Food at the Tournament
Magistra Rosemounde of Mercia (copyright Micaela Burnham 2010)
Before we can know what kind of food was eaten at tournaments, we must first ask, what exactly was a tournament? In general, a tournament was a fair-like event that centered on the martial activities of the wealthy; in other words, a sporting event. Tournaments could last a day or two or go on for weeks. Because of the nature of jousting, melees, and the other forms of combat that were practiced, these were outdoor events that needed a fairly large amount of land. They were sponsored by royalty or nobles, and were generally held near the castles or residences of the hosts, and there were villages or towns in the vicinity where many would seek lodging and food. Although tournaments were held by and for the nobles, they were often attended by all classes of people. The nobles brought large retinues of friends, attendants, and servants to see to their needs. Merchants, including food merchants, attended to sell things, and even the poor would show up to watch these colorful, exciting events. Many activities took place besides the martial ones; minstrels, troubadours, jugglers, actors, and other entertainers were there, feasting and dancing in the evenings, and religious services. Merchants of all types plied their wares, and servants went about the business of their masters. Noble ladies would have brought entertainments as well; embroidery, poetry, and so on. There would have been gaming, not just betting on the martial activities, but also gambling with dice, cards, and board games. Between the tourneys there were other blood sports, bull baiting, dog fighting, and cock fighting. Prostitutes plied their trade, and cut purses and other scoundrels would have skulked about.
So now that we have better defined the tournament, what sorts of foods were there? All types of foods were available, but certain foods were more common than others. These fall into three broad groups: fast foods sold by food venders, beverages, and foods that were preserved or otherwise traveled well.
Fast foods: Fast foods, then as now, were foods that could be carried away.
Bread products were quite common. All types of bread and rolls as well as pancakes, pastries, wafers, and waffles were available. Fritters of all types were popular and easy finger food. Fritters are fried batter, either plain (think funnel cakes) or with sliced fruit or vegetables dipped in batter and fried. They might be sprinkled with sugar or honey. Another bread product was “girdle bread,” or rather griddle bread. This was a round of pastry dough fried in fat on a griddle, which might have other foods on top or be dusted in sugar or honey. “Rastons” is a stuffed bread loaf or roll. The top is cut off and the soft interior scooped out, crumbled and fried with spices and raisins, then put back in bread “bowl” and re-covered. The “oubloyer,” or maker of wafers and waffles was a popular food merchant as well.
Meat vendors were quite common in cities and towns, and would certainly have been at tournaments as well. Roast, boiled, and fried meats were all sold in stalls. Sausages and fish of all types would have been available. Mustard is specifically mentioned as a condiment available in meat shops. Chaucer’s cook made “mortrews;” a pâté like dish of ground meat, eggs, and bread crumbs.
Pasties were the sandwich of the middle-ages. They were a self contained pocket of pastry with fillings of all types. Meat, fish, cheese, vegetables, fruits, and combinations of these were all found in pasties. Some were so popular that they became known by specific names that identified the ingredients inside. Cornish pasties have meat and turnips, while Lombard pasties always contain cheese with other ingredients.
Some of the other fast foods included fresh fruit, roasted nuts, cheeses, pickles of all types, soups and stews, pottages, and candies.
Beverages: Like all festive and sporting events, we can assume that large amounts of alcoholic beverages were consumed. Wines of all types and qualities, meads, and ales would have been sold. What you bought and consumed would have depended on what you had to spend. Ale was generally the beverage of the poor, though the high protein, low alcohol ales made in the middle ages were drunk by all to some extent. The nobles and wealthy favored wines, and mead appeared to be popular with the middle-classes.
Preserved foods: There are period references to canning (earthen jars with sealed tops immersed in boiling water) that are surprisingly similar to modern canning techniques. This would have enabled people to preserve many types of foods for travel without refrigeration. Pickling with vinegar and wine was a popular method of preserving fruits and vegetables. “Compost,” a pickled salad or relish, was a very common dish in period. Salting and smoking were common methods of preserving meat and fish, as well as some cheeses. Aged cheeses also keep well. Unbroken raw eggs will keep for at least two weeks at room temperature, and can be cooked when needed.
Our discussion has focused on foods that were bought and foods that were brought, but who bought and who brought? The nobles and other wealthy attendees at tournaments were in a better position to bring and/or prepare their own foods. They brought large retinues with cooks, servants, and a baggage train with all the necessary supplies. In this way they could control the quality of their food. There were certainly food vendors who catered to the rich with vintage wines, fresh cheeses and local delicacies, but it is likely that much of their food came with them, or was purchased raw and cooked there. If they were lucky enough to be staying with the sponsor of the tournament, they would have been fed at his table. The servants of the rich were fed by their masters, but they probably supplemented these meals with some of the fast foods that were different than their usual fare. The poor were the ones who bought most of the fast food. This was also the case with the poor who lived in large towns or cities. Often the apartments where they lived had no cooking facilities, so prepared foods were bought from the numerous food shops or street vendors in their neighborhoods. The quality of the foods sold by vendors was often in question if we are to believe the numerous laws that were enacted to control the quality of the food they sold. Those of the small middle-class stayed at inns when they traveled, and likely partook of the food available there, supplementing both with bought and brought foods.
