What Was the Diet of a Medieval Peasant?

in today's video we're going to be exploring the diet of a medieval peasant this video is not sponsored by hellofresh welcome to medieval madness during the middle ages the common people lived a very harsh and physically demanding lifestyle they were serfs at the very bottom of the feudal system and had to swear an oath on the bible to serve and obey their local lord many peasants worked as farmers for the lords who owned the fields and because of the nature of farming certain tasks had to be done at a specific time of the year not only did they have to work their own land but they were also obliged to work on church land for free as well this was a highly inconvenient use of their valuable time which could be better spent providing food and money for their own families the control wielded by the church was such that people were afraid to commit any sin that might offend god and stop them from entering heaven in addition the peasants had to pay one-tenth of whatever they earned to the church either in money or in goods the latter was usually the case because money was scarce the peasant farmers usually paid in seeds and this caused great hardship leaving the family short for sowing the fields in the following year the church tithes were kept in large tithe barns sadly a lot of the grain that was stored would either be eaten by rats or ruined by their urine and droppings in 1395 the french historian and poet jean frassard described the nobility as having great power over the surf so that they were quote bound by law to plow the fields of their masters harvest the corn gather it into barns and thrash the grain they must mow and carry home the hay cut and collect wood and perform all manner of tasks of this kind as a general rule the forests were owned by the local nobles or even the king so anyone called poaching game would be severely punished it wasn't just farmers that reared animals most medieval families kept chickens sheep and cows to provide eggs wool and dairy products eggs were so prized that chickens would hardly ever be killed for their meat domesticated animals such as cattle and sheep were unable to feed themselves over the winter so they would be reared and slaughtered at the onset of the colder months joints of meat would either be salted or smoked to preserve them and feed the family until the spring most homes would have a hook over the fireplace where meat could be smoked in the early middle ages most peasants lived in wooden framed crook houses with little furniture and straw lining the floor sleeping and cooking was carried out in the same room any animals had to be brought into the home at night bears and wolves were still roaming around the english countryside at that time and could easily steal chickens pigs or a cow which would be disastrous for the family left alone outside an animal could wander off or be stolen by other people they were protected inside the home but this would create unsanitary conditions as the animals would not have been house trained and would also carry fleas and mites beds were simple mattresses stuffed with straw and would have attracted all types of vermin and bugs the peasants themselves would have been infested with lice houses would have no running water or toilets any human waste would be collected in a bucket and either thrown out into the street or taken down to the nearest body of water unfortunately this same river or pond would also provide water for washing and cooking [Music] the most commonly eaten meat was beef as it was considered too vulgar for the nobility many poorer households kept a cow which would be slaughtered once it was too old for milking those parts which weren't eaten would be used for other essential items the hide could be made into leather and the bones could be made into implements such as needles for sowing fasteners or even weapons pigs were another favored animal for peasant families as they needed a lot less care they could be found just about everywhere in medieval europe they were also able to forage for themselves even on the city streets and they could also fend off any predators that came near such as foxes when slaughtered all parts of the pig would be used for food along with fat and cereals the blood made black puddings the intestines would be used for sausage casing even the trotters could be used to make jelly bacon and ham lasted a long time wanted have been cured or pickled so it became the staple meat for peasants during the winter months in the towns and cities not many had their own kitchen so they needed to buy ready-made food from street merchants albeit different to the ready-made meals of today beef was used as filling for pies and other food items as was pork sheep might also be kept by peasant families they could use the use milk regularly trade or sell any wool and eat the mutton once the sheep became too old to be useful after the norman conquest in 1066 any game animal belonged to the nobles poachers could be executed so catching deer and wild boar were only an option for the bravest peasants the hunting of rabbit and hare was allowed though and they would be caught in snares left throughout the countryside the nobility domesticated rabbits in the early middle ages they were bred for meat and kept in large pens called warrens in the mid-13th century henry iii of england served 500 hares and 200 rabbits at a christmas feast as a rule meats was a luxury for the poorer people of the early middle ages and