The period from the end of 13 to the beginning of 15 was a period of drastic changes in British politics, economy and other social aspects. The outbreak of the Black Death in 1348 brought a heavy blow to British society. At the same time, the Hundred Years' War is also eroding Britain's strength, with the British economy shrinking obviously and the population dropping sharply. So how do people live in such a turbulent social background?
Manor is a special form of organization in agricultural production in feudal society in western Europe, and the manor system in Britain is very typical. There are feudal lords in the manor, also known as "princes and nobles". They are the ruling class in the English manor and own everything in the manor. Generally speaking, there will be cultivated land where grains can be grown, and areas where natural ingredients can be provided, such as grasslands, pastures, forests and ponds. In addition, food processing places such as bakeries and breweries are also an indispensable part of the manor. Therefore, the food of the aristocratic class generally comes directly from their own territory.
Wealthy families consume a lot of meat, because people thought that vegetables were only eaten by the poor at that time, so meat accounted for 80% in the diet of the aristocratic class. Of course, vegetables will also appear on the table of nobles, but they usually appear in the form of salads. Flowers are mixed with expensive spices, and vegetables are also carved into various exquisite shapes, which are far more ornamental than edible.
Because the church stipulated that meat was not allowed before lent and some special festivals, fish was also a big part of food consumption in medieval England. On the fast day when meat can't be eaten, a large number of fish will appear on the aristocratic table. At the dinner table of Henry V and his wife Catherine, we can often see fish feasts of precious fish such as seals, pike, lamprey and trout. Many of them may not have heard of it now, but they easily appeared at the dinner table of the nobles at that time.
Although food is based on luxury, bread and porridge are still the basic food for nobles. Just different from the poor's black bread and light porridge, the bread eaten by the nobles is soft and sweet white bread, and the porridge they drink is also added with almonds and various condiments. In addition, there are luxuries such as sugar on the noble table. Sugar, which is common in modern society, is very expensive because of the underdeveloped technical conditions at that time. A pound of sugar can sell for ten pence, which is almost equivalent to the salary of ordinary people for two or three days.
In the Middle Ages, the storage technology was backward, the food was easy to rot and deteriorate, and the flavor of spices was rich, which could cover up the smell of meat. Therefore, medieval chefs used a lot of spices when preparing meals for nobles. Most of these spices come from the East, such as pepper, saffron, ginger, clove, nutmeg, dried skin, etc., which are very expensive. The nobles had to drink and eat. At that time, beer and wine were very common Beer can be produced by itself, but wine is imported from abroad, so it is expensive. However, for nobles, what attracts them most is not the mellow taste of wine, but the high price that can show their aristocratic status, so sipping wine has become a habit of nobles.
Nobles not only like luxurious food, but also like to show it to others. Therefore, in medieval England, holding banquets became an effective means to show wealth and social status. The luxury of the banquet is not only reflected in the dazzling array of delicacies, but also in the tableware used by people when eating. At that time, the tableware used by the nobles was almost made of gold and silver, and it was also inlaid with precious gems. According to records, a nobleman named Johnson once spent 1 1 pound to buy six silver goblets, while a knight's salary in January was only two or three pounds, which shows that medieval nobles invested heavily in eating and drinking.
In the late Middle Ages, due to the destruction of the national order by the Black Death and the Hundred Years' War, the population was decreasing and serfs fled one after another, which made the manor nobles unable to get free services from serfs, and the British manor turned from prosperity to decline. But "a lean camel is bigger than a horse", even in the most difficult period, British nobles can still get venison from their own estates, and there will be no shortage of fish and poultry, and even hops used for brewing can be produced by themselves. Therefore, in the late Middle Ages, the diet structure and habits of the nobles in the manor did not change much. Even after the end of the Black Death, the demand for meat and alcohol by nobles increased in quantity.
