Tag: medieval history

Bakers (7)

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Welcome to part 7 of the Medieval England History series. This episode will focus on another important and often overlooked role, that of the medieval baker. If you enjoy this series then please check back regularly for more entries and be sure to listen on Spotify if you would prefer. If you want to suggest an episode please do so in the comments below or use the contact page.

Bakers were a very important role in medieval England. They would be responsible for providing food (bread) to a village or more commonly, the nobles or royalty.

As mentioned in the earlier post on medieval cooks, the main staple of diet was bread. Bakers and their bread being at the heart of the majorities diet. Cereals were also an early medieval age staple, until rice and potatoes were later introduced. The poor ate barley, oat and rye. Whereas the governing ate wheat. Bread, porridge, gruel, pasta, fava beans and vegetables were eaten by all members of society.

Baker’s ovens were often separated from other buildings and occasionally located outside of city walls to reduce the risk of fires. These ovens were expensive investment and required trained operation by the bakers.

Baker’s production was heavily regulated because bread was an important staple food – eaten by all. In 1267 Henry III promulgated the Assize of Bread and Ale to impose regulations such as inspection and verification of weights and measures, and quality and price control!

Baker’s played an important role in the guild system; master bakers frequently instructed apprentices and were assisted by journeymen. In 1155 a ‘fraternity’ of bakers existed in London, and the Worshipful Company of Bakers was formed by a charter in 1486, 1569 and 1685.

At the time baker’s produced bread, preservatives were not exactly available as they are today. Because of this, during times of famine the monarch would force bakers to make bread well below the market price in order to prevent people from starving. The point of the guild was to ensure that bakers had enough bread for themselves and their families.

In order to make bread the bakers and indeed the people needed to plant and grow grain in fields. This in itself took time. So as you can imagine there would have been a market of trade involving the selling and buying of grain – which still exists today. A city or village growing its own grain would be considerably more well off in terms of bread production – provided they had a baker and ovens – if they grew their own grain. Grain was used as a currency for peasants occasionally.

After growing grain it had to be separated from the chaff and ground. Remember the Lord’s mill or miller? Well, the separation was conducted at the Lord’s mill or general miller who would grind it down for a fee. (Maybe they would accept some money or a loaf of bread afterwards?). The ground grain became flour. Flour is the key ingredient in dough, and in turn bread.

Flour was used to make dough. Another key ingredient required was yeast, and this was sourced frequently from beer. Combining the flour and yeast once could then bake the dough in an oven. Depending on where the oven was it may have cost to use it. A communal oven would charge, whereas a private oven in a castle or manor might not. Dough could also be baked on an open fire as long as it was turned frequently to prevent burning.

However, the bakers had the law on their side. Prices for oven usage was fixed by law for town bakers, meaning they could not be overcharged. So, the baker would push the dough into the ovens using a large long handled paddle. The result of using the ovens resulted in burned bottoms which were given to the peasants or servants in a manor of the Lord.

The three step process was fairly easy to understand yet bakers were so important. Without these vital people the towns and cities would have starved. Bread is still a main staple in a lot of peoples diets even in the 21st century. The process is also pretty much the same. Grown grain, turn grain to flour, combine with yeast, make the dough, bake the dough and eat.

Everyone ate bread. But not everyone ate the same bread. Although grain was used commonly so were other types of crops. Oat, rye and barley being other options available to the baker to work with depending on location and crop availability.

Medieval bread was called unleavened bread. This bread was thick and dense and difficult to digest. It was baked thin and also used as plates to hold the rest of the meals! Imagine the beef or potatoes on top of bread. Sounds like a Sunday roast!

Other cheaper bread were combined breads. Cheat was whole wheat without bran. Horse bread was made from anything and combined with peas and beans for example.

Other treats like biscuis could be made as well. Bakers would bake their breads twice, leaving it easy to preserve. The biscuits were easier to store for winter, and better suited to war and travel.

