posted 02-23-2001 02:28 AM           

• Food and diet

  A particular aspect of medieval archaeology in recent years, and mainly associated with large-scale excavations, is the development of the detailed specialist report on faunal and floral remains. It has, therefore, been possible to learn more about the medieval diet, the corpus of material supplementing the information that exists in household accounts, at least for the upper echelons of society. The analysis of plant remains has also made it possible to provide an idea of the environment in the vicinity of a castle in the middle ages, such as Hen Domen and Sandal. A useful survey of the historical and archaeological sources for diet towards the end of the middle ages is provided by Platt, whilst Alcock has discussed some of the problems that can be associated with the archaeological evidence.
  Assuming that most of the animal and plant remains were discarded as kitchen refuse, it is not always possible to state whether the remains represent food prepared for the lord of a castle or the servants and garrison. Nevertheless, some types of meat such as venison were presumably for the lord’s table, and no doubt both lord and servant ate beef, mutton and other meats, the only difference being that the better cuts went to the high table. It is also impossible to know just how representative the collection of bones is, and whether, therefore, it is possible to gain an accurate picture of the diet at a particular castle at any given time, As Alcock mentions, seiving has not always been used to collect biological remains on castle excavations, so that small
  bones, of both animals and fish, and plant remains will be missing from the evidence. Another factor is that not all bones will be preserved, especially if the soil in which they have been concealed is acidic or if the material thrown out had come from young animals, with the bones not yet completely ossified. Another factor, mentioned in the report on the Portchester fish material, is that some bones may well represent species which reached the castle in the guts of larger fish. Nevertheless, allowing for such shortcomings, botanical and zoological specialist reports, even with a small amount of material, do help to illustrate the dietary aspect of castle life, and tend to confirm that much of what is eaten today was being eaten in the middle ages.
  Household accounts will naturally throw light on aspects of food and diet that cannot be obtained from the archaeological record. For example, an examination of the 1420—1 accounts of Elizabeth Berkeley, Countess of Warwick, informs us that 18,950 gallons of ale were consumed in that period. The document also lists the quantities of foodstuffs purchased, as well as the range of spices used in the preparation of food.
  Castle reports with useful biological reports include the earth-and-timber castles of Hen Domen, Llantrithyd and Baile Hill, York, whilst the excavations of larger castles such as Portchester, Sandal, Barnard, Hadleigh and Threave have provided a large quantity of evidence for diet and environment. Most excavations have produced quantities of bones from the larger animals such as cattle, sheep/goat (it is almost impossible to separate the two due to bone similarity), as well as deer, whether red, roe or fallow (or all three). Pork was another meat that was served at the table. At Hadleigh the amount of rib-bones and vertebrae that was found amongst the kitchen refuse suggests that, at least in the thirteenth century, the preferred cuts of meat were steaks or chops. The remains of deer at some castles, for example Castle Acre and Portchester, were few in number, implying that venison was not a major feature of the diet at these castles. At Llantrirhyd deer bones accounted for a large percentage of the bones, although cattle, sheep and pigs were still in greater quantity.
  The evidence for particular birds and fish is of considerably more interest when it comes to the study of the medieval diet, although not all the bird remains represent animals eaten. The more common bird remains tend to be goose and fowl, as well as pigeon which were no doubt reared in dovecots close to or within castles. At Okehampton, however, very little pigeon was found, just three fragments from the medieval deposits, and domestic fowl dominated everything else, over 60 per cent of the main species of bird from medieval rubbish being fowl. Other remains included goose, duck, woodcock, with partridge being more common than goose in the fourteenth and the fifteenth century, although the bones came mainly from two particular deposits. Species of other game served up for banquets at Portchester included swan, curlew and woodcock.
  Bones of marine fish are found particularly in castles close to the coast or by navigable rivers, and shellfish also formed part of the medieval diet. None of the fish remains from Okehampton, representing at least twenty-seven species, were from a freshwater environment, presumably they were all caught in the fishing grounds around the west country. Sturgeon, herring, eel, bass, mackerel and mullet were just some of the seafood prepared at the castle. Oysters were also consumed, and the analysis of the remains suggests that they were deliberately cultivated, the majority being harvested when three to four years old. Portchester also produced a large range of sea fish, as might be expected from this coastal site, whilst at other sites such as Sandal and Baile Hill in York only a few varieties were represented; these included cod and haddock. In contrast, there were only a few fragments of fish found in the kitchen waste at Threave, in spite of its position on the river Dee.
  The examination of the late medieval contents of the kitchen drain at Barnard Castle has revealed details of a late fifteenth-century feast, or perhaps feasts, the remains providing one of the best environmental deposits from a northern site. Plant remains included grain, which may have been intended for a pottage, and peas and sloes. Both freshwater and marine fish formed part of the diet, and included herring, trout, pike, eel and haddock. Oysters, cockles and mussels were also eaten. Goose and fowl dominated the bird remains, with other bones coming from grouse and partridge. Amongst the mammal bones, the larger animals (cattle, pig, sheep/goat) naturally dominated, but there was also deer, hare and rabbit.
  

