Warren Bull has won a copy of In the Shadow of the Storm by Anna Belfrage. Congrats to Warren Bull!
Thanks to Anna Belfrage for describing a daring escape from the Tower of London. Thanks, also, to everyone who visited and commented on Relevant History this week. Watch for another Relevant History post, coming soon.
Did you like what you read? Learn about downloads, discounts, and special offers from Relevant History authors and Suzanne Adair. Subscribe to Suzanne’s free newsletter.
Relevant History welcomes Anna Belfrage who, had she been allowed to choose, would have become a time traveler. Instead, she became a financial professional with two absorbing interests: history and writing. Anna has authored the acclaimed time-slip series “The Graham Saga,” winner of multiple awards, including the HNS Indie Award 2015. Her new series, “The King’s Greatest Enemy,” is set in the 1320s and features Adam de Guirande, his wife Kit, and their adventures during Roger Mortimer’s rise to power. The first book, In the Shadow of the Storm, was published 1 November 2015. To learn more, visit her web site and blog, and follow Anna on Facebook and Twitter.
*****
On the first of August 1323, a certain Roger Mortimer managed quite the escape from the Tower of London. He’d been kicking his heels behind locked doors since January of 1322—more than eighteen months in a confined space and with a death threat hanging over him. So how come Mortimer ended up in the Tower to begin with? Well, for that we must step a couple of years backwards in time.
Background
The Mortimers were a power to be reckoned with on the Welsh Marches. As a Marcher lord, Roger would have spoken Welsh, and his household would have included a number of Welsh retainers, but he would never have defined himself as part Welsh. No, Roger Mortimer was first and foremost an English baron—and it was as a loyal servant to the crown Roger Mortimer set out to make his mark.
Initially, he was quite successful. A capable man, ruthless when so necessary, Mortimer was entrusted with various complicated missions, including the pacification of Ireland. This he did so well even the Irish were sad to see him go, and once back in England he was chosen by Edward II as one of the men charged with brokering some sort of peace between the king and his troublesome (and very powerful) cousin, Thomas of Lancaster.
However, there was a big fly in the ointment: Edward II may have been an admirable man, but he was a weak ruler with a tendency towards favouritism. In his early years as a king, it was the handsome Gascon Piers Gaveston who captured the king’s heart and ear, a relationship that ended more than badly when Edward’s barons rose in rebellion and demanded that Gaveston be exiled. When the king brought Piers back, he was summarily killed by the barons.
One would have thought that seeing one favourite killed would have made Edward careful. Maybe it did, at least for some time, but in 1315–16 a new man wormed his way into the royal affections. To be correct, two men, seeing as Hugh Despenser father and son quickly became the king’s preferred and most trusted companions. Especially the son. Soon, Edward II was seemingly incapable of making any decisions without Hugh the younger.
This was bad news for Mortimer. Despenser hated Mortimer—it had been a Mortimer who’d chopped off the head of Despenser’s grandfather, albeit on a battlefield. In actual fact, the Despensers were bad news full stop. Avaricious and ambitious, they asked the king for ever more land, more power, and Edward II was more than happy to comply, even when what he was giving them belonged to someone else…
Predictably, the barons were less than happy. Thomas of Lancaster made warning noises. Mortimer followed suit, and in 1321 the barons once again rose against the king, forcing him to exile the Despensers. An unhappy and humiliated king licked his wounds and struck back with uncharacteristic ferocity. Faced with the king’s rage, the barons sneaked off, until at last it was only Mortimer—and the powerful Earl of Lancaster.
Lancaster was not about to leave his northern power base to come to Mortimer’s aid. Severely outnumbered, Mortimer had no option but to submit, which he did in January 1322. He was thrown into the Tower, his death considered imminent…
Escape
Fortunately for Mortimer, he had friends. After all, he wasn’t the only one sick to death of Despenser and their fickle king, and so Mortimer began to plan for an escape. It helped that the king chose to reprieve him, converting the death sentence to life imprisonment. Not that Mortimer held any higher hopes of surviving all that long—what was to stop someone from entering at night and killing him?
The longer Mortimer remained in royal custody, the higher the probability that Despenser would convince the king to change his mind and execute Mortimer. At the same time, Mortimer needed time to plan things in detail—he would only get one chance.