The skills required of a baker are specific and recorded for you to read. From the medieval bakers literally feeding entire towns to modern day bake offs, you can try it. I encourage you to try baking for yourself – starting from the basic bread to more complicated delicacies.

New Books to Read (Medieval Period!)

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

I went back to Bramhall, Cheshire today. It really is quite the lovely (expensive) suburban area. Returning to a shop selling oils, and purchasing Rose oil, I was almost set. But I’d spotted books outside a charity shop which needed perusing. I found 2: Conquest & Crusade by written by Stewart Binns and published by Penguin Books. On the way back I bought myself some lilies! (lilac?)

I was drawn to them as medieval history has to be one of my favourite time periods. I am also writing about it on my own site under Medieval England History where you can read all about the various fun things in medieval times. Conquest is set in the 1066 battle of Hastings. Crusade is set in 1072, so not that long afterwards. Both very interesting times in history. Well documented. No doubt they will be great reads as both are around 500 pages. They were books which you give a donation of your choosing, so I did.

Now moving onto the topic of mental health. Sadly I have struggled with quite bad depression for several months. Before that, yes it was present but it took such a nosedive. Anyway I am now commenced on an antidepressant called fluoxetine. I was told it helps with sleep too.

A lot of people have suffered depression and especially the last few years, with everything ten times worse, more people than ever have developed isolation and depression. I am glad to now be on this, to finally give it a go. I have tried some before, but it wasn’t great. I just hope this helps. I’m initially on a 2 week course.

It would be good to connect with others on this treatment or those struggling I already had people reach out to psychwizard@yahoo.com and enjoyed connecting so far.

I have a novella coming out in summer – you already saw that post here*. It keeps me going. It is also a bridge between my 2nd and 3rd book. I haven’t written the 3rd book yet, but the summer release will introduce back to Beach Town. You know, I love that town. At least I used to, before zombie apocalypse came and ruined it.

Cooks (6)

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Welcome to episode 6 in the Medieval England History series. Last time we looked at medieval castles and their general sort of purpose and structure. Now we dive into the personnel, medieval cooks! If you enjoy this series please be sure to read the other episodes and listen to the voice cast on Spotify.

Medieval cooks, one of the most vital roles in the medieval times! People might not have been eating what we eat today, but I can say this, it was not that bad. A medieval cook would usually prepare the food over an open fire. Castles and noble houses later on had stoves and ovens of there own. Below are some of the cooking equipment, pans, that they would use.

A typical staple diet in medieval times didn’t quite match out 21st Century expectations. But it contained some good grub, for the time. Medieval ages saw a basic diet or food of bread (produced at Lord’s mills). Bread was not the only diet, although the most accessible and most used food source, due to the ease of production.

People of course ate a variety of meats, like chickens, geese, beef, venison and pork. Venison is considered a luxurious meat today (at least that is the impression I got) and would probably cost more than bread in the medieval ages. Back then it was mustard who took the lead as the most popular ingredients, beating salt, as salt was too expensive! Salt was reserved for the wealthy, a bit like the more expensive meats.

A cook working in the royal kitchens would live in the castle or a small village near it (either inside the walls, or just outside). As mentioned in the previous post on castles, it was a busy place and everyone had a role. Cooks were in charge of preparing meals and cleaning the kitchen. They would learn their families recipes and pass them on, as opposed to writing them down, although they probably did at some point (the first medieval cooking book appeared in the 13th Century). Preparing a meal over an open fire was commonplace, a cook used a fireplace or something called a central open ‘hearth.’ Kitchens would have stone floors, as was most common in castles. An open hearth also gave the room heat, thus the cooks would benefit from it. A hearth was usually placed in the center of the living rooms, as opposed to a separate kitchen, which came later on in the medieval ages. As the times progressed and people learned more, they realised the benefits of keeping the cooking separate from the guests, due to the smoke and potential smells etc.

the cooking pot on the fire

Cooks used a variety of tools and pans and were not short of supplies. They had knives, iron cauldrons and pots (picture above), open ovens and hearths etc. wooden spoons, pothangers, dishes, pans and platters. All of these are still available to use today. We see open fires in many living rooms today, and it resembles the cooking methods of medieval ages. Cooks were also distinguishable by their clothing. They would wear clean clothes and woolen aprons. Cooks were highly valued in the medieval ages, especially those a part of the noble or royal kitchen staff.

cooks were highly valued in medieval times!