The acquisition of aristocratic food depends to a great extent on farmers' labor, so what kind of food did British farmers eat in the late Middle Ages? Farmers were the most populous stratum and main labor force in British history at that time. They are at the bottom of society and have a hard life. Even vegetables abandoned by nobles are often out of reach. Cereals account for the largest part of farmers' diet, mainly barley, rye and oats. Black bread made from these grains is the most important basic variety in farmers' food.
At farmers' tables, slurry soup and porridge are also common, and light beer fermented from barley is the main drink of farmers. Many farmers will produce some wheat more or less, but after paying rent, tithe and other taxes, there is little left, so white bread made of wheat flour can hardly be seen in farmers' lives.
The importance of cereal products in farmers' diet can be imagined, but farmers can't just live on these. Bean food is called "the meat of the poor", which has high nutritional value and is easy to grow, so it is also served on the table of farmers. In addition, some farmers can get some subsidies for the owners, which usually include a small amount of dairy products and meat. For example, in the accounts of Sedford, Norfolk, most of the farmers' food is bread, but there are also meat, fish, dairy products, malt, etc., but the quantity is very small.
Generally speaking, the daily diet structure of British farmers is very simple, with grain as the main food. However, after the outbreak of the Black Death in 1348, the lives of farmers have been improved to some extent. Because the population decreased during this period, the per capita arable land increased. With more land, farmers can grow more kinds of grains. In addition, the demand for labor by tenant farmers who own more land has also expanded, and the treatment of working-class people has also improved accordingly, and their living standards have also improved.
Therefore, in the late Middle Ages, the diet structure of British farmers changed greatly, from grain-based food to meat, fish and dairy products. In the above Sedgeford area, before 1348, the proportion of meat and fish in farmers' diet was less than 10%. By 1407, the consumption of meat, fish and dairy products has accounted for more than 50% of the total. Secondly, the use of grain obtained by farmers has also changed. Before 1348, most of the grain harvested by farmers was used to make bread to ensure daily nutritional intake. However, after 1348, in Sussex County, for example, the proportion of grain used for making bread decreased from half to one fifth, while the proportion of grain used for brewing beer increased from one eighth to one quarter.
In addition, the quality of farmers' diet has also improved. The early cereals used to make bread were mainly barley and rye. The bread made is rough and unpalatable. Generally, only nobles can eat wheat bread. Now, white bread with wheat as raw material has gradually replaced the position of black bread on the farmers' table. In the13rd century, the small amount of meat that farmers could eat was basically bacon, but in the14th century, the proportion of fresh beef and mutton increased. In addition, the supply of fish has changed from dried cod and pickled herring to fresh fish.
The change of diet structure has had an important impact on British agricultural economy. In the decades after the14th century, in order to meet the growing market demand for meat, the number of livestock increased gradually, the area of pasture expanded and the area of cultivated land decreased accordingly. What's more noteworthy is that the planting area of brewing grain has obviously expanded. Secondly, the change of diet structure has also affected the complex changes of British economic geography and the city's own economic and social structure. After the Black Death, the change of regional grain demand changed the redistribution of grain production in inland areas. The expansion of grain planting area for brewing beer occurred not only around London, but also in areas far away from London.
The change of diet structure has also promoted the development of diet trade. The number of butchers has increased, and beer breweries have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. Beer is usually sold with cooked food, which reflects the continuous demand for beer in medieval England, whether it is a wealthy family who bought beer or a poor family who could not afford beer before.
Fernand Braudel said: "If you know what you eat, you can know what your status is. Food is a symbol of everyone's social status." In the feudal society of western Europe, the class differences reflected in diet are very obvious.
The aristocratic class attaches importance to the quality of diet, and they have the ability to continuously improve their diet, so there are some expensive and exquisite foods on the aristocratic table; However, the peasants in the lower classes of society are different. They are very busy every day, but they can only get very little reward, which leads them to be unable to focus on the taste and color of food, and only care about what they eat to fill their stomachs.
References:
Oxford general history of Britain
British social history
Cambridge European economic history
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