The day the 1st of August was chosen because it was the day of St Peter ad Vincula. Tradition had it that this was a day of partying for the Tower guards, and Mortimer managed to ensure the wine was drugged. Very drugged. Once the guards were fast asleep, the sub-lieutenant d’Alspaye released Mortimer from his room. With the help of the cook, they managed to sneak into the kitchen, clamber up the chimney and escape over the roofs. Long before anyone had noticed Mortimer had fled, he was galloping hell for leather towards an obscure port on the English south coast. From there, he went to France, there to plot his revenge.
Upon hearing of Mortimer’s escape, King Edward went frantic—as did Despenser. They turned England inside out in their determined pursuit of Mortimer’s allies. Men died and were imprisoned, as were wives and children. Ultimately, none of it would help. Mortimer was a beacon for all those who no longer trusted their king—or his favourite. And soon enough, Mortimer would be joined by none other than Queen Isabella, as determined as Mortimer to rid England of the plague of the Despensers, no matter what the cost might be to her husband.
In 1326, Mortimer and Isabella returned to England at the head of an invading army. Some months later, Despenser was dead and Edward was forced to abdicate in favour of his son. The Wheel of Fortune had turned, and Mortimer had come into his own—for now.
*****
A big thanks to Anna Belfrage. She’ll give away an autographed paperback copy of In the Shadow of the Storm to someone who contributes a comment on my blog this week. I’ll choose the winner from among those who comment by Friday at 6 p.m. ET. The giveaway is available worldwide.
Did you like what you read? Learn about downloads, discounts, and special offers from Relevant History authors and Suzanne Adair. Subscribe to Suzanne’s free newsletter.
Richard Abbott has won a copy of Napoleon in America by Shannon Selin. Congrats to Richard Abbott!
Thanks to Shannon Selin for a discussion of Napoleon’s fan club in America. Thanks, also, to everyone who visited and commented on Relevant History this week. Watch for another Relevant History post, coming soon.
Did you like what you read? Learn about downloads, discounts, and special offers from Relevant History authors and Suzanne Adair. Subscribe to Suzanne’s free newsletter.
Relevant History welcomes Shannon Selin, author of Napoleon in America, alternate history which imagines what might have happened if Napoleon had escaped from St. Helena and wound up in the United States in 1821. Shannon lives in Vancouver, Canada, where she is working on the next novel in her Napoleon series. To learn more about Napoleonic and 19th century history, visit her web site and blog, and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.
*****
In writing Napoleon in America, I had to figure out what Napoleon Bonaparte might have done if he had escaped to the United States in 1821. My first task was to find out who was around at the time who might have been able to help him. To my surprise, I discovered there were many Bonapartists in America.
Joseph Bonaparte
Napoleon’s older brother Joseph escaped to the US in 1815, after Napoleon’s final abdication from the French throne. Trying to remain incognito, he called himself the Count of Survilliers. Joseph had amassed a fortune in Europe, where he had been King of Spain, among other things. He transferred much of it to America. He rented a house in Philadelphia and bought land in upstate New York and in Bordentown, NJ, where he built an estate called Point Breeze. It was the most impressive home in the country after the White House. According to a 19th-century account:
It had its grand hall and staircase; its great dining-rooms, art gallery and library; its pillars and marble mantels, covered with sculpture of marvelous workmanship; its statues, busts and paintings of rare merit; its heavy chandeliers, and its hangings and tapestry, fringed with gold and silver. With the large and finely carved folding-doors of the entrance, and the liveried servants and attendants, it had the air of the residence of a distinguished foreigner, unused to the simplicity of our countrymen. A fine lawn stretched on the front, and a large garden of rare flowers and plants, interspersed with fountains and chiseled animals in the rear.
Joseph remained in the United States on and off until 1839. He welcomed artists and sightseers to Point Breeze, and generously lent from his collection for art exhibitions. He has been called “one of the most significant catalysts in disseminating European culture and artistic knowledge to early nineteenth century Americans.” Though Point Breeze was demolished in the 1850s, paintings, furnishings and other items that belonged to Joseph can be found in museums and private collections across the country.
The Texas Invaders
Joseph’s home became a gathering place for other Napoleonic exiles, including officers who were avoiding death sentences in France. In 1818, two of these men—Generals Charles Lallemand and Antoine Rigaud—led some 150 Bