Everyday Moments in History - A Roman Soldier Prepares Dinner

everyday moments in history a Roman soldier prepares dinner when discussing the Roman army we almost exclusively do so from a military perspective all too often we armchair generals concern ourselves simply with strategy and tactics where thousands of human lives are reduced to blocks on a map here but the Roman soldier is nothing more than a faceless clone whose sole purpose is to do battle this is history without the humanity today we will throw off such myopic conventions and join Allegiant Air not in combat but for dinner the need to feed as Napoleon famously said an army marches on its stomach this was even more true prior to the adoption of gunpowder when men and beasts powered our weapons in this era it is estimated that approximately 90% of the weight of the supplies required by an ancient army revolved around eating in terms of the average Roman soldier it is estimated that they had a recommended daily allowance of around a 3,000 calories the minimum daily requirement was far lower as fat reserves it could help provide energy when consumption was low however prolonged malnutrition over several days would substantially reduce a Legionnaires of physical and mental abilities a well performing army was therefore a well-fed army we will now look at the ways a legion was fed these broadly fall into the categories of ration and non-rational sources ration sources of supply rations whether food supplies issued to soldiers on a regular basis according to their rank and status while conveniently procured for the individual these were not entirely free since the cost of most items was deducted from the soldiers pay evidence suggests that the rations are themselves were regularized this was militarily advantageous because it allowed for the development of a highly organized and efficient logistical system it also ensured that there was sufficient food while limiting the risks of over eating and drinking during the Imperial period a soldiers rations were made up of around as 75% grain and 25% non grain of foodstuffs by weight the latter consisted of meat vegetables cheese olive oil wine and salt the grain ration provided at the carbohydrates and calories of one's diet it was typically distributed as wheat though barley might be issued as punishment or if supplies were low the rest of the rations made sure that protein vitamins and other vital nutrients were included the type of meat depended on local availability but generally consisted of pork beef and mutton vegetables also varied by region in many cases we see references to beans lentils and peas alongside herbes such as garlic cheese could be made from cow sheep or goats milk it was both light and easy to transport olive oil was also important both as a condiment and a cooking supply other liquids such as wine could help provide not only nutrition but also water content it was distributed as both vintage wine and sour wine for consumption lastly salt was included to preserve food season dishes and serve medical purposes it was considered one of the absolute necessities when provisioning an army non ration sources of supply while rations provided a baseline for nutrition the army also relied on other sources to meet its daily needs these ranged from absolute necessities to luxuries on campaign the legion obtained these supplies using three means of collection foraging requisition and pillaging foraging involved sending out soldiers to retrieve specific items of utmost importance would be sending aqua torres to nearby springs rivers lakes and wells from which they would return to camp with full leather bags water skins barrels or vessels of water lignite or Eze were sent to gather firewood for cooking heating and lighting while pub you let or raise a collected fodder for the animals these activities were daily tasks and took many foraging parties the expeditions of the through mentor Torres on the other hand were carried out infrequently they ventured out in large numbers to collect a wide range of foodstuffs such as wheat barley olive oil wine and fruit Roman soldiers might be tasked with reaping grain in the fields or picking things from orchards requisition involved obtaining supplies from ostensibly friendly forces these goods were generally brought into the army through seizure forced purchase or private markets a commander might issue orders for inhabitants or to supply an army passing through the region this was often done on a large scale with villages and towns being given specific locations for deposits compensation could range from nothing to near market value more often than not such requisition was a heavy burden on the local population by contrast special merchants known as suitors were far more eager to address the Army's needs in fact they traveled with the legions and made a living selling them good it was through these suits that soldiers would get their gourmet items garam fish sauce honey and spices were always in high demand to improve the taste of rations while items such as fruit eggs and fish were great additions to break up the monotony of military rations finally pillaging involved the seizing of supplies alongside the destruction of property such acts typically took place after a battle or siege but might be ordered across enemy territory to punish them or goad them into battle the Roman military strictly controlled these activities in order to impose discipline and better control the gathering and storage of provisions in times of lacks discipline or civil war however an organized force might quickly become a roving band of robbers it was said that once a thing got lost under a Legionnaires cloak there was no power on earth that could snatch it away food preparation once supplies were collected they were distributed to the soldiers some evidence suggests that rations were received on the first of the month while non rations were obtained on a more irregular schedule based on demand and availability in contrast with modern armies which rely on central facilities the legions at war generally prepared food at the squad level of the con to burning the eight-man group that shared a tent the grain which made up the majority of the soldiers caloric intake could be eaten in two basic ways as porridge or bread the first was known as pools and was easier to prepare it