Cocanha, o país da fartura eterna/ Cockaigne, the country of endless abundance
Autor: Paulo Seidl | Publicado: 2016-01-21T11:13:00-08:00






Oskar Herrfurth (1862-1934)

"Das Märchen vom Schlaraffenland",







series of six postcards, Uvachrom. 354, no. 5086, pre-1934

<!--[if !supportLists]-->I.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
<!--[endif]-->Introduction

This article intends to examine literature on the land
of Cockaigne, an imaginary country where food abounds, work is prohibited,
sexuality is free, and their inhabitants are everlastingly young. The
literature analysis is meant to provide base for a specific iconography
examination, which is offered at the last part of the article.&nbsp;



<!--[if !supportLists]-->II.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
<!--[endif]-->The
Mythical land of Cockaigne 

The idyllic idea of a land where work is needless and
food is lavish was not created with Cockaigne. Several Greek-Roman authors
fancy similar utopian lands, such as Plato and Euripides in the 5th
century b.C. The Bible tells us the story of the Garden of Eden where work and
pain did not exist and fruit trees were plentiful. The Coram also promises a
post-life heaven not only teemed with food, but also with free sexuality,
guaranteeing 500 spouses and 4,000 virgins for each male. The medieval story of
The Holy Grail inspires lifelong youth, and perhaps the Brothers Grimm were
influenced by Cockaigne when they described the witch’s gingerbread house in
the famous fairy tale Hans and Gretel.

Cockaigne has been part of people’s imaginary since
the 12th century, from oral tradition, and since the 13th
century, in literature, with the publishing of the French poem&nbsp;Le Fabliau de Cocagne. Since then,
several other publications appeared in different Western European countries.
Different versions offered distinct views on the magical land, and were
consequently adapted to the cultural environment of the country where the story
was duplicated. 

In all versions, however, Cockaigne has always been
depicted as a utopian land with four main characteristics: the abundance of
food at no effort, the lack of necessity to work, eternal life and youth, and free
sexuality.

The High Middle Ages were marked by famine, pest, and
struggle, especially among the least privileged classes. It is no wonder that
Cockaigne gained so much space in the imaginary of the population as well as in
literature and iconography. At times of penury and severe moral restriction, commoners
needed an escape of fancy to forget their own struggles for survival and their
miserable life.



Interestingly, each version of Cockaigne was adapted
according to the local culinary culture. For instance, in France flans would
drop like rain and sausages were picked up from trees. Italian poems portrayed
houses made of lasagna and mountains of Parmesan cheese. The cultural
adaptation of each version provides paramount input to understand the local
cuisines and food habits of each nation. 

The writings and iconography in Cockaigne, which have
always been intended to the lower classes, describe exactly the opposite of
what the population ate. One clear example is meat, one of the most present
food items in the reports on Cockaigne. Roasted flying poultry and walking
braised animals are central in the description of Cockaigne. It is well know
that meat was a privilege of the high class, particularly roasted meat. Losing
precious animal fat to the flames of the oven was a luxury the poor could
definitely not afford. They had to do with small pieces of cubed meat, usually pork, mixed in their cabbage stews and soups. &nbsp;



In addition to meat, Franco (2013) describes three
other food items that were omnipresent in the reports of the mythical land:
fish, wine, and sweets. As meat was restricted to the upper class, fish was not
a common peasant food either. During Lent, when the Church imposed restriction
on meat consumption, fish and seafood were restricted to the rich. But in
Cockaigne, salmon, sturgeon, herring, and other luxury fish were abundant.

Although the poor did have access to wine, the drink
was also quite present. Why is that, if the menu on Cockaigne seems to be the
reverse of that in real life? One possible explanation is that wine has always
been associated with happiness, well being, and torpor. A land with free
permissiveness could not do without the red drink. One of the most
representative portraits of Cockaigne, a 1567 oil painting by the Flemish
painter Pieter Bruegel, shows three lying satiated men.&nbsp;



The men are half awake
and one of them has his pants unbuttoned probably from overeating. But an empty
wine jug on a tree shelf provides evidence that in addition to more than plenty
food, the three men also drank a considerable amount of wine.





Pieter Bruegel, the Eldder.&nbsp;The Land of Cockaigne, 1567

Oil on panel. Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany.



The last food item that overwhelms in the depictions
of Cockaigne is sweets. Sugar, which is only known to French Cuisine as of the
14th century, was considerably expensive at that time,&nbsp;so dessert items, such&nbsp;as pastries, pies, and cakes were never on the table of the
peasants. This was, instead, a luxury of which they could only dream, and thus
quite present in the representations of Cockaigne.

