Foods+and+Feasts

= Foods and Feasts =

//**What was the significance of this topic during the Middle Ages?**//

Food and Feasting was important in the Middle Ages for many reasons. First, it encouraged enforced leisure, which contributed to the fall of the Middle Ages. Overall, almost a third of the Medieval year was comprised of Festivals and celebrations. Second, what you ate was essential in defining your social class. The diet of the poor man consisted of bread with the occasional piece of cheese or slab of butter. The rich man, however, had much more, including ales, wines, meats, and many other foods. Finally, it was the main industry in the Middle Ages. There were entire sections of markets dedicated to just milk and butter! That is why food and feasts were important during the Middle Ages. CAS

Works Cited
 * Feasts and Festivals. The Middle Ages. Ed. William Jordan. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1996. 1-6. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 May 2010.
 * Food and Drink. The Middle Ages. Ed. William Jordan. Vol. 2. 1996. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, n.d. 1-5. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 May 2010.

//**Include a picture that relates to this topic. Explain what the picture is showing.**//

This is a picture of the feasts and the type of foods that people ate in the Middle Ages.

Work Cited
 * “File:StNikita122fourLobed.jpg.” Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Foundations, 26 Apr. 2010. Web. 5 May 201

//**How did this topic influence life and events of the time period?**//

In medieval times, there were many ways of getting food. Some people went hunting and fowling or they went to the many feasts that were held during the middle ages. When the people went hunting and fowling, they hunted for birds for meat to eat and they also hunted large game and small game, such as deer and rabbits. Only some people who lived during the middle ages went hunting. Others would buy things from markets, such as grain, salt, fish, wine, wheat, poultry, eels, bread, and ale. When other food wouldn't last very long, they would eat things that could be stored for a long time like wheat, salted fish, and wine. The medieval feasts and festivals took up more than one third of the year where they served many common foods such as bread and wine. Some of the food they ate at the feasts and festivals were home grown. Many people back then would grow their own crops and then harvest them. Overall, hunting and fowling was an important source of meat in the middle ages and they had many feasts and festivals that were very important to daily life. AMA Works Cited
 * “Food and Drink.” The Middle Ages. Ed. William Jordan. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1996. 103-110. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 4 May 2010.
 * “Foods and Feasts.” The Middle Ages. Ed. William Jordan. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1996. 90-94. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 4 May 2010.
 * “Hunting and Fowling.” The Middle Ages. Ed. William Jordan. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1996. 227-228. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 3 May 2010.
 * “Inns and Taverns.” The Middle Ages. Ed. William Jordan. Vol. 3. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1996. 5-7. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 4 May 2010.
 * “Markets.” The Middle Ages. Ed. William Jordan. Vol. 3. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1996. 121-122. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 3 May 2010.

// **Connect this topic to something we studied earlier or to the world today.** //

A connection to my topic "Food and Feasts" to something we studied earlier or to the world today is religion and our food styles. Starting with religion dealing with food, some things we have in common with Medieval food and religious food is that in Medieval times religion was very particular on when and which foods were eaten. They only ate meat three days a week. Today, some religions have certain holidays when they don't eat meat or don't even eat at all. With food styles today meat is a main part of meals. In the Middle Ages meat was also a very important part in daily meals. They mostly baked or boiled food. They mostly fried their fish, though. We commonly fry our fish also. Fats for both were usually not used. Bread was also a common part in Middle Ages. Bread today is commonly used in religion and in meals. That is my connection to my topic "Food and Feast" to today's religion and our food styles. SWT Works Cited
 * “Food and Drink.” Medieval World. Ed. Sally MacEachern. Vol. 4. Danbury, CT: Grolier Education, 2001. 6-9. Print.

//**Describe, define or explain this topic.**//

In medieval times, in Europe, they had so many festivals, they covered up more than one third of their year. In Islam they had 2 main festivals, the Night of Ascension and the Night of Divine Decree. There must have been a lot of food in those days. They had many foods back then, some of them being chicken, swans, salmon, seals, and whales. In England they were required by law to take at least 126 days off of work for their festivals and they could last for more than 24 hours. In Islam they celebrated the Night of Ascension, as that was when Muhammad ascended in to heaven and came back to earth. Twelfth Night marked the last day of the Christmas season in England and was the Epiphany celebration. Those are some of the foods and festivals of the medieval times. DRS Works Cited
 * “Feasts and Festivals.” The Middle Ages. Ed. William Jordan. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Schnider Sons, 1996. 90-94. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 May 2010.

//**What was the impact of this topic on today's society?**//

Foods, Feasts, and trade were important to medieval Europe and people today also have some similarities and differences to what they ate and what kind of celebrations they would have. And some of the trade that went on during the medieval time period. During the medieval times trade was a big part of the society. People would buy and sell food and would sell them for a reasonable price so many people would buy from the markets. The owners of farms and estates grew the food they needed, and foods served as a form of money between a lord and his peasants. This kind of reminds me of Roots markets because they have food and food like materials for cheaper, and that is why a lot of people go there. There was many different types of foods they would eat. Bread was the most common of all the the foods and today we use a lot of bread in our society. When they would have feasts they would be joyous and it featured singing,dancing,feasting,costumes,and entertainment.This reminds me of people today who celebrate thanksgiving. Foods and Feasts were important to medieval Europe and people today also have similarities and differences and these are some examples. SL Works Cited
 * “Feasts and Festivals.” Middle Ages. Ed. William Jordan. Vol. 3. New York: Charles scribners’s Suns, 1996. 90-94. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 3 May 2010.
 * “Food and Drink.” The Middle Ages. Ed. William Jordan. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1996. 103-110. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 3 May 2010.

This page was created during the Month of April 2010 This page was last updated during the Month of May 2010