MEV, museu d’art medieval

Museu d’art medieval

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TO THE TABLE!

The Tables of the Lord, the Monk and the Peasant in the Middle Ages

Although the expression “you are what you eat” is used to describe our physical well-being, it’s equally applicable to social relationships. What and how people ate in the Middle Ages depended on their position in society, which is why the tables of lords, monks and peasants were vastly different from each other. However, they had common elements: bread and wine were always present, as were spoons for soupy foods. In contrast, there were no forks, as this cutlery item didn’t become popular until the Renaissance. Diners ate with their fingers, but only using the first three fingers of the right hand, adhering to the rules of decorum. Despite this, and to counteract some of the prejudices associated with the Middle Ages, our medieval ancestors regularly washed their hands before, during and after meals.

The Set Table. The Taste for History, held at the MEV and organised by the Monuments Department of the Catalan Cultural Heritage Agency, is an exhibition consisting of the recreation of a 14th-century table set for a meal as it would have been at the Monastery or House of Canons of Santa Maria de Vilabertran (Alt Empordà). The installation features a table from the year 1300, set for the monastery’s canons and abbot, who occasionally shared their meals with pilgrims who started their journeys from Vilabertran.

EXHIBITION DATES

February 22th 2023 – May 18th 2025

 

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MEV, Museu d’Art Medieval

 

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THE LORD’S TABLE THE MONK’S TABLE THE SET TABLE OF THE HOUSE OF CANONS OF SANTA MARIA DE VILABERTRAN THE PEASANT’S TABLE WINE PREPARE YOURSELF A MEDIEVAL MEAL

THE LORD’S TABLE

The lord’s table was set with luxurious tableware made of enamelled ceramics, goldsmith’s work or blown glass. Aristocrats ate large quantities of meat, preferably game, as they believed that meat gave them the strength needed for combat. One of the most prized dishes was roasted peacock, which was served with its tail and head feathers intact, making it appear alive. Spiced foods were also to their liking, not to mask poor quality food, but because exotic spices like cinnamon, saffron and ginger became symbols of wealth and prestige. Not everyone could afford spices brought from the East, nor could they obtain white bread, another exclusive food of the lord’s table.

Wauquelin, Jean: Livre des conquêtes et faits d'Alexandre, f.86r, before 1467
(Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Paris)

THE MONK’S TABLE

During Advent and Lent, monks abstained from eating meat, restricting their diet to vegetables, soups and fish. Monastic communities were known for their vegetable gardens, where they cultivated a wide variety of herbs and vegetables, and for their ponds, which provided them with freshwater fish. The monks’ meals took place in absolute silence; they communicated by making hand signals while a brother read the Holy Scriptures to them. Despite the frugality of the daily monastic diet, exceptions were sometimes made, and, as in the case of The House of Canons of Santa Maria de Vilabertran, they occasionally invited guests to their table.

Henri Suso: L'horloge de Sapience, Manuscripts IV.111, f.20v, verse 1455-1460
(Bibliothèque Royale de Belgique, Brussels)

THE SET TABLE OF THE HOUSE OF CANONS OF SANTA MARIA DE VILABERTRAN

This recreation of a 14th-century table set for a meal at The House of Canons of Santa Maria de Vilabertran features a table from the year 1300, set for the canons and abbot of this Empordà monastery, who occasionally shared their meals with pilgrims who started their journeys from Vilabertran.

Guests at the canons’ table

In the summer of the year 1300, Dalmau de Fortià was the abbot of The House of Canons of Santa Maria de Vilabertran. Along with its 12 canons, the monastery was home to a dozen servants, including a cook, a baker and a gardener, and 25 field workers. In normal circumstances, only the canons could eat in the refectory. However, exceptionally, distinguished pilgrims who were staying at the monastery.

 

The pilgrims

Thanks to the iconography of St. James the Greater, depicted as a pilgrim, we know the accessories these travellers carried on their journey. They covered their heads with sun hats (lightweight, wide-brimmed hats) and used wooden staves (long sticks) to aid their steps.

