Category Archives: Food

Medieval farming takes on horses

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Ruth

The new iron-shod moldboard plow could open up fields on land that had looked off limits, and it doubled grain yield per acre. Every 50 years, some higher altitude lands were a few degrees warmer, so farming spread upward, away … Continue reading →

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Dark Ages grain farming

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Ruth

Dark Ages farming in Europe had to adapt Mediterranean Roman techniques to a different climate and soil. At first, fields were planted one year and left fallow the next, to avoid exhausting the soil. Roman farmers had discovered crop rotation … Continue reading →

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Dark Ages animals

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Ruth

So we travel back to the Dark Ages, the early medieval years when constant migration of barbarians kept civilization to a lower level than Rome had reached. Most of Europe is heavily forested. Settlement tends to be along rivers and … Continue reading →

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New series: medieval food

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Ruth

If I start a series on food in the Middle Ages, I’ll take my time and meander through time and region. I’m one of those “begin at the beginning” fanatics. So I’m thinking I’d start with what Europe had as … Continue reading →

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Medieval Easter

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Ruth

On Saturday night before Easter, with all fires extinguished at the church, the priest started a new fire and the villagers came to light lamps and candles to take the holy flame home. Medieval Easter began very early at the … 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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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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Baby food

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Ruth

Medieval babies had a very bland diet. Of course, the youngest infants lived on breastmilk, but it was rare for a wealthy woman to nurse her own baby. Families who could afford to hire a wet nurse did so, and … Continue reading →

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