The Culture of Food in England 1200–1500 by C. M. Woolgar

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Culture of Food in England 1200–1500 by C. M. Woolgar Mihaela L. Florescu C. M. Woolgar, The Culture of Food in England 1200–1500 (New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press 2016) 341 pp. If you lived 600 years ago in England, your life centered around food cultivation, preparation and consumption. Food played an overarching role in people's lives. In The Culture of Food in England 1200-1500, C.M. Woolgar explores the meaning of food and drink and what it can reveal about a culture. Food products were a lot more than mere sustenance in medieval times. Assuredly, the actual diet of medieval England is discussed, but not only that. Also up for discussion are the contexts of acquiring food, cooking, and eating in social groups. Food customs are examined across a wide array of institutions. [End Page 291] The role of food is analyzed in such diverse settings as the countryside, civic society, elite groups, monasteries and ecclesiastical organizations. The Culture of Food in England includes an analysis of the institutional culture of food, the distinctiveness of food and special food products, the cooking process, links between health and eating virtuously, and food in popular mentalities. Great insight into everyday life is gained as a byway of examining food so closely. How foods were prepared, how they were brought to the table, the way service was conducted, and the choice of tableware all mattered. Examination of the food of medieval times is usually limited to looking at issues of food production, but C.M. Woolgar chooses to focus on a different aspect of food, namely the culture surrounding food consumption. Woolgar looks at what was considered food, the relationship of food to moral and religious questions, what meals are eaten, when and where, and the relationship between men, women and children and their food. Fortunately for the food historian, medieval England was a literate society and written records regarding food can be found by the clever cultural sleuth. There are tens of thousands of financial records from medieval manors and estates and a small portion of these records have to do with food, the preparation of food as well as the ways it was eaten. Especially good record keeping is found in the form of some fifteenth-century feast provisions of the guild of the Holy Cross at Stratford-upon-Avon. However, the written record is sparse in regard to the lower tiers of society. No records relating to food were found from peasant farms and gardens. Other types of less intuitive records are of great aid in forming a more complete view of medieval English food mores. The book examines a diverse group of records. Records of coroners can be quite revealing. If someone was to die suddenly in the kitchen, patterns of medieval life can emerge. We can find out the time of day the water might be drawn. Another even less intuitive record can be found in collections of miracles. People could be found working in kitchens or otherwise engaged in other food related activities when a miracle occurs. The record obligingly contains incidental mentions of everyday chores, which become centrally important clues to the food historian. Aside from record keeping, legal regulations are of help in discerning food customs. In towns, laws are passed to regulate the retail commerce of food as well as the wholesale distribution of food. In ecclesiastical institutions, laws are also passed to regulate monastic food consumption. An important aspect surrounding food was how to eat it, or what is also known as etiquette. The customs of the wealthy trickled down to those of more meager means that insisted on the importance of ceremony in their cultural life. Thousands of recipes from the dining tables of the wealthy are available to us today through cookbooks. We also have access to a number of menus. More marginally, yet still making a contribution to the information bank of medieval English food culture, are mentions of food in literature and in sermons. The medieval vocabulary itself also provides clues into the meaning and importance of food. The words for food and drinks and how they are used...