 

 

The refectory, the table and the benches

In monasteries, such as the one in Vilabertran, there was usually a refectory for the exclusive use of the canons and a common refectory used by the entire community for festivities and solemn celebrations.

 

 

Cutlery, glasses and cups

Although the table might be set with wooden spoons, diners often drank directly from their bowls. The knives used for cutting bread and slicing food were the ones the guests themselves carried tied to their belts.

 

 

Ceramic Tableware

The most common ceramic tableware items were the bowl, used for consuming liquid or semi-liquid foods such as soups, broths or stews, and broad-rimmed plates, used for eating solid foods. Foods were presented on serving dishes, from which each diner took their portion, except when the food needed to be sliced, which was done on cutting boards or wooden discs.

 

 

Bottles and jugs

In domestic settings, glass bottles were used both to serve and drink wine. Because they were fragile and used daily, few examples have been preserved, although they are widely documented in the artistic representations of the time.

Recreation of a 14th-century table set for a meal at The House of Canons of Santa Maria de Vilabertran is part of the project The Set Table. The Taste for History, organised by the Monuments Department of the Catalan Cultural Heritage Agency.

Canons of Santa Maria de Vilabertran

Master of the Anaemic Figures: Altarpiece dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. First half of the 15th century (MEV)

Master of Bishop Galiana (attributed): Altarpiece of Santa Maria Magdalena, third quarter of the 14th century (MEV)

Jaume Huguet: Altarpiece of Saint Augustine the Elder, 1463-1486 (MNAC)

Serving dishes, thirteenth century (DHuB)

Master of Bishop Galiana (attributed): Altarpiece of Santa Maria Magdalena, third quarter of the 14th century (MEV)

THE PEASANT’S TABLE

Peasants had a limited variety of foods and only occasionally ate meat, mainly pork preserved in salt, which brought some cheer to festive meals, baptisms or weddings. For the rest of the year, they subsisted on vegetable soups, porridge and legumes, which they cooked in cauldrons or pots at the fireplace. Rye bread was the staple of their diet, with each person consuming around half a kilo per day, sometimes accompanied by cheese. Their tableware was made of wood or grey ceramics, or they ate directly off a slice of bread that served as a plate.

Theatrum Sanitatis, Casanatense Ms. 4182, tav. 117 late 15th century,
(Casanatense Library, Rome)

WINE

In the Middle Ages, wine was consumed in large quantities, whether as a beverage, for medicinal purposes or as a cooking ingredient. People would drink about two litres a day. However, these wines had much lower alcohol content than the ones we drink today and were often watered down. By the 14th century, wine could be classified by its colour (white, red or claret) and by its quality (good wine, better wine and watered-down wine). Fruity and fresh wines, known today as young or new wine, were particularly appreciated, as were sweet wines (referred to as Greek wine) and spiced wine, which was macerated with honey and spices.

Book of Hours, Clm 28345, late 15th century,
(Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

PREPARE YOURSELF A MEDIEVAL MEAL

Our gastronomic roots can be traced back to the Middle Ages, a time when important Catalan cookbooks emerged, such as the Llibre de Sent Soví (Book of Sent Soví), the Llibre de totes maneres de potatges de menjar (Book of All Manners of Stews), and the Llibre d’aparellar de menjar (Book of Food Preparation), all of which were written in the mid-14th century. Then there is the Llibre del Coc (Cook’s Book), considered the first printed cookbook in Catalonia, which appeared in Barcelona in 1520. These four cookbooks are pivotal works for understanding the origins of our cuisine, which has greatly influenced our current culinary practices.

We’ve picked 12 recipes from these notable Catalan cookbooks that you can prepare at home, recreating your very own medieval feast.

MEDIEVAL RECIPE

MEDIEVAL RECIPE (catalan)

These recipes were prepared by the Escola d’Hostaleria d’Osona as part of La Prévia del Medieval, a project in collaboration with Vicfires and the MEV.

Multimedia

Recipe by Sergi de Meià

Recipe by Sergi de Meià

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