Period Sources
Visual depictions from period
Food vendors were regulated by numerous laws dealing with sanitation, standardized weights and measures, and quality. It was illegal to sell warmed up pies from the previous day, for instance.
Period Cookbooks
Some cookbooks that translate and redact from period sources also describe the types of fast foods popular in period as well as cooking techniques of all types, food preservation, and other items relating to our subject. Many sources were used. The ones below had a great deal of the information used in this class.
Food and Feast in Medieval England, P.W. Hammond, 1993, ISBN 0-7509-0992-7
The English Hus-wife, Gervase Markham, 1615
The Good Housewife’s Jewel (1596-1597), Thomas Dawson, 1996, ISBN 1-870962-12-5
All the King’s Cooks, Peter Brears, 1999, ISBN 0-285-63533-6
Recipes
Mushroom Pasties, translated and adapted from Fêtes Gourmandes by Jean-Louis Flandrin and Carole Lambert by Micaela Burnham
Serves 12
Pastry
6 cups flour
4 sticks unsalted butter
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup + chilled water
3 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon powdered saffron
Filling
2 pounds small button mushrooms, or mixed mushrooms
4 ounces grated mild white hard cheese; aged white cheddar, or parmesan
1 teaspoon fine grain salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons poudre fine
Poudre fine
11 grams powdered ginger
24 grams ground cinnamon
1 gram ground cloves
1 gram grains of paradise
24 grams sugar
Make the pastry in 2 batches. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the chilled butter until the mixture looks like coarse meal with a few larger lumps. Drizzle in the ice water a little at a time while bringing the mixture together into a ball. Do not overwork the dough. Divide it into a total of 12 balls and chill in zip-locks.
Meanwhile wash the mushrooms and trim off stems. Cut them into 1/2 inch dice. Blanch them in boiling water for 3 minutes, then drain completely and blot dry. Place these in a bowl and mix in the grated cheese, olive oil, salt, and poudre fine. Set aside.
Roll out the pastry dough balls into 1/4 inch thick circles, 4-5 inches in diameter, 4 at a time on a lightly floured board, keeping the remaining dough covered. Divide the mushroom mixture into fourths, then use one of these divided equally between the four dough circles (about 2-3 Tab. per circle). Dampen the edges of the circles with water and draw them up and seal them, crimping the edges with your fingers so that there is a seam along the top. Remove the pasties to a very lightly buttered parchment paper on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and mushroom mixture.
Mix the egg yolks with the saffron and a tablespoon or so of water and whisk together. Let this stand about 15 minutes for the saffron to soak in. Brush this over the pasties.
Bake in a 425' F oven for 15-20 minutes until golden. Cool completely before serving.
Compost, adapted from To the King's Taste by Lorna J. Sass
Serves about 12-16
2 2/3 cups water
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/8 head cabbage, coarsely shredded
5 ounces small turnips, peeled and minced
2 small carrots, peeled and chopped fine
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped fine
1 pear, peeled, cored, and cubed
3 tablespoons raisins
3 tablespoons currants
2/3 cup sweet red wine
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
1 1/3 dashes cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon whole cloves
1 thin slice fresh ginger root
1/3 teaspoon aniseed
1/3 teaspoon fennel seed
1/3 teaspoon mustard seed
1/3 teaspoon cubebs
Make a bouquet garni by wrapping the cloves, ginger, aniseed, fennel seed, mustard seed, and cubebs in a piece of doubled cheesecloth and fastening the top securely.
Bring the water and salt to a boil in a large pot. Add the bouquet garni and all the vegetables. Reduce heat to medium and cook 10 minutes. Add the pears, raisins, and currants and cook another 10 minutes.
Drain over colander. Discard the bouquet garni and return mixture to the pot and set aside.
In the top of a double boiler, combine wine, vinegar, and honey. Heat to just boiling over medium heat and add cinnamon, stirring until blended. Pour this syrup over the mixture in the pot and stir until all the solids are coated.