Cooks were only one of many types of kitchen staff though, and I will briefly outline them, they are: pantlers, bakers, waferers, sauciers, larderers, butchers, carvers, page boys, milkmaids, butlers and scullions! These staff were in the hundreds and would all form part of the kitchen quarters. They were highly valued. You would not see a castle without a cook.

Back in the medieval ages things worked significantly differently, although many techniques have lasted through the ages in terms of food preservation techniques and food transportation. Back then, both preservation and transportation were extremely difficult. Nobles had access to more foreign foods like exotic spices and alcohol because they had the money and the man power to transport quickly. Decrees however would outlaw the consumption of certain foods among certain social classes because the poor or the manual labour of the town or village were considered to need cheaper more poor quality food. The class divide in the medieval times was extremely wide and it is a topic for another episode. But in terms of transport, from the 12th Century, there were improvements in international trade and wars meant dissemination in new food choices to the upper-middle classes of society. Those included things like access to wine and vinegar, black pepper and ginger. The rich or elite all had similar taste in food and drink.

As mentioned bread was a staple diet for many as it was widely available and the cheapest option available. Bakers would produce bread, and they were able to sell to cooks for castles and noble or royal kitchens, but the kitchens in the castle usually had their own bakers. Poor people ate things like barley, oat and rye. Beans and vegetable were eaten by all members of society. The rich would be prepared more expensive meals like swans or peacocks, venison and pork. Because meat was more expensive it was always seen at the dining table of nobles or elite. Fish like cod was popular. Elites usually ate fruits preserved in honey or served in pies, although fruit like apples, oranges, lemons, peaches and berries were more commonly eaten by the poor.

A cook would be paid daily but would not have the job security that a Marshall would have for example. This was due to the fact that a noble could travel and therefore would not need the cook. This was a rough time for holding down a consistent job for many, and back then they probably didn’t have contracts of employment.

Thanks for reading episode 6 – cooks! if you enjoyed this then like, comment, reblog and follow and of course keep a look out for regular episodes coming up in the Medieval England History series. Next time I’ll be talking about another crucial medieval occupation, the baker!

Castles (5)

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Welcome to episode 5 of the Medieval England History series. You can access all the episodes by going to this link here. I hope you are enjoying this nostalgic adventure into the heart of what England was during the time of the black death. If you do like what you read then be sure to follow because new episodes are posted regularly. Today this episode is about medieval castles!

Castles in medieval England served a very important purpose, they were designed and built primarily as the homes and fortresses of a monarch or noble. Early castles would have been built from earth and wood, but as the times moved on, by the 12th century most castles were built from stone.

The roof of the castles were built or covered with slates, clay tiles or wooden shingles. The castle had to be well guarded and defended both by men and in terms of the position and structure, because a poorly built castle meant almost certain doom for the occupants. That is why they built castles on steep hills or at the top of rock cliffs, sometimes beside the sea. The positions meant that the castle automatically had an advantage from attack, as potential invaders had to get up the hills or cliffs before getting into the castle. It was still possible though, and the use of other weapons like catapults certainly helped this.

If the castle was not built to house a monarch or noble then it could have secondary uses or purposes. Notable is the use of castles as barracks to house soldiers (spearmen, militia, swordsmen, archers, crossbow men, knights, billmen etc). They could serve as prisons, armories, treasure houses, and the center for local government… yes, they still had a government in medieval ages, albeit under the rule of the monarch. Other less violent uses included using castles as brew houses, laundry, workshops, dovecotes, and stables. It was not uncommon to have a few of these things mixed together in a castle grounds, along with a barracks for example.

