How did they live

How did the people of medieval Europe lived without health insurance, hospitals, clinics and other forms of health care that are available to us, in today’s world.   Well, most people  suffered in silence, some may not even knew they were sick, as many diseases were diagnosed later. Or even if they knew, it was more likely they had an acute pain that they could not take it anymore. Most common for of treatment was the medicine administered to them by doctors (that had studied some classic greek and roman medicines) or, in small and remote communities, by other healers. There were physicians, barbers, surgeons, itinerary surgeons (traveling from place to place and offering their services to the wounded), healers (people without any formal training but a lot of hand-on experience in working with medicines) and apothecaries (the pharmacists of today). The majority of medicines available in the Middle ages  were obtained from, plants, herbs and spices, that were simmered, boiled, mince

This is the interior of an old inn in Bucharest, Romania. It is called "Caru cu bere" which may translate as "The Beer Wagon" Photo by Baloo69 on Wikimedia Commons  may translate as Today, we think of beer mainly as a alcoholic beverage that’s consumed as a drink and it can get you in trouble if you don’t know when to stop. But back in the days people used beer for extended purposes and for other reasons then just entertaining around a football game. Back in the days they even made beer soup for the entire family; parents, grandparents and kids were fed with beer soup. Beer Soup Medieval Recipe (When beer was served for breakfast and beer bellies were well respected)   This is an article I wrote last summer for hubpages. It is a short history of beer mainly with the purpose of introducing an old beer soup recipe. Today I want to speak about beer as a drink in the Middle Age. Now, we may think that centuries ago the best drink of majority of people was w

See salt harvest - France Rolf Süssbrich -own work One of the most used method of preserving food in the past, before freezers and fridges was salting. Salt was a very popular item that everybody need it in quite large quantities. Sea salt was obtained by flooding specially set constructed fields near a sea. The water evaporates and at the bottom was salt (with grit and other impurities) This salt was cheap to obtain and cheap to sell and could be produced at large scales. More pure salt was obtained from natural springs that run through salt deposits in the ground. A series of pipes were set to capture the water of such springs. Then the water was boiled in huge kettles till evaporation leaving a better salt behind. The third way to get salt was by digging it in the salt mines. Salt was used to preserve meats and fish, cheese and  butter. Fruits were dehydrated on large wooden surfaces, often placed outside, under direct sun but also indoor, in a room with opened windows

Mediaeval farmers, paying the "Urbar" In the middle age, most european land was own by royalty,  nobility, churches and monasteries. There were very few other individuals that own a little piece of land like chevaliers or craftsmen.  The rest of the people were considered lucky to have a little cottage to sleep over night. They were serfs, meaning that they belonged to a noble and were allowed to work the noble’s land. In exchange for their work, which occupied all day, they would receive food. That was their pay check. The food they got it was only enough to survive. Today, it is very difficult to reconstruct the life of a peasant in the middle age. If for the upper classes there are plenty records, for the serfs historians have to dig realy dip for a piece of information. The documents that they can find are tax records, donations, wills, household inventories or funeral banquets. One of these documents shows us that in 1268, in the domain of Beaumont-le-Roger, in Fran

 wikimedia commons   Giulio Romano , Amore e Psiche ,  Palazzo Te a Mantova .  Conviviality is seen as a distinguishing sing between animals and humans. Since prehistoric times, people have gather to find food, to cook food and to eat together. Not only is this conviviality a sign of civilization but also a  sign of social status. The richer the meal, the higher the class. Even since the neolithic revolution, when societies started to settle and aggregate around fertile lands, forming communities and building cities, people have organized parties. These parties, called banquets, were very often a privilege of the ruling classes. Until the second half of the 20th century, food was consumed for survival all over the world. And is still a problem til these days in some parts of the world. So, only the rich could afford to throw a party.  Some foods were considered a sign of luxury and abundance. During centuries, the banquets of the rich served multiple purposes: to show off, t

Phoenicia. Kordas , based on Alvaro 's work Maybe we became a little sophisticated in our cooking lately but, to be honest, we still eat the same food as millenniums ago. Take for example Phoenicians. They ate cereals, specially wheat and barley often imported from Egypt. They made porridges, breads and flatcakes that grew in popularity and crossed the borders  and survived for centuries. They also had vegetable gardens where they would grow peas, lentils, chickpeas, and beans, plus a bunch of fruits. Most popular fruits were pomegranates and figs.  The pomegranate fruit was regarded as the fruit of fertility, due to it’s seeds abundance. Figs were considered a delicacy and were exported to other neighbours (egyptians). Other fruits they cultivated were dates, apples, quinces, almonds, limes and grapes. Grapes were also used to make wine, just as today. The wine-making process was well developed and there are evidences that wine was “running like water” in a city called Ul