Allow to stand for several hours, stirring occasionally. Store in airtight containers and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Magistra Rosemounde of Mercia (copyright Micaela Burnham 2010)
Before we can know what kind of food was eaten at tournaments, we must first ask, what exactly was a tournament? In general, a tournament was a fair-like event that centered on the martial activities of the wealthy; in other words, a sporting event. Tournaments could last a day or two or go on for weeks. Because of the nature of jousting, melees, and the other forms of combat that were practiced, these were outdoor events that needed a fairly large amount of land. They were sponsored by royalty or nobles, and were generally held near the castles or residences of the hosts, and there were villages or towns in the vicinity where many would seek lodging and food. Although tournaments were held by and for the nobles, they were often attended by all classes of people. The nobles brought large retinues of friends, attendants, and servants to see to their needs. Merchants, including food merchants, attended to sell things, and even the poor would show up to watch these colorful, exciting events. Many activities took place besides the martial ones; minstrels, troubadours, jugglers, actors, and other entertainers were there, feasting and dancing in the evenings, and religious services. Merchants of all types plied their wares, and servants went about the business of their masters. Noble ladies would have brought entertainments as well; embroidery, poetry, and so on. There would have been gaming, not just betting on the martial activities, but also gambling with dice, cards, and board games. Between the tourneys there were other blood sports, bull baiting, dog fighting, and cock fighting. Prostitutes plied their trade, and cut purses and other scoundrels would have skulked about.
So now that we have better defined the tournament, what sorts of foods were there? All types of foods were available, but certain foods were more common than others. These fall into three broad groups: fast foods sold by food venders, beverages, and foods that were preserved or otherwise traveled well.
Fast foods: Fast foods, then as now, were foods that could be carried away.
Bread products were quite common. All types of bread and rolls as well as pancakes, pastries, wafers, and waffles were available. Fritters of all types were popular and easy finger food. Fritters are fried batter, either plain (think funnel cakes) or with sliced fruit or vegetables dipped in batter and fried. They might be sprinkled with sugar or honey. Another bread product was “girdle bread,” or rather griddle bread. This was a round of pastry dough fried in fat on a griddle, which might have other foods on top or be dusted in sugar or honey. “Rastons” is a stuffed bread loaf or roll. The top is cut off and the soft interior scooped out, crumbled and fried with spices and raisins, then put back in bread “bowl” and re-covered. The “oubloyer,” or maker of wafers and waffles was a popular food merchant as well.
Meat vendors were quite common in cities and towns, and would certainly have been at tournaments as well. Roast, boiled, and fried meats were all sold in stalls. Sausages and fish of all types would have been available. Mustard is specifically mentioned as a condiment available in meat shops. Chaucer’s cook made “mortrews;” a pâté like dish of ground meat, eggs, and bread crumbs.
Pasties were the sandwich of the middle-ages. They were a self contained pocket of pastry with fillings of all types. Meat, fish, cheese, vegetables, fruits, and combinations of these were all found in pasties. Some were so popular that they became known by specific names that identified the ingredients inside. Cornish pasties have meat and turnips, while Lombard pasties always contain cheese with other ingredients.
Some of the other fast foods included fresh fruit, roasted nuts, cheeses, pickles of all types, soups and stews, pottages, and candies.
Beverages: Like all festive and sporting events, we can assume that large amounts of alcoholic beverages were consumed. Wines of all types and qualities, meads, and ales would have been sold. What you bought and consumed would have depended on what you had to spend. Ale was generally the beverage of the poor, though the high protein, low alcohol ales made in the middle ages were drunk by all to some extent. The nobles and wealthy favored wines, and mead appeared to be popular with the middle-classes.
Preserved foods: There are period references to canning (earthen jars with sealed tops immersed in boiling water) that are surprisingly similar to modern canning techniques. This would have enabled people to preserve many types of foods for travel without refrigeration. Pickling with vinegar and wine was a popular method of preserving fruits and vegetables. “Compost,” a pickled salad or relish, was a very common dish in period. Salting and smoking were common methods of preserving meat and fish, as well as some cheeses. Aged cheeses also keep well. Unbroken raw eggs will keep for at least two weeks at room temperature, and can be cooked when needed.
Our discussion has focused on foods that were bought and foods that were brought, but who bought and who brought? The nobles and other wealthy attendees at tournaments were in a better position to bring and/or prepare their own foods. They brought large retinues with cooks, servants, and a baggage train with all the necessary supplies. In this way they could control the quality of their food. There were certainly food vendors who catered to the rich with vintage wines, fresh cheeses and local delicacies, but it is likely that much of their food came with them, or was purchased raw and cooked there. If they were lucky enough to be staying with the sponsor of the tournament, they would have been fed at his table. The servants of the rich were fed by their masters, but they probably supplemented these meals with some of the fast foods that were different than their usual fare. The poor were the ones who bought most of the fast food. This was also the case with the poor who lived in large towns or cities. Often the apartments where they lived had no cooking facilities, so prepared foods were bought from the numerous food shops or street vendors in their neighborhoods. The quality of the foods sold by vendors was often in question if we are to believe the numerous laws that were enacted to control the quality of the food they sold. Those of the small middle-class stayed at inns when they traveled, and likely partook of the food available there, supplementing both with bought and brought foods.
