Fast and Feast: Food in Medieval Society
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Book Overview
Engagingly written and fully illustrated, Fast and Feast explores the medieval approach to food, its preparation, and its presentation. Since attitudes toward food were shaped by the religious and social ideas of the period, the medieval perspective is clearly developed for the modern reader and, in turn, sheds light on the character of life in the Middle Ages. The subject is examined from the varied points of view of all concerned: host, guest, cook, and servant. Bridget Ann Henisch draws her material from a wide range of primary sources: devotional literature, sermons, courtesy books, recipe collections, household accounts, chronicles, and romances. Most of these works were written in England during the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, but Henisch also makes reference to texts from other periods and countries. Readers with an interest in food will find her important study both informative and entertaining.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:027100424X
ISBN13:9780271004242
Release Date:September 1986
Publisher:Penn State University Press
Length:288 Pages
Weight:1.00 lbs.
Dimensions:0.8" x 5.8" x 8.9"
Customer Reviews
3 ratings
Scholarly lite
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
Is it good? Oh, it's good. Gets cumbersome in places but the author maintains a lighthearted and rather even-handed tone. The author occasionally wanders dangerously into dull academese, but then rescues the prose with brilliant anecdotes. Don't expect any hard data - read and enjoy the hundreds of snapshots depicting a life long gone. As for content: It's positively shocking to read about the social disapproval that came simply with eating before lunch, eating too much, and eating the wrong foods. It horrifies a modern reader to see the tremendous and baseless sacerdotal interference in nutrition throughout the Middle Ages. Ponder the role of churchmen who feel they had nothing better to do than offer proscriptions on how, what, and when to eat. And then ponder how our generation has outdone even them in associating guilt and shame with the love of food...
A Cumbersome Read
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 17 years ago
I originally gave this a 5 star rating (and then couldn't go back and change it to a 3 star rating) based on the overwhelming and obvious amount of research that went into preparing the book. The book however, is misleading in that it is a SCHOLARLY written text on medieval foods and customs, all of which require the reader to wade through tons and tons of short clips of religious beliefs associated with food, as well as tons and tons of short clips of bibical quotes regarding food and food taking. This might be all well and good if the writing flowed, but it doesn't. The content is disjointed and extremely cumbersome to read, and I finally gave up. The subject matter caught my interest and I was sadly disappointed - the mistake was mine, and an expensive one at that.
Entertaining and Informative
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
This meticulously-researched book on medieval food customs not only contains a great deal of useful information for anyone wanting more information on the era, but is almost as readable as a novel. The author has a great style, both humorous and knowledgable, and the text is enhanced with illustrations from manuscripts of the period. This is not a "plan your own medieval feast" recipe book but a meticulous and engaging look at medieval attitudes about food, food storage and preparation, and what really went on in the hall and in the kitchen. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the period.
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