A Hermit’s Cookbook: Monks, Food and Fasting in the Middle Ages

Description

How did medieval hermits survive on their self-denying diet? What did they eat, and how did unethical monks get around the rules? The Egyptian hermit Onuphrios was said to have lived entirely on dates, and perhaps the most famous of all hermits, John the Baptist, on locusts and wild honey. Was it really possible to sustain life on so little food? The history of monasticism is defined by the fierce and passionate abandonment of the ordinary comforts of life, the most striking being food and drink. A Hermit’s Cookbook opens with stories and pen portraits of the Desert Fathers of early Christianity and their followers who were ascetic solitaries, hermits and pillar-dwellers. It proceeds to explore how the ideals of the desert fathers were revived in both the Byzantine and western traditions, looking at the cultivation of food in monasteries, eating and cooking, and why hunting animals was rejected by any self-respecting hermit. Full of rich anecdotes, and including recipes for basic monk’s stew and bread soup – and many others – this is a fascinating story of hermits, monks, food and fasting in the Middle Ages. Beginnings – who were the first monks? Desert fathers, pillar-saints and fasting The ‘hermit craze’ of the Middle Ages Herbs and health From field to table – the medieval monastic experience Medieval diets – the food landscape Contents Illustrations Preface Acknowledgements Chapter One Beginnings – who were the first monks? A brief history of monastic origins Sources of evidence: how do we know? Chapter Two Desert fathers, pillar-­saints and fasting Grazing The principles of abstinence and self-­mortification Kinds of Food Chapter Three The ‘hermit craze’ of the Middle Ages Western monasticism and the rediscovery of ‘the desert’ St Bernard, Cluny and Food Monastic Menus Lenten food, and other fasts Olives Beans Fish Cheese and dairies Medieval hermits and solitaries Chapter Four Herbs and health Plant lore in the Middle Ages Food values and humours Wild food Some Monastic Herbs Chapter Five From field to table – the medieval monastic experience Food growing Monastic gardens and orchards The cellarer The refectory Drinking Uses and abuses of the Rule: Benedictine eating in the later Middle Ages Alms and the poor Chapter Six Medieval diets – the food landscape Typical medieval diets Europe, trade and the food economy Spices and cooking Medieval recipes Monasteries and medieval cuisine Conclusion Notes Further Reading Index