Food in the Middle Ages

Much like today, food in the medieval ages was cherished.   Food served as a statement for the people in middle ages, the wealthy ate well while the poor hardly ate at all.   More than just statement of social class food in the medieval ages introduced beauty.   A beautiful woman was a big woman, the bigger the better.   During the medieval ages which lasted from the 5th century to the 15th the dining experienced evolved.   Food shaped the culture as well as the quality of life in medieval and renaissance England.
Often when people think of the dining experience in the Middle Ages they conjure up thoughts of giant turkey legs along with ale being devoured by hungry folks in the king’s castle with a court jester serving as the night’s entertainment.   To understand what people really ate we must first establish the cause of the middle ages.   The middle ages are generally believed to have started with the fall of the Roman Empire in the west in the fifth century.   At the time of the fall of the Roman Empire and up to Henry VIII’s break with Rome food habits were closely related with religious practices (Black 8).   Clerics made a large portion of the population for they included parish priests. Many people who made up the population were religious.
At almost every meal especially feats it was commonplace to drink far too much.   Rich or poor, rainy or sunny, cold or warm the people throughout all of England would drink massive amounts alcohol.   Many Europeans to this day have a higher alcohol tolerance based on their pre disposure to alcohol which can be traced back to the medieval ages.   People commonly drank together at inns or taverns, however most people had alcohol in their houses.   The town’s people, religious or not religious, were what today would be called alcoholics.   Alcoholism is a very real disease which affects the brain and other organs quite severely.   Alcohol is one of the only drugs that affect the entire body.   The excessive amount of drinking done by...