The castle would be surrounded by a huge wall which would be many meters high and dense. They were not just walls, they were 3 layers thick consisting of; a rough stone inner shell, a thick solid filling of flint and rubble, and an outer layer of stone called ashlars. The wall would have a flat walkway which would allow guards to keep watch and to notify the other guards should an intruder be noticed. The archers if there were any would be able to use a embrasure, which would allow them to shoot whilst protected by the wall. And, don’t forget the medieval ages was brutal, so the openings in the wall allowed boiling water or stones or even waste at times to be thrown down onto any attacking enemy. Most castles had a moat too, which was an added level of protection, a stream of deep water that surrounded the castles. Castles built near lakes or rivers could use that water by digging or channeling water to the moat. A drawbridge would allow access across the moat and would be raised if an enemy approached.

Stokesay is the most well preserved castle sites in England. Worth a journey to spend a day looking around.

Inside a castle was a little different to outside. They did not have what we have today, but did have quite a lot of things that we might be surprised at. They didn’t have central heating of course, they had alternative more costs effective means of keeping warm (that is a joke, it didn’t cost anything to light a fire back then). Only the Lord and Lady of the castle had used a main fireplace, along with thick, heavy blankets, mattresses made of feathers, fur covers etc. So the Lord and the Lady (nobles) or the Monarch (I suspect a lot more than just blankets, including women for kings). The workers, or anyone not a noble had to sleep in the towers which were cold and damp, and you can imagine the winter. In summer though, the castle would still remain cold for the workers.

A castle hall was the biggest, grandest room in the entire fortress. The middle ages saw it common place to sleep in the hall. It was the place to dine and to drink and socialise. Lords of the castle would host social gatherings and people gathered in the hall for a massive feast and listened to music (yes, the played musical instruments, played by minstrels, or wandering singers). Occasionally the Lords might also host a jousting event in a field outside. There were laundry too, and bedding and clothes were washed, and everything was maintained. Everyone in the castle had a job, even if it was to provide entertainment and this resulted in castles being loud and busy.

Attackers could use moveable towers to climb over the walls, could tunnel under the walls, and of course use catapults, which were employed later on. Attackers could stop the supply of food and water and other resources and even kill assisting soldiers coming to the castle.

Waste disposal in castles was not as good as the personal hygiene. Castles did not have plumbing which means the waste would remain in one place until it was cleaned by chamber maids (they still did it, and for a pittance), although a poor sanitary waste system was a lot better than a lower class citizen. People in medieval ages had regard to personal hygiene and washed their hands, took baths and brushed their teeth! They brushed their teeth using something called a miswak, brushing or scrubbing the teeth until they ‘felt’ clean. Others could use a cloth or their fingers. Personal hygiene was advocated for as early as the Vikings, who encouraged use of combs and act of washing. People would get their hair cut by a barber, who also performed minor surgeries to the teeth and pulled out rotten teeth, talk about a worthwhile visit.

Thank you for reading episode 5 castles in the Medieval England History series. If you enjoyed this then stay tuned by liking, commenting, reblogging, following and more! The next in the series will be a little more about the life in castles, particularly focusing on the roles within it, starting with the cooks! Cooks are a very important roles in the castle of medieval times.

Dragons (4)

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Welcome to the fourth post in the medieval England series, this is the dragons section. If you have followed the series so far you will recount Alchemy(1), Knights(2) and Wizards(3) for the previous posts. Hopefully you enjoy reading and you can of course listen to the audio version via Spotify. Thanks you and enjoy this episode.

Dragons! The most feared creatures within the land during the medieval ages. A knight or group of knights known were known as Orders of Chivalry, like the knight Templar. Those orders were sometimes called upon to slay a dragon. We have legends like St George who slayed a dragon.

The story of St George is well known to England. He successfully tamed and slayed a dragon which had both demanded and consumed human sacrifices. The dragon would extort villages of livestock and trinkets, like gold. Eventually they turned to offering humans once a year, because they simple didn’t have the livestock or jewels to give the dragon. This horrific practice continued until eventually a beloved princess was chosen as the next offering. St George rescued the princess from the dragon.

