Strictly Regulated and Measured: Meals at the Iosifo- Volokolamsky Monastery, c. 1580

Abstract

The main source of this study is the revenue book (Rus. kormovaya kniga) of the Iosifo-Volokolamsky Monastery for 1581–1582. It combines information about significant contributions and kormy (meals) commemorating the investors with instructions about food and drinks to be served throughout the year. Depending on the weekly and annual cycles, the monastery menu changed daily. To prevent an investor’s commemoration day and a fast day from overlapping, the kormy were moved to non-fast days. The revenue book allows the author to accurately reconstruct the monastery menu. The quality of the food and the number of dishes depended on the day and the occasion. In addition, the portions of food and drinks were normally determined beforehand. The lay workers of the monastery received smaller portions, but other than that there were no differences: everyone ate the same food. The left overs were distributed among paupers in front of the gate of the monastery or sent to nearby monasteries. In the revenue book, the author finds instructions regarding the seating during the meal, the order in which everyone was supposed to eat (the first and second rounds of serving), and the days on which the tables were to be covered with tablecloths. The revenue book demonstrates the way in which the rules of Orthodox monasticism, whose traditions formed in the Mediterranean space, were transferred to a different climate zone and adapted to it. Additionally, the author points out that the monastery menu of the late 16th century bears some features of contemporary Russian cuisine.