was made by taking wheat and adding water salt fat and oil or milk for extra flavor spices vegetables or fresh meat could be thrown into a brass pot alongside it and boiled to resemble modern polenta however this method of preparation was less common as it would be difficult to store and transport generally soldiers aid to their grain in the form of bread this took several steps first the grain had to be thrashed to remove the inedible husks threshing occurred prior to being sent to the legions in order to reduce its total weight if troops collected their own grain in the fields it would be brought back into camp to be thrashed within the security of the fortifications next the grain would be ground into flour using a stone hand mill or mola Minaya carried by each can to burn eum's pack animal milling could be repeated several times to improve the quality of the flour the more coarse flour produces a black bread consumed by the rank-and-file while the more refined flour produces a white bread for the officers next extra ingredients were mixed into the flour such as salt lard leaven and most importantly water finally the mixture had to be kneaded and baked in a campfire or half for a contubernium it would take about an hour to mill their daily grain rations into flour and another 1 to 2 hours to make the bread to save time several days worth of material was often prepared at once according to military regulations meats of various kind were to be baked in a campfire or boiled in a cooking pot alongside them would be prepared fruits and vegetables which might be roasted on a spit or eaten raw evidence suggests that cheese was also manufactured by the troops olive oil and wine on the other hand were obtained pre-made though soldiers might still choose to alter them prior to consumption sour wine for instance would be watered down into pasta a popular drink among the lower classes along the way soldiers would introduce a special ingredients acquired from suitors or collected in the field to their meals however preparing gourmet dishes was considered unsold early well-disciplined forces would in fact regulate such a time wasting activities exceptions of course existed for the officers and commanders who enjoyed both better diets and more elaborate meals pre-made meals in certain instances soldiers ate pre-made meals on campaign this was often done for strategic reasons when the army had to move quickly a commander might order local populations to place a prepared food along the road as was done by Claudius and Nero on his march to repulse house drew bowels forces in 207 BC alternatively the soldiers themselves might be ordered to prepare their own meals ahead of time this generally involved making longer-lasting foods such as a jerky and biscuits by removing water content the meats would be dried and salted while the bread would be rebake t' into hard tack it should also be noted that when legions remained in place for long periods of time their food preparation became more centralized in these conditions soldiers could more readily access pre-made meals from camp kitchens or local taverns and markets meal time the Roman army ate two meals a day breakfast or prandium in the morning or at noon and dinner or caner in the evening the exact timing was at the discretion of the commanders and depended on how they planned to use the army eating might be scheduled right before battle as a reward for strenuous activity or in the off shifts while constructing siege works breakfast was light and generally consisted of cold meats and cheese which were readily available the dinner on the other hand was more hearty but included many of the more time-consuming steps we have discussed when the troops ate they did so together the soldiers took food with members of their country burning and were expected to eat standing or sitting officers dined with one another and the aristocratic higher-ups would often recline as was befitting their class food and drink was consumed using a Legionnaires equipment a bronze Patera served as an all-purpose a cooking pot cup and food bowl solids were picked up using fingers since that the fork was unknown to the Romans daggers could cut bread and meat while spoons were used to consume soups and porridge additional earthenware cups might also be present alongside a range of wooden utensils given time the soldiers would tend to hoard additional gear as always it was in the interest of a disciplined force to curb such activities in fact the entire highly organised process of food supply preparation and consumption was a key feature of Rome's military that is all too often overlooked without this engine driving the legions they would never have achieved the levels of success that made them so famous we hope you have enjoyed this look under the hood of the Roman war machine and appreciated sharing in the experiences which made up the everyday life of our ancestors a huge thanks is owed to our supporters on patreon and the many talented researchers writers and artists who made this video possible please consider contributing to fund future content if you found this topic interesting check out these related videos about our fascinating past be sure to LIKE and subscribe for more history and check out our description for ways to support the channel thanks for watching

Channel: Invicta

Views: 1,768,342

Rating: 4.9156566 out of 5

Keywords: everyday moments in history, moments in history, roman army documentary, roman army structure, roman soldier, roman soldiers in battle, roman soldier prepares dinner, roman soldier cooks, roman soldier food, roman cooking, roman food, roman legionary equipment, roman legionary's clothing armour and equipment, legionary equipment, roman history podcast, roman history, historia civilis roman army, roman diet, what did roman soldiers eat

Id: 4-l_EbXE3LU

Length: 14min 52sec (892 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 22 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

Excellent video and excellent channel.

Good job.

[u/A_A_M_A_A_M]

Literal r/mealtimevideos

[u/[deleted]]

Great video, kind of slow though. Didn't get to "a soldier preparing dinner" until 8 minutes 10 seconds in.

[u/gymrat505]

what is sour'd wine?

[u/bigboyg]

Interesting a-stuff. The a-narrator's style is a-slighty annoying a-though.

[u/Boxfulachiken]

/r/mealprepsunday