was rarely eaten their staple foods were bread and cereals during the 9th century almost three-quarters of people's diets was based on bali oats and rai it's also worth mentioning that after the devastation of the black death in 1353 the population of europe was ravaged around 200 million people died this brought about a much smaller populace making food more available at this time even the poor were able to afford to eat meat recipe books from the middle ages suggest that unlike the poorer people the nobility was eating a whole array of strange dishes such as roasted cats swans and peacocks hedgehogs were served in pastry or camelline sauce this sauce made with bread wine and spices was so popular that it could be bought ready made from merchants in paris during the 14th century swans were especially prized as a banquet dish and their entrails were often minced before being mixed with bread vinegar ginger and blood another recipe suggests that the bird should be roasted and then redressed in its skin and feathers before service yum fish could be caught in streams and rivers if the lord of the manor would allow it the nobility preferred meat to fish so this was often the case of course those peasants who lived by the sea were lucky enough to be able to fish without having to get permission inland rivers and lakes were packed with fish in the middle ages salted fish and pickled herrings were the most common fish eaten in medieval europe as well as mackerel herring eels and lampreys this hideous parasitic fish was considered a delicacy and would be eaten on days when meat was not allowed king henry the first of england who ruled during the 10th century was said to have died because of an overindulgence of lampreys anything not eaten during the summer would be preserved ready for the winter cod would also be dried and salted this was called stockfish and is still made in northern norway and iceland to this day so much salted fish was consumed in the medieval diet that sources were made to make them more appetizing most had a wine or vinegar base rather than cream or milk and contains lots of herbs and spices [Music] christianity had a huge influence over what people could eat and when they could eat it during the middle ages the catholic church unified europe politically and dominated medieval life they even influenced people's eating habits everybody believed in god heaven and hell whether they were a king or the lowliest village peasant following the rules of the church was a person's only way to ensure themselves a place in heaven catholic law sanctioned official days of fast to cleanse and discipline the faithful by the 10th century this happened three days a week on wednesdays fridays and saturdays eating was banned on these three days before 3 p.m in the later middle ages this time was moved until after evening prayers the period of lent is an important and solemn time in the church calendar it leads up to easter and the sorrow of the crucifixion it lasts for 40 days and nights from ash wednesday until the day before easter sunday known as holy saturday many people still give up things for lent even today such as alcohol or chocolate during the late medieval period lent lasted for 46 days because it included six sundays as well lent was a particularly hard time for the medieval peasant who had a physical job such as farming because the fast was prolonged for so long no meat was permitted during the period and milk dairy products and eggs were also banned this usually meant a boring diet of salted fish for over a month instead of two or three meals a day fast day had just one and usually consisted of a normal portion of bread and vegetables or sometimes just bread on ash wednesday and good friday no food was allowed at all the only people exempt from fasting were children the elderly beggars and pilgrims regardless of wealth or status bread was the basis of the medieval diet and was a staple food for everyone brown bread was eaten by poorer people in fact the browner the bread was then the poorer you were likely to be it was more time consuming and therefore more expensive to produce white flour wheat was used to make the finest bread rye made a much darker bread and oats or barley were grown in colder wetter areas such as england crops would often fail and there would be poor harvest so grain would be supplemented with other ingredients peas and beans or even acorns would be added to make horse bread when grain was scarce it was edible but not eatable although in larger settlements there was more choice for the poor people with white bread being available as well as wheat rolls and even wasteal which was high quality made with very fine flour and more like a cake than a bread in about 1400 you would probably be able to buy about three or four loaves for a penny unleavened dough produced an indigestible and heavy bread so this was made quite thinly and was used as a plate these plates were known as trenches once soaked in gravy or sauce the bread plate would be eaten as well during feasts in noble households these trenches were made from three day old brown bread cut in half the slices were hollowed out in the center so that they could hold freshly killed meat and vegetables there is conflicting historical evidence that these trenches were either eaten with the meal or given to the poor after diners had finished with them one ingredient often used in the making of bread and as a cooking ingredient was ale most people drank either ale cider or