St George and the Dragon! (source-wikipedia)

Lesser known is the slaying of the dragon by St Margaret of Antioch, who was swallowed alive by a dragon. Whilst inside she made the sign of the cross – which could have been using her sword – which caused the dragons belly and stomach to burst open! She used to be quite the revered saint in England during the medieval ages, and was associated with protecting women in childbirth. This destroying of the dragon using the sign of the cross ties into a religious idea about dragons, which is talked about further down. The story though was disputed by Jacobus de Voragine, who had written the Golden Legend which St George was a part of.

Enter another legend, Beowulf. Based on the epic poem. Not quite English and around the 6th century, a Scandinavian legend, but a brutal final attack about a dragon slaying. 50 years after defeating Grendel’s mother Beowulf slays a dragon, but is mortally wounded in battle and dies! A final courageous battle for a fearless man, one man alone who chose to fight the dragon solo. The people were fearful after his death, because they believed without him that they would be defenseless. It’s a great story and you can even watch the movie which was released in 2007 (I still remember watching this with my dad and brothers, it was a good time).

Beowulf slays the dragon, before dying from wounds.

Dragons still play a significant role today in society through the various multitudes of artwork, sculptures on public display and movies. Due to the dragon being associated with religion, particularly the devil, it was said during medieval times that to see a dragon was a reminder to not sin and to be a good person, particularly when saw in church. Said to have been the tempter of Eve in the garden of Eden.

All this mythology is great, but what about something close to real? Meet the Wyverns, a common dragon in medieval heraldry. Commonly depicted in artwork. Not that these are any more real, but certainly the more common types that were known in England and Wales.

Wyvern

Wormhill dragons, around 700AD named by the Anglo-Saxons. The hill at Knotlow in Derbyshire (I used to live in Derbyshire) was the base or lair of the dragon. Couple them with legends like the Longwitton dragon, of Northumbrian legend. Each dragon brought bad things. No medieval village or settlement was safe with them around.

What makes dragons so scary? Well, for one they fly with their huge wings. This gives them an automatic advantage when attacking villages or castles. In order to hide from a dragon people would have had to be inside a stone building or underground. They have extremely strong scales which are akin to armour, and a lot of knights could not kill them with their swords and stronger weapons were needed like catapults or cross bows. Fire they breathe… yes the fire is death and destruction and it could rip through a village and kill everyone very quickly. Unless you had some way to appease it, and most people didn’t, then you’d be killed. They can use their huge mouths and teeth to just simply chew you up. In the Hobbit movie, Smaug is unstoppable and has been for many years, and can only really be stopped with courage and powerful weapons.

Before we end let’s look for a final time at what a dragon symbolises, among other things: psychic abilities, honesty, fearlessness, passion, magic abilities, medieval times, uncertainty, faith. The story of St George is significant to understanding exactly what a dragon was that they all saw. Below are depictions of the dragon he is supposed to have slayed, and they all resembled jurassic creatures. Could dragons of medieval times simply have been ancient dinosaurs which so happened to fly? It is not far fetched at all, it is also possible that dragons might actually be real, or were at some point in history.

Undoubtedly the biggest threat in the medieval ages after the black death, hunger and the inquisition. Although we don’t have pictures of them from the medieval ages, you can watch many films with dragons. Dragonheart – highly recommend it to see a proper dragon. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the film is dragon from start to finish. Game of Thrones of course has dragons and so many more.

Thank you for reading episode 4 – dragons – in the medieval England history series. If you liked then please like, comment, reblog and follow and as usual, have a lovely day.

Wizards (3)

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Welcome to the third post in the medieval England series. This post will cover Wizards of the medieval period and talk a little about what they were and how they were viewed, covering well known real and mythological wizards and more. Please keep checking the blog daily for new posts in the series and if you enjoy reading them, then please like, comment and follow me for more!

