Food in Medieval England: Diet and Nutrition

by C.M. Woolgar (Editor), D. Serjeantson (Editor), T. Waldron (Editor)

Overview

Food and diet are central to understanding daily life in the middle ages. In the last two decades, the potential for the study of diet in medieval England has changed markedly: historians have addressed sources in new ways; material from a wide range of sites has been processed by zooarchaeologists and archaeobotanists; and scientific techniques, newly applied to the medieval period, are opening up possibilities for understanding the cumulative effects of diet on the skeleton. In a multi-disciplinary approach to the subject, this volume, written by leading experts in different fields, unites analysis of the historical, archaeological, and scientific record to provide an up-to-date synthesis. The volume covers the whole of the middle ages from the early Saxon period up to c .1540, and while the focus is on England wider European developments are not ignored.

The first aim of the book is to establish how much more is now known about patterns of diet, nutrition, and the use of food in display and social competition; its second is to promote interchange between the methodological approaches of historians and archaeologists. The text brings together much original research, marrying historical and archaeological approaches with analysis from a range of archaeological disciplines, including archaeobotany, archaeozoology, osteoarchaeology, and isotopic studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199563357
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	07/26/2009
Series:	Medieval History and Archaeology
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

C.M. Woolgar is Reader and Head of Speical Collections at the University of Southampton Library.

D. Serjeantson is Research Fellow in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Southampton.

T. Waldron is Consultant Physician at St. Mary's Hospital, London, and Honorary Professor at the Institute of Archaeology at University College London.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction, C. M. Woolgar (University of Southampton Library), D. Serjeantson (University of Southampton), T. Waldron (University College London)

I: Survey of Foodstuffs
2. The Consumption of Field Crops in Medieval England, D. J. Stone (Dulwich College)
3. Gardens and Garden Produce in Later Medieval England, C. C. Dyer (University of Leicester)
4. The Archaeology of Medieval Plant Foods, L. Moffett (University of Birmingham)
5. From Cu and Sceap to Beffe and Motton: The Management, Distribution, and Consumption of Cattle and Sheep, AD 410-1550, N. J. Sykes (University of Southampton)
6. Pig Husbandry and Pork Consumption in Medieval England, U. Albarella (University of Durham)
7. Meat and Dairy Products in Late Medieval England, C. M. Woolgar (University of Southampton Library)
8. Fish Consumption in Medieval England, D. Serjeantson (University of Southampton) and C. M. Woolgar (University of Southampton Library)
9. Birds: Food and a Mark of Status, D. Serjeantson (University of Southampton)
10. The Consumption and Supply of Birds in Late Medieval England, D. J. Stone (Dulwich College)
11. The Impact of the Normans on Hunting Practices in England, N. J. Sykes (University of Southampton)
12. Procuring, Preparing, and Serving Venison in Late Medieval England, J. Birrell (University of Birmingham)

II: Studies in Diet and Nutrition
13. Group Diets in Late Medieval England, C. M. Woolgar (University of Southampton Library)
14. Seasonal Patterns in Food Consumption in the Later Middle Ages, C. C. Dyer (University of Leicester)
15. Monastic Pittances in the Middle Ages, B. F. Harvey (Somerville College, Oxford)
16. Diet in Medieval England: The Evidence from Stable Isotopes, G. Müldner (University of Bradford) and M. P. Richards (University of Bradford and Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig)
17. Diet and Medieval Demography, P. R. Schofield (University of Wales Aberystwyth)
18. Nutrition and the Skeleton, T. Waldron (University College London)
19. Conclusion, C. M. Woolgar, D. Serjeantson, T. Waldron (University College London)

Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

"The editors and their collaborators earn the highest praise and thanks for serving us this rich banquet."—Richard C. Hoffmann, The Agricultural History Review

"This is a most valuable book with. A wealth of new information."—John Langdon, Economic History Review

"The comprehensive breadth of topics within a single volume on medieval food is unprecedented; this book—a successful fusion of multiple perspectives and data—has set a new standard for current understanding and future research."—Aleks Pluskowski, Reviews in History

"This is a fine book...it is Blair's close readings, or rather close listenings, which carry the argument. Blair let us hear that sound in the rhythms of the poetry she discusses with such keen and well-tuned attention."—Tennyson Research Bulletin

"A valuable addition to Oxford University Press's impressive Medieval History and Archaeology series."—Mark Page, English Historical Review

From the Publisher