page_title: Paris in the Middle Ages
section_title: Food and drink
hierarchical_section_title: Paris in the Middle Ages / Daily life / Food and drink
context_page_description: In the 10th century Paris was a provincial cathedral city of little political or economic significance, but under the kings of the Capetian dynasty who ruled France between 987 and 1328, it developed into an important commercial and religious center and the seat of the royal administration of the country. The Île de la Cité became the site of the royal palace and the new cathedral of Notre-Dame, begun in 1163. The Left Bank was occupied by important monasteries, including the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Abbey of St Genevieve. In the late 1100s, the collection of colleges on the left bank became one of the leading universities in Europe. The Right Bank, where the ports, central markets, artisans and merchants were located, became the commercial center of the city, and the merchants assumed an important role in running the city. Paris became a center for the creation of illuminated manuscripts and the birthplace of Gothic architecture. Despite civil wars, the plague, and foreign occupation, Paris became the most populous city in the Western world during the Middle Ages.
context_section_description: During the Middle Ages, the staple food of most Parisians was bread. Grain was brought by boat on the Marne and the Seine from towns in the surrounding region and unloaded at the market on the Place de Grève. Mills near the Grand Pont turned it into flour. During the reign of Philip II, a new grain market was opened at Les Halles, which became the main market. When the harvest was poor, the royal government took measures to assure the supply of grain to the city. In 1305, when prices rose too high, Philip IV ordered a collection of all grain remaining in storage in the region and its prompt delivery to Paris at a fixed maximum price. Beginning in 1391, grain merchants were not allowed to hold more than an eight days' supply. Beginning in 1439, all farmers within eight leagues around the city (about 31 kilometers) could sell their grain only to the Paris markets. 
  Meat was the other main staple of the diet. Enormous herds of cattle, pigs and sheep were brought into the city each day. The animals raised within seven leagues of Paris could be sold only in Paris. The largest cattle market was on the Place aux Pourceaux, at the intersection of the Rue de la Ferronnerie and Rue des Dechargeurs. Another large market was located at the Place aux Veaux, near the Grande Boucherie, the major slaughterhouse.
  Fish was another important part of the Parisian diet, largely for religious reasons; there were more than one hundred fifty days a year, including Fridays and Saturdays, when Parisians were required to fast and to eat only boiled vegetables and fish. Most of the fish was salted herring brought from ports on the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Wealthy Parisians were able to afford fresh fish brought on horseback during the night from Dieppe. The diets of the rich Parisians in the late Middle Ages were exotic and varied; they were supplied with olive oil and citrus fruits from the Mediterranean Basin, cinnamon from Egypt, and saffron and sugar from Italy and Spain. Contrary to a popular notion, spices were not used only to hide the taste of spoiled meat; they were valued for the medicinal qualities and believed to improve the digestion. The chefs of the time made sauces and ragouts by combining spices with an acidic liquid, either vinegar or the white wine from the Île-de-France.
  Wine had been introduced to Paris by the Romans, and it was the principal beverage they drank during the Middle Ages. Most of the inexpensive wine came from vineyards neighboring the city: from Belleville, Montmartre, Issy, Vanves. Wine merchants were regulated and taxed by the royal government beginning in 1121. Better-quality wines arrived in the city between September through November from Champagne, Burgundy, and Orléans.
caption: A medieval peasant meal (French National Library)
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