It is not difficult to imagine that what was part of the
real diet of the lower classes would not be part of their fancy. Likewise,
Cockaigne had no space for bread, by far the most consumed food item of the
poor, responsible for a vast majority of the 2,000 daily calories consumed per
day (Franco, 2013). For the same reason, vegetables, fruit, soup, butter, and
milk were not on the menu of Cockaigners either. 

Other food items that were not available on the menu
of Cockaigners were spice and olive oil. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;Oskar Herrfurth (1862-1934),,&nbsp;


series of six postcards, Uvachrom. 354, no. 5087, pre-1934



Spice, like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg
and pepper, was known to be expensive and its use represented a social
distinction until shortly after the Renaissance. So was olive oil, regarded by
the well-off as a substitute for butter, which was frowned upon. But in
Cockaigne, those food items were not necessary, simply due to the fact that no
one had to cook! The pigs wandering on the street and the poultry flying in
from the sky to the dishes of the people were ready to eat. No oil was needed
to prepare a dish that was certainly already seasoned.&nbsp;

And so Cockaigne remained for many centuries as a
small haven of luxury for the struggling Medieval lower class, leaving hints of
what those people fancied eating and what they actually put on their table.



<!--[if !supportLists]-->III.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
<!--[endif]-->Iconography
analysis





Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553)



“The fountain of youth,” 1546 (Berlin – Gamaeldegalerie)





“The fountain of youth” by Lucas
Cranach depicts one of the characteristics of Cockaigne, eternal life and
youth. The portrait has a clear clockwise sequence: Before the bathe, during
the bathe, and after the bathe. Then the people move onwards to a tent,
followed by a lush banquet, and then a promenade in the woods.

We can see on the left of the
fountain a number of elderly and sick people. Some of them are so old or sick
that they must be helped to get into the water. An old man is brought in a
wheelbarrow, while others are in a chariot and one is on a horse. Another old
man sits on the steps of the fountain and is aided by an already refreshed
young woman. All of them still have their clothes on, except by an old man who
has help to take his clothes off – he is about to enter the fountain.

The portrait also depicts several
nude women in the fountain, who have already been exposed to the magical effects of
the water. In the upper part of the pool stands a fountain sprinkling the
mystic water. This may indicate that the water is ever-flowing, and its waters
are eternal. The rejuvenated women are happily swimming, enjoying their new
status. Two women are embracing, depicting that Cockaigne is so sexually free
that homosexuality is not only tolerated but welcome. Some women are washing
their hair, hoping, perhaps, to rid of their old white hair.

To the right of the pool we can
observe an usher leading the now young women out of the water and into a tent.
Once dressed, the rejuvenated men and women have a banquet awaiting them.
Someone is bringing a large platter of food onto the table, an indicator that
the food is abundant and infinite. 

After the banquet, we can see two
couple dancing. One of them is going towards the bushes, leaving to fancy what
their business is out there. Some people are under a tree, which carries
perhaps sweets and pastries instead of fruit. 

Finally, Lucas Cranach’s painting
is interesting because it shows all the characteristics Cockaigne usually
displays in literature, namely, abundant food, eternal youth, and free
sexuality. 






&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;IV. Conclusion



&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;An imaginary, utopian land, Cockaigne had everything mankind had always
fancied: &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;food, sex, and eternal young life at no effort. Part of the imaginary
of Western Europeans &nbsp; &nbsp; for centuries, it was represented in the Middle Ages in
oral tradition and literature. In the &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Modern Age, a substantial number of
portrays depicted the mythical country. While some &nbsp; &nbsp; of these works of art
focused on one aspect, like eternal youth, others depicted food, wine &nbsp; &nbsp; or even free sexuality the land offered their inhabitants. 





&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;But Cockaigne represents more than that. It brings forth the need to
escape the tough &nbsp; &nbsp;reality lived by a struggling population, who had little to
eat under a very strict moral &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;imposed by the constant surveillance of the
Church. And fortunately it provides us with &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;substantial input on the type of
food that population ate – or did not eat.









&nbsp; &nbsp; V. References

Delumeau,
J. (org.) 1976. La mort du pays de
Cocagne. Paris, Publications de la Sorbonne.

Ferrières,
M. 2002. Histoires des peurs
alimentaires. Paris, Seuil.

Franco,
H. Jr. 2013. Cocagne – histoire d’un pays
imaginaire. Paris, Arkhê.

Quellier,
F. 2010. Gourmandise – histoire d’un péché
capital. Paris, Armand Colis.

_The_Land_of_Cockaigne_-_WGA3507.jpg last visited on January 12, 2016.


http://www.ealimentarium.ch/en/magazine/pleasure/amazing-feasts/land-cockaigne&nbsp;last visited on
January 17, 2016