Food and Drink in 14th Century England by Rosemary Morris

 

Click on the cover to learn more about Rosemary Morris.

My novel, Grace, Lady of Cassio, begins in 1331 during the reign of Edward III. It will be published in August 2022.

At heart I am a historian. My novels are rich in historical detail that requires intensive research, some of which I am sharing in this blog.

Food and Drink in 14^th Century England

In the Great Hall.  A lord, his lady and guests sat at a table on a dais at one end of the great hall. A white linen tablecloth covered the table. The best food was placed before him on a long, narrow coloured strip of fabric. Everyone else sat on benches at trestle tables at right angles to the dais. They ate food appropriate for their rank the lowest ate pottage.

Restrictions. The Church forbade consumption of meat on Wednesdays, Fridays Saturdays, and during Advent. In Lent eggs were not allowed. Fish replaced the prohibited food.

Breakfast. Noble households. The lord and his lady, if he was married, their most important guests and senior officials broke their fast with bread, cheese, ale or buttermilk. In accordance with the belief that servants became lazy if they ate too much so they were not served breakfast.

Dinner. This opulent main meal was served between approximately between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. After the priest said prayers, fresh fruit stimulated the appetite. Two people shared food on a stale bread trencher that soaked up juice and sauce. First, the lord helped himself first to food. After he sampled the dishes, they were passed to his guests.

     The first course numbered a variety of meat dishes; to name a few, meat pottage flavoured with herbs, spices, and wine, or one containing, for example, savoury chicken, pheasant or swan with boiled meat, and venison seethed in almond milk and other ingredients. Some dishes were a combination of sweet and savoury. Four courses followed. The second with a variety of roasted, expertly carved, exotic meats, among others stork, peacock, heron, and larks. The next with small birds and cooked fruit, maybe baked, stewed in wine, or cooked in sugar syrup etc. A last course of fruit, nuts, cheese, and sweet and savoury wafers accompanied by spiced red wine ended the meal.

     On days when eating meat was prohibited, they ate four fish courses of fish cooked in different ways, for example, fresh fish, smoked fish, shellfish pickled in brine, salt fish and stewed fish.

     Vegetables were incorporated in pottages and other recipes.

      Large and small sweet and savoury pies, some called coffins because of their shape.

    Supper. Served at sunset, at the castle or manor for those seated on the dais supper was a light meal, Usually with one main dish, maybe white bread, side dishes and cheese. After supper sometimes they danced, or professional entertainers such as acrobats, jongleurs, minstrels and storytellers performed. If not a knight or the lord’s lady might recite a story. Sometimes a squire played an instrument and sang.

 

www.rosemarymorris.co.uk

 

http://bookswelove.net/authors/morris-rosemary

Children in the Age of Chivalry – Part Three - Pages by Rosemary Morris

For more information on Rosemary's novels please click on the cover above.

My novel, Grace, Lady of Cassio, The Lovages of Cassio, Book Two, sequel to Yvonne, Lady of Cassio, begins in the reign of Edward III. It will be published in October 2021. At heart I am a historian. My novels are rich in historical detail which requires intensive research, some of which I am sharing in this blog. Pages wore their master’s badge across the front of their tunics. They were the sons of the well-born. When they were seven years-old they became pages to a suitable nobleman. In return for their service they were trained for their future career as knights and educated with the lord’s sons by the household priest. It was not important for a page to learn to read but books about etiquette were written for them. Babee’s Book set out a page’s daily routine. First, he should rise early, wash his face and hands, make sure his fingernails were clean and comb his hair. Next, he should say his prayers or attend Mass. His deportment should be excellent. He should never scratch himself or sniff in public. During the day he was expected to greet everyone he met. He was repeatedly reminded to attend to other people at meals and not to grab this best food, and neither stuff his mouth full ‘as a pigge’ nor speak with food in his mouth. Instead of picking his teeth with his knife he should use a clean stick. He must wait carefully on his lord and lady, remove his cap, and bow before he addressed them. At every meal, on bended knee, he offered his lord wine and afterward brought water for him to wash his hands. Apart from learning good manners he learned how to be a superb horseman, how to wear armour correctly, and to use weapons. An adults’ full armour was very heavy. A page gradually became used to it and learned how to put it on and take it off correctly. He was also taught the complex rules to be observed when taking part in a joust at tournaments and for hunting and hawking. www.rosemarymorris.co.uk http://bookswelove.net/authors/morris-rosemary

Children in the Age Of Chivalry by Rosemary Morris

To find out more about Rosemary's books click the cover above.

Grace, Lady of Cassio, The Lovages of Cassio, Book Two, the sequel to Yvonne, Lady of Cassio, begins in the reign of Edward III. It will be published in October 2021.
At heart I am a historian. My novels are rich in historical detail which requires intensive research, some of which I am sharing in this blog.
Contrary to popular beliefs people understood the need for personal cleanliness. Even babies, who were wrapped in swaddling, were bathed regularly, but, sadly, approximately half of them died before they became adults.
Children were betrothed in infancy. The law allowed fourteen-year old boys and twelve-year old girls to marry, although co-habitation usually began when the wife was fourteen, an age at which pregnancy was encouraged.
After the age of five most of the peers’ sons and daughters went to another noble household to be brought up. At seven, boys destined for the church were tonsured and commenced a life of worship. Agricultural workers’ children worked in the fields from the same age. Craftsmen’s sons become apprentices when they were young, learned their trade and how to keep accounts. A child with a very low rank in society, who worked for a villein or poor franklin only received board and lodging.
In towns and country, the parish priest taught young children about the seven deadly sins. A surprising number of townswomen were literate. Nunneries might have poor be poor endowments, but they were keen to have schools and they educated as many girls as boys. There were formal schools in most towns but only for the minority who could afford the cost Cathedrals, Benedictine monasteries, and friaries often had schools attached to them, so did city churches. It was from such establishments that the clerks and clergy and the fourteen-year-old undergraduates at Oxford and Cambridge were drawn. However, the custom was for private tutors to educate great lord’s offspring.
I believe most parents wanted the best for their children. Some parents refused to punish them. Others applied brutal punishment. There were many manuscripts with different advice about how to bring up the young. A common belief was that a good father would apply the rod to instil fear of breaking the law – from the age of seven a child could be hanged for theft. Some mothers beat their daughters until they cried for mercy. In some people’s opinion, a lenient parent was considered to neglect his or her duties. In such circumstances, although children were instructed to love and honour their parents it must have been impossible.
In the age of chivalry, boys worked from the age of seven and were liable to serve in an army from fifteen onward. At the battle of Crecy, sixteen-year old Prince Edward commanded the vanguard. Can you imagine such a young commander leading troops into battle in the 21st century?
I believe most parents wanted the best for their children. When those placed in other households came home several times a year to visit them. I like to imagine these were happy occasions. The third Edward and his queen, who loved their children, were never parted with them at home or abroad for longer than necessary.
To conclude, I cried when I read Gawain’s heart-breaking poem about his pearl, his precious daughter Marguerite, who died before she was two,

www.rosemarymorris.co.uk

http://bookswelove.net/authors/morris-rosemary


Fathers.