Period Sources
Visual depictions from period
- Duc de Berry is depicted hosting a feast while a tournament is taking place in the background.
- Pictures of people eating out or doors, one with middle-class people seated on stools with a length of cloth stretched across their knees with food being handed around.
- Another of wealthy people eating in a clearing in the woods at a hunting party picnic.
- Various pictures of food vendors of all types, especially those selling roasted meats.
- “Le Livre de Chase” (1387), The Book if the Hunt describes hunting feasts of the wealthy and the types of foods that they brought with them.
- Canterbury Tales has numerous descriptions of middle-class travelers and food in the inns and taverns.
Food vendors were regulated by numerous laws dealing with sanitation, standardized weights and measures, and quality. It was illegal to sell warmed up pies from the previous day, for instance.
Period Cookbooks
Some cookbooks that translate and redact from period sources also describe the types of fast foods popular in period as well as cooking techniques of all types, food preservation, and other items relating to our subject. Many sources were used. The ones below had a great deal of the information used in this class.
Food and Feast in Medieval England, P.W. Hammond, 1993, ISBN 0-7509-0992-7
The English Hus-wife, Gervase Markham, 1615
The Good Housewife’s Jewel (1596-1597), Thomas Dawson, 1996, ISBN 1-870962-12-5
All the King’s Cooks, Peter Brears, 1999, ISBN 0-285-63533-6
Recipes
Mushroom Pasties, translated and adapted from Fêtes Gourmandes by Jean-Louis Flandrin and Carole Lambert by Micaela Burnham
Serves 12
Pastry
6 cups flour
4 sticks unsalted butter
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup + chilled water
3 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon powdered saffron
Filling
2 pounds small button mushrooms, or mixed mushrooms
4 ounces grated mild white hard cheese; aged white cheddar, or parmesan
1 teaspoon fine grain salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons poudre fine
Poudre fine
11 grams powdered ginger
24 grams ground cinnamon
1 gram ground cloves
1 gram grains of paradise
24 grams sugar
Make the pastry in 2 batches. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the chilled butter until the mixture looks like coarse meal with a few larger lumps. Drizzle in the ice water a little at a time while bringing the mixture together into a ball. Do not overwork the dough. Divide it into a total of 12 balls and chill in zip-locks.
Meanwhile wash the mushrooms and trim off stems. Cut them into 1/2 inch dice. Blanch them in boiling water for 3 minutes, then drain completely and blot dry. Place these in a bowl and mix in the grated cheese, olive oil, salt, and poudre fine. Set aside.
Roll out the pastry dough balls into 1/4 inch thick circles, 4-5 inches in diameter, 4 at a time on a lightly floured board, keeping the remaining dough covered. Divide the mushroom mixture into fourths, then use one of these divided equally between the four dough circles (about 2-3 Tab. per circle). Dampen the edges of the circles with water and draw them up and seal them, crimping the edges with your fingers so that there is a seam along the top. Remove the pasties to a very lightly buttered parchment paper on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and mushroom mixture.
Mix the egg yolks with the saffron and a tablespoon or so of water and whisk together. Let this stand about 15 minutes for the saffron to soak in. Brush this over the pasties.
Bake in a 425' F oven for 15-20 minutes until golden. Cool completely before serving.
Compost, adapted from To the King's Taste by Lorna J. Sass
Serves about 12-16
2 2/3 cups water
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/8 head cabbage, coarsely shredded
5 ounces small turnips, peeled and minced
2 small carrots, peeled and chopped fine
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped fine
1 pear, peeled, cored, and cubed
3 tablespoons raisins
3 tablespoons currants
2/3 cup sweet red wine
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
1 1/3 dashes cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon whole cloves
1 thin slice fresh ginger root
1/3 teaspoon aniseed
1/3 teaspoon fennel seed
1/3 teaspoon mustard seed
1/3 teaspoon cubebs
Make a bouquet garni by wrapping the cloves, ginger, aniseed, fennel seed, mustard seed, and cubebs in a piece of doubled cheesecloth and fastening the top securely.
Bring the water and salt to a boil in a large pot. Add the bouquet garni and all the vegetables. Reduce heat to medium and cook 10 minutes. Add the pears, raisins, and currants and cook another 10 minutes.
Drain over colander. Discard the bouquet garni and return mixture to the pot and set aside.
In the top of a double boiler, combine wine, vinegar, and honey. Heat to just boiling over medium heat and add cinnamon, stirring until blended. Pour this syrup over the mixture in the pot and stir until all the solids are coated.
Allow to stand for several hours, stirring occasionally. Store in airtight containers and refrigerate until ready to serve.