• Peas pottage to roast pheasant

  Medieval cooking ranged from pottage or thick soup of meat, vegetables and cereal grains, to the extraordinary creations produced for an aristocratic feast. The poor cooked over an open fire, usually in earthen-ware pots, although small animals were sometimes wrapped in clay and baked in the embers. The better-off might have possessed iron firedogs supporting an iron spit used for roasting meat or hanging a cauldron. Kitchen facilities in a castle or manor house had to cater for a larger number of people and included a large fireplace for roasting, with the ovens for baking bread usually being in a separate bakehouse because of the risk of fire. Boiling would be done in cauldrons while long-handled pans were used for sauces or frying. Grilling was done on a special device over rather than under the fire.

  Two meals a day were normal, the main one late in the morning and a second at what would now be called teatime. Breakfast was only for children and invalids. Ale was much more common than wine in northern Europe, wine being more widely drunk in the south. Other beverages inclucded milk and cider. Noble households would have their own birdcatcher and dovecote, as well as domestic poultry. Hens were raised in great numbers with forced-feeding common, particularly leading up to the Christmas celebrations.
  Dairy produce was as important for the aristocracy as for ordinary people, vith a variety of creams and soft cheeses being made. Cream was drunk alone or poured on fruit; cooked milk making assorted possets and caudles’, as well as cream soups, custards and cheesecakes. Seals were classed as fish, as were barnacle geese and puffins, but in England whalemeat, sturgeon and porpoise were reserved for the king. Pickled salmon was an even greater luxury since it had to be imported from Scotland or Ireland.
  In rich households, the main meals became increasingly ceremonial and the greatest people in the land might ‘feast’ almost every day. Most tables remained simple boards laid on trestles, with cups, trenchers and perhaps wooden plates for the majority, while those at the top table ate off pewter, silver or gold. Seating was according to rank with servants and dependants placed ‘below the salt’, in other words furthest from the lord and lady who occupied the top table. Grace was also said before and after eating.
  In the early years, servants carried around joints of meat so that each person could cut off what they wanted, but later on a senior servant, called the carver, entered the hall while most of the guests were washing their hands using the ewers and cloths brought by other servants. The carver then ceremonially cut a small portion of bread before the pantler tasted each dish as a precaution against poison. The lord then washed his own hands and the guests sat down. People also disliked eating after dark for fear of flies and other ‘filth’ in the food, particularly after the Black Death plague in 1348.
  There were normally many different dishes and diners tried to sample them all before finishing the meal with nuts, fruits and sweetmeats. People ate with their own small knives though the host usually provided spoons, forks being a later idea in most areas. Waterproofed leather, wood, pewter or ceramic cups were used for drinking, with the rich using silver goblets or, by the late medieval period, even imported glasses. In a great household, the head butler was in charge of drinks; wine was only considered suitable for the ‘old and wise’, not the ‘young and silly’, but there was also ale, cider, perry and mead available.
  Citrus fruits were imported into England by the late 13th century, though the most expensive foreign foods were currants, raisins, figs, dates, prunes and almonds. Eastern spices were much in demand. The most common oriental spices were ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, cardamoms and cloves, and included others which have since disappeared. They were so valuable that they were kept under lock and key in special cupboards, along with imported cones of cane sugar from the eastern Mediterranean.
  

I would strongly recommend looking at Chapters 2 and 3 of Life in the English Country House, A Social and Architectural History by Mark Girouard (1978, Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-02273-5) which I afraid I can't reproduce for you here.

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And the astronomyours beheldyne the constellacions of hys bryth by thare castle, and foundyn that he sholde bene wyse and curteyse, good of consaill
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posted 02-24-2001 04:09 PM            

There is much other related information in the "Life in a Castle" forum.

Levan