Dining with our medieval ancestors - 2/4

It’s time for your taste buds!

Discover what our medieval ancestors ate, drank… and how they laid their table. What an art!
In the 12th and 13th centuries, people ate according to their quality: “Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are”… So, just like clothing, the medieval meal was also a social marker.

For the working man, it’s mainly vegetarian, but the vegetables aren’t really those of today, and on his humble table, the king of foods is bread.

Aristocratic food, on the other hand, was rich in taste and color, higher in protein and spicier, and the conviviality of the meal was often characterized by a highly codified ritual: expressions still used today such as “Dresser la table”, “Mettre le couvert” and “Faire bonne chère” bear witness to this.

In the cathedral, the images of aristocratic meals engraved in glass and stone are not only “Windows to the Middle Ages”, they also often have a religious connotation… Among them, that of the Eucharistic meal, with bread and wine omnipresent.

The main foods and their symbolism…

The “flesh” of domestic animals: the ox – left: stained glass window of Saint Sylvester; right: stained glass window of the Signs of the Zodiac © NDC – fonds Gaud

At the butcher’s: the fatted calf! Left: Prodigal Son stained-glass window; right: the butchers, donors of the St. Peter stained-glass window (upper choir) © NDC – fonds Gaud

The pig: on the left, the month of November in the Signs of the Zodiac stained glass window; on the right, the month of December in the north portal © NDC – fonds Gaud

“The chef’s dish”: stained glass window of the Signs of the Zodiac © NDC – fonds Gaud

The sheep, the goat: left, sculpture in the royal portal (12th c.); right, stained glass window of Saint Lubin © NDC – fonds Gaud

The flesh of wild animals: left, stained glass window of Noah; right, stained glass window of Saint Eustace © NDC – Fonds Gaud

Stained glass window of Saint Eustatius © NDC – fonds Gaud

Birds, a delicacy of choice! Left, Creation voussure on the north portal; right, Prodigal Son stained glass © NDC – Fonds Gaud

*“The Book of the Conquests and Deeds of Alexander”*, Paris, Petit Palais, Museum of Fine Arts of the City of Paris © RMN-Grand Palais / Bulloz Agency

The fish, stained glass window from the Signs of the Zodiac © NDC – fonds Gaud

At the fishmonger’s Stained glass window of Saint Anthony – A fish skewer © NDC – fonds Gaud

The House of the Salmon, Poissonnerie Square (Chartres)

Snails, shellfish and oysters were eaten. 13th-century rood screen

**ICHTHUS** : Iêsous Christos Theou Uios Sôtêr – The Last Supper, stained glass window from the Royal Portal (12th century) © NDC – fonds Gaud

Vegetable crops *(A fortified city garden, from the ‘Book of Rural Profits’ by Pietro de Crescenzi – 1230-1320)*

Herbs *(or simples)*: parsley, chervil, sorrel, basil, rosemary, sage, cilantro, mint…

Salt: stained glass window of Saint Theodore and Saint Vincent *“You are the salt of the earth…”* © NDC – Gaud collection

Spices: ginger *(the ultimate!)*, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, saffron, cloves, pepper, grains of paradise…

Stained glass window of Saint Nicolas: left, grocer or apothecary? Right, merchant/grocer © NDC – fonds Gaud

Fruit: apples, grapes, figs, pears, quinces… Left, stained glass window of the Good Samaritan; center, stained glass window of the Signs of the Zodiac. Top right, Creation arch (north portal); bottom right, Apostles © NDC – Fonds Gaud

Wine, the fruit of vines and human labour

*“The vineyard of the Lord of the universe is the house of Israel”* (Is, 5, 7a): Noah stained glass © NDC – fonds Gaud

Wine at the tavern: left, stained glass window of Saint Eustatius; right, stained glass window of Saint Lubin © NDC – fonds Gaud

*“To speak of wine, speak divine!”* Stained glass window of Saint Lubin © NDC – fonds Gaud

Stained glass window of Saint Lubin © NDC – fonds Gaud

The Marriage of Cana: stained glass window from Notre-Dame de la Belle-Verrière © NDC – fonds Gaud

*“Take and drink from it, all of you, this is the cup of my blood…”* left, stained-glass window of Saint Lubin; right, stained-glass window of Saint Remi © NDC – Fonds Gaud

What do you find at the tables of farmers and craftsmen? Signs of the Zodiac stained glass © NDC – fonds Gaud
Bread: soup
Soup: vegetables cooked in the pot (companage): cabbage, peas, beans, lentils… + herbs
Wine
More rarely meat and fish

What can be found at the monks’ table? Stained glass window of Saint Lubin © NDC – fonds Gaud
A frugal diet!
Easter to October: 2 meals a day
October to Easter: 1 meal a day
Snacking in the late Middle Ages
Bread
Bean and vegetable soup
Fish, sometimes eggs
Fruit
Meat is generally excluded except perhaps for holidays
Wine

Article taken from the lecture “Dining with our medieval ancestors” by Véronique des Boscs,
from the Cathedral’s Visitor Service,
as part of the 2023 Autumn Cycle