Category Archives: Holidays

Maundy Thursday

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Ruth

Maundy Thursday, in the Middle Ages, was a day for charitable acts. Some kings made a practice of washing the feet of beggars. Louix IX of France, later St. Louis, washed the feet of lepers. In more ordinary aristocratic and … Continue reading →

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Easter season

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Ruth

By the week leading up to Easter, medieval people were certainly tired of the Lenten fast. Milk could be turned into cheese, but nobody was allowed to eat it; they only had butter if their region had a papal indulgence. … Continue reading →

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Lenten fish

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Ruth

I’ll do another entry on Lent and fasting. It’s worth just talking about fish. Some fish came from ponds and were probably fresh. Monasteries knew in advance that they’d be fasting for every possible fast day year round, so they … Continue reading →

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Lent begins

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Ruth

The fast season of Lent was not nearly as unique in the medieval year as it is in the modern. Fast days punctuated the year, and the entire four weeks before Christmas was also a fast. Lent was merely the … Continue reading →

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The beginning of Lent

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Ruth

Shrove Tuesday, ca. 1200 meant three things: food, cockfighting, and mummers. Food, obviously. A forty-day fast was about to begin. Chiefly, they would eat no animal products, so any and all animal products, especially meat, had to be eaten. The … Continue reading →

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