As I promised in my last post, this post is going to be dedicated to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a late 14th century chivalric romance. Written by an unknown author, the poem is thought to originate from the North East (the dialect of Middle English used suggests an author from Lancashire, Staffordshire or Cheshire). It is written in alliterative verse, with words in the same poetic line repeatedly beginning with the same consonant sound, a type of poetry that seems to have originated in Germany in 4th century BC. Anglo-Saxon poetry, including Beowulf which I wrote about in this post, was also frequently alliterative.
Continue reading “Festivities at the Medieval Court”
The Middle Ages: From Fasting to Feasting
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”