2. 1. Introduction
• Cereals were consumed in the form of
bread, oatmeal, polenta, and pasta by
virtually all members of society.
• Vegetables represented an important
supplement to the cereal-based diet. Meat
was more expensive and, therefore,
considered a more prestigious food and
was mostly present on the tables of the
rich and noble.
• The most common types of meat were
pork and chicken, whereas beef was less
common.
• Cod and herring were very common in the
diet of northern populations.
3. 2. Food
• Before the 14th century, bread was not
a very common food among the lower
classes, especially in the north where
wheat grew with difficulty. Bread-based
diets gradually became more common
during the 15th century.
• Throughout the Middle Ages, rice
remained an expensive imported
product and began to be cultivated in
northern Italy only towards the end of
the era. Wheat was common
throughout Europe and considered the
most nutritious of all cereals and, as a
consequence, it was regarded as the
most prestigious and most expensive
cereal.
4. 3. Meals
• Typically, there were two meals a day:
lunch at midday and a light dinner in the
evening. The two-meal system remained
widespread until the late Middle Ages.
Small snacks between meals were quite
common, but it was also a matter of social
class, as those who did not have to do
arduous manual work did without them.
• For practical reasons, morning breakfast
was consumed by the working classes and
was tolerated for children, women, the
elderly and the sick. However, since the
church preached against the sins of
gluttony and other weaknesses of the
flesh, people tended to be ashamed of
having breakfast in the morning, since it
was considered a sign of weakness.
5. 4. Beverages
• In modern times, water is a popular choice
for a drink to accompany a meal. In the
Middle Ages, however, concerns about its
purity, medical recommendations and its low
prestige made it a secondary choice and
alcoholic beverages were always preferred.
In fact, they were considered more nutritious
and better for promoting digestion than water.
Wine was consumed daily in most of France
and in all the countries of the Mediterranean
basin where vines were cultivated. In the
northern countries, it was the drink preferred
by the bourgeoisie and only the upper
classes that could afford it. However, it was
much less common among the peasants and
the working class. In the Nordic countries,
ordinary people’s most popular drink was
beer.