mead as an accompaniment with food contrary to popular belief they also drank water if they had a good clean source such as a river or stream rain water and snow would be collected in barrels underground streams would be found and accessed by digging a well and mountain streams would also be used not only for drinking and washing but also for irrigating gardens and filling water trowels for animals in towns and cities where access to fresh water was less likely small ale might be drunk especially by children and servants because it contained a lower amount of alcohol than other ales sometimes it would be scented with raspberries if they could be found ale was made from barley or other grains with herbs mixed in for flavor there were other variants too hot milk was added to make poissette ale and a more expensive brew of mead known as bragat was made using honey and spices cider was made by steeping apples in water and leaving them to ferment mead was particularly popular in medieval island after the introduction of beekeeping in the 5th century sometimes it would be infused with hazelnuts to further enhance the flavor ale was drunk for a variety of reasons making a living at the time was labor-intensive not only was the beer needed to replace lost fluids from sweating but also to provide the necessary calories needed for such energetic work it was cheap to make at home and most importantly it helped to boost morale at a time when life was hard and short how little has changed ale would have been drunk from about the age of five and during the 13th century most adults would drink approximately one gallon veil per day food cultivation was very important for the medieval peasants vegetables and herbs were an essential part of their diet in fact the word vegetable was rarely used during the middle ages herbs roots and green plants were all referred to collectively as herbs herbs as we now know them were used extensively during the middle ages they were easy and inexpensive to grow and made a lot of the bland food eaten by a poor family much more palatable and interesting as expensive spices could only be afforded by the rich although the nobles would happily eat onions leeks and garlic they considered any other vegetables only fit to feed the poor and not very nutritious this was because dried vegetables were exclusively eaten by monks when they were fasting under vows of abstinence barley bread was also fed to monks for a set period of time as a punishment for disciplinary offences root vegetables such as carrots and parsnips were eaten as well as several types of bean cabbages were popular and there were many varieties including the easter cabbage and the apple headed lentils were avoided if at all possible as they were thought to cause an inflammation of the inside affect the site and bring on nightmares the cucumber was also said to be disagreeable because it was thought that the french who regularly ate it were consistently subjected to fevers fruit and vegetables were never eaten raw as this was thought to cause diseases one cookbook dated 1500 tells the chef to quote beware of green salads and raw fruits because they will make your master sick so vegetables were usually served in a stew or soup and fruit was either cooked and preserved in honey or baked into pies apples pears and quinces grew wild the quince was a very useful fruit that could be simmered and made into a type of marmalade or used as a seasoning for meat wild cherries strawberries raspberries and red currants could be found in the woods as well as foraging for berries other foodstuffs could also be found in the woods such as nuts mushrooms and wild honey in the mountainous regions of italy and france peasants foraged for chestnuts which became an important part of their diet both the rich and poor ate a dish called pottage it was the simplest and cheapest form of cookery and was an early type of soup the average peasant would own an earthenware pot that they could place in the hot ashes of their fire or a cast iron cauldron that they could hang over it vegetables such as celery cabbage leeks or peas would be chopped and thrown into the pot fresh herbs like rosemary parsley sage or thyme would be added for flavor as well as any meat that was available these ingredients would be simmered in a stock of water or ale and left a cook a more costly and thicker potage would be eaten by the nobility known as a more true peasant pottage was usually quite thin had less nutritional value and was also less filling milk drunk during this time would come from either cows sheeps or goats unlike today fresh milk was not generally available because there was no way to stop the milk from becoming sour so most poor people would drink fermented buttermilk that was left over from the butter churning process or away from cheese making workers would often eat a hard milk cheese with bread so to conclude it's commonly accepted that medieval peasants lived on a diet of roast meats and slop made from a thin gruel it seems that this is just not true many were in fact able to access a range of healthy foodstuffs by fishing farming and foraging thank you for watching this episode of medieval madness please do like and comment if you enjoyed the video and subscribe if you'd like to keep up with our weekly videos

Channel: MedievalMadness

Views: 1,123,017

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Id: H21Olb24cpY

Length: 19min 38sec (1178 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 08 2021