In contrast to the few non-specific references to eating in Anglo-Saxon literature, medieval literature, particularly that dating from the later Middle Ages (14th and 15th centuries), contains far more references to food. Fish, stews, pies, bread and sweetmeats, all washed down with ale and wine, are scattered through the pages of many texts from the period. Continue reading “The Middle Ages: From Fasting to Feasting”
An Anglo-Saxon miscellany
Just a couple of recipes to finish off my gourmet trip back in time to Anglo-Saxon England, before I move onto the Middle Ages in my next post. Continue reading “An Anglo-Saxon miscellany”
King Alfred Comes To Tea
Anglo-Saxon kings probably didn’t do much cooking and one of the best-known stories about Alfred the Great (849 – 899AD) recounts a disaster in the kitchen. Never mind the fact that he successfully defended his kingdom, Wessex, against Viking invasion, that he united the English and that he is the only English monarch to have ever been given the epithet, “the Great”; no, what everyone knows about Alfred is that he burnt the cakes! Continue reading “King Alfred Comes To Tea”
An Anglo-Saxon Banquet: Tucking in with Beowulf
Anglo-Saxon literature provides little material for the interested cook. Emphasising, as it does, the heroic deeds of men, little space is devoted to the lives of women or to the domestic sphere.
Continue reading “An Anglo-Saxon Banquet: Tucking in with Beowulf”