Wizards of the medieval land. In order to come onto wizards it is probably best to start with sorcery, which has its evolved roots in ancient times, from things like the Egyptians, who used their knowledge of amulets, spells and formulas to bend cosmic powers to their purpose. Anglo-Saxon magic involved spells and simple mechanical remedies.

Around the 5th Century AD, Christian St. Augustine of Hippo stated that all pagan magic and religion were invented by the devil to lure humanity away from the Christian truth. He further claimed that ‘witches’ could not have any real supernatural powers or be capable of invoking any kind of magic. In the 8th and 9th Century the King of the Franks, Charlemagne, declared that burning witches was itself a pagan practice which should itself be punishable by death. The church began to create anti-witchcraft laws, and the word ‘maleficium’ came to mean malevolent magic. The church had effectively declared civil war on the practices, making it a crime.

Medieval lore refers to the Tempestarii, a magi. And by the 13th and 14th century had arrived witchcraft had come to mean beliefs and practices including healing through spells, messing with the supernatural and using divination and clairvoyance. England had a type of curative magic which was the job of the ‘witch doctor’ – white witch or Wiseman. The Wisemen had a place in society and were considered valuable, some people even paid them to curse others.

By the year 1208, Pope Innocent III had declared an attack on the group of heretics known as Cathars. Christian theologian St. Thomas Aquinas debated that the world was full of evil and dangerous demons that try to lead people into temptation, leading to the long, drawn out association between sex and witchcraft. This was about the time that the catholic church initiated the Inquisition, to find and punish these individuals. There were four main eras: Papal Inquisition 1230s, Spanish Inquisition 1478-1834, Portuguese Inquisition 1536-1821 and the Roman Inquisition 1542-1860.

There is a clear history which still has relevance today. We can see that the dark ages must have been quite terrifying. Some of the more famous medieval wizards are: Abraham Abulafia, the founder of the school of Prophetic Kabbalah and born in Spain in 1240. Nicolas Flamel, although an alchemist, is too a wizard. Roger Bacon, born in the UK and known to modern era as a wizard remembered for his mechanical or necromantic brazen head. Theoprastus Paracelsus was an ancient alchemist and medieval physician responsible for huge leaps in medicine in the 16th century. He was born in 1493 in Switzerland, excelling in medicine and the occult. His main work ‘Opus paramirum’ was the definite work on magic and medicinal usage of herbs and drugs.

Don’t forget Merlin, a most powerful wizard with a variety of magical powers, including the ability to shapeshift. His presence in mythology is infamous, the tutor and mentor of King Arthur, who ultimately guided the young man to the throne and to become the King of Camelot. Geoffrey of Monmouth is said to have created Merlin in his 1136 AD works, ‘Historia Regum Britanniae’, The History of Kings of Britain. Merlin was included as a fictional character and was a paradox, supposedly the son of the devil and a follower of God.

Merlin Ambrosius

Hew Draper, the inn keeper in the town of Dristol, was imprisoned in 1561 at the tower of London in the well known Salt Tower for committing the crime of sorcery. During the stay at the Salt Tower he carved a large zodiac sign (Below) into the stone wall along with other esoteric symbols. There was no record of what happened to him…

the symbols of Hew Draper

It was a rough time in the medieval ages, with the black death, the inquisition, persecution of heretics and a one world view of that of the church, lack of education, torture, poor food… it really casts light on how good we have it in the 21st century. Even with such awful things happening, wizards remained hidden away, mostly for their own protection at some point. Sorcery and witchcraft still exist today and are now somewhat widely accepted practices, there is further divide, with white magic or black magic and terms such as left hand path or right hand path. One thing wizards through time have had in common seems to be the ability to judge their own actions as potentially dangerous and should not be used for malicious intent. John Dee is supposed to have gone too deep with Edward Kelley after discovering the ability to communicate with angels, the Enochian language and black magic.

Thank you for reading this post on Wizards. If you enjoyed reading the third part in the medieval England history series then please check the blog regularly for more posts. The next in the series will be dragons!