The culture of food in England, 1200-1500
By: C.M. Woolgar
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 341
ISBN-13: 9780300181913
Subjects: Social life and customs; Food habits; History
Description: In this revelatory work of social history, C.M. Woolgar shows that food in late-medieval England was far more complex, varied, and more culturally significant than we imagine today. Drawing on a vast range of sources, he charts how emerging technologies as well as an influx of new flavors and trends from abroad had an impact on eating habits across the social spectrum. From the pauper's bowl to elite tables, from early fad diets to the perceived moral superiority of certain foods, and from regional folk remedies to luxuries such as lampreys, Woolgar illuminates desire, necessity, daily rituals, and pleasure across four centuries.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Food Cultures; title: Cooking in the Countryside; title: The Culture of Drink and Drinking; title: Bread, Meat and Dairy Foods; title: Sauces and Spices, Sugars and Preserves; title: Gardens, Wild Foods, Fish and Hunting; title: Civic Food Culture and the Guilds; title: Foodways and Monastic Institutions; title: The Elite Table; title: Cooks and Kitchens, Dietetics and Foods; title: Hunger and Famine; title: Food and Popular Mentalities.