How Did Medieval Monks Survive On Such A Lacklustre Diet?

that is tasteless cold oh and that is an acquired taste I'm downstairs today I've come to a 13th century cistercian Abbey at bewley to work out just what those medieval monks would have eaten let's see what's on the menu [Music] secession monks were determined they would be a self-sufficient as possible many Abbeys support themselves through Agriculture and Brewing ale it's one thing the secession didn't like it was those other groups of monks who they said had all gone soft and become gluttons and so cistercians ruled the monks should eat only once a day and meat was forbidden all apart from the sick the discussions diet largely consists of coarse bread but also vegetables herbs beans and a really crazy special occasion they let their hair down and they might have some fish some eggs or other Delicacies known as pittancies one of the most famous franciscans of them all Bernard of clairvo wrote in a sermon I abstained from meat Because by overfeeding the body I also feed carnal desires I strive to take even bread with moderation lest my heavy stomach hinder me in standing up for prayer he sounds like a blast pottage eaten by almost everyone in the medieval period it's basically a soup a stew or throwing anything that's lying around into a pot and heating it up it contains vegetables and Grains things like that often eaten with bread so let's give it a go that is tasteless cold sticky not very nice but that's all they had they were popular because there were lots of variations on this you just chucked in whatever happened to be around at the time they could be balled up quickly and served or some pottages would sort of stay on the fire in a pot for days on end and people just kind of keep adding additional ingredients from time to time really this needs frankly anything to spice it up herbs that could grow here in the UK or normally I'm so quite nice like Rosemary get that in there ideally salt but salt costs a bit of money so that was some almost a bit of a luxury back in those days but we've also got sage and Thyme frankly I think the more the better it needs every little bit of help it can get not that is an improvement the vegetables in there might be leeks beans peas cabbage Sprouts no potatoes of course because Christopher Columbus had not traveled across the Atlantic yet and brought back potatoes and it was common for monks to have these vegetables growing nearby they're very well tendered Gardens they'd grow herbs as well there to provide flavor and also for medicinal purposes cistern monks were remarkably skilled herbalists and in many of those monsters like this one those herb gardens survive to this day you can't talk about medieval food without talking about fish particularly pickle Herring this one is in a trencher of bread let's give it a go basically Herring a lot of that in Northern Waters wrapped up in bread a plate of bread oh and that is an acquired taste door it's um oh it goes on delivering as well you get the very strong Herring taste and the pickle really comes through actually it's offset a bit another nice the nice soft bread not too bad fish would typically be eaten on feast days so important really just stays or fast days and there were about three fast days a week that Christians preserved in the Middle Ages there was a Wednesday the day that Judas betrayed Christ a Friday in Penance for Jesus's suffering and frankly that is penance now in addition to that there was the marathon fish eating period of the year which was lent 40 days no meat fine if you live on the coast guzzle down Seafood but when you live inland abstinence was only a very different scale week upon a week of Muddy tasting freshwater fish or salted Herring and cod Easter must have been a party one of my favorite quotes about this is from a 15th century Schoolboy who wrote in his diary thou will not believe how weary I am of fish how much I desire that flesh will come in again for I have eat none other than Salt Fish this Lent and is engendered so much phlegm within me that stops my pipes that I can scarcely speak nor breathe I can see how you get like that after 40 days of this monks drank a lot of beer there were hundreds of monasteries right across Europe all Brewing beers partly because they wanted to be completely self-sufficient it's really safer as well as nicer to drink beer in a world particularly where there's lots and lots of sewage in the water the Brewing process cleaned a bit and made it safe for human strength so men women and children all drank a lot of beer in the medieval period monks became well known for Brewing because they followed a principle of self-sufficiency so they wanted to make sure that everything they ate and drank could be provided by the monastery themselves the monks made some important Innovations in order to keep up with growing demand they figured out new ways to mass produce beer they added hops to it to balance out the sweetness from The Malt and that also acted as a preservative which meant in the period following the medieval period when European Sailors started sailing across vast distances towards the Americas and Asia they could take barrels of beer stop getting too thirsty I think lots of people were brewing and fermenting and Distilling anything to get their hands on in this period but monks became particularly well known for making great beer the reason they gave was because they believed they needed to make the best product possible since they were working for God and a subpar beer would be a major offense short lads [Music] I'm not sure I could have to be medieval Monk and I like the outdoors I like the idea of being self-sufficient a life of quiet contemplation it was just a bit thin lots of beer though thanks for joining me folks if you've enjoyed watching please click on any of the videos on this screen for more delicious content [Music]

Channel: History Hit

Views: 142,892

Keywords: history hit, history hit youtube, medieval monks documentary, medieval monks, medieval monk life, medieval monk food, medieval monk robe, medieval food history, medieval food documentary, medieval food recipes, monk diet, trying medieval food, diet of medieval monk, dan snow food tasting, cistercian monks, cistercian, cistercian monastery, cistercian monks documentary, medieval diet vegetarian, beer medieval period, benedictine monk food, monk diet medieval period

Id: WWGUsJ7cenY

Length: 7min 25sec (445 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 31 2023