drank and brewed their own ale or beer because the poor water sanitation. Only rich homes could afford to have well water pumped to their houses.

Landowners called lords built castles. They gave land to followers called knights. In return, the lords called on their knights to defend them in battle. People called serfs or peasants actually farmed the land. Serfs were not much better off than slaves.

Eating in the Middle Ages was not as simple a process as it is in modern times. Whereas we are free to eat what we want, when we want, the medieval diet was restricted by many factors. The inhabitants of medieval Europe were bound by the constraints of social standing, wealth, location and religious beliefs. The nobility controlled the land, and the game that was on it became their property alone; poaching could be punishable by death. The majority of other foods produced upon their land were also under their control, leaving only a fraction to the serfs who worked the land.

The kitchen is described as being in disorder with unwashed pans under the sink, a dish towel left on the table, a loaf of bread