The Strange World Of Medieval Food And Delicacies
Public DomainFrom roasting cats to serving up beavers and lampreys, many medieval dishes weren’t for the faint of heart.
Europeans in the Middle Ages routinely cooked, served, and ate dishes that most people today couldn’t possibly pretend to stomach. From beaver tails and minced swan entrails to roasted cats and slithering lampreys — the meals our medieval predecessors ate would likely spur animal cruelty charges today.
The average diet during the Middle Ages was a relatively healthy combination of bread, vegetables, and meat. Pretzels were a popular and convenient snack, and people even brought their own meat to local bakers who wrapped these in dough to bake them. Unfortunately, not everyone could live so leisurely.
From baby rabbits to barnacle geese, European taverns and inns were riddled with weird medieval foods. Historians have since pointed to Christianity as the reason for this, as the devout observed a minimum of three fast days per week and established strict rules regarding their diets — and found some bizarre solutions.
People annually fasted for 40 days of Lent but also gave up animal products throughout each and every week. The reasoning was rooted in scripture, as people fasted on Wednesdays to honor the day Judas betrayed Christ, on Fridays to remember God’s suffering, and on Saturdays to pay tribute to the Virgin Mary.
According to Bridget Ann Henisch and Fast and Feast: Food in Medieval Society, this self-imposed form of self-discipline was “a spring-cleaning to freshen the soul and make it ready to receive God’s grace.” Any land animals that would die during the Biblical flood were off limits, but fish were exempt from restrictions.
While coastal townsfolk leisurely enjoyed seafood to satisfy their religion, those living inland were subjected to old rotting herring and cod. This led to an increase in alcohol consumption as many drank wine or ale in order to stomach meals made of lamprey — or cats that the superstitious skinned and cooked for their allegiance to Satan.
Curious exceptions included beaver tails, rabbit fetuses, and barnacle geese, which were mistaken for aquatic creatures at the time. Fortunately for everyone involved, the Reformation during the 16th century lifted these ubiquitous restrictions and allowed people to eat what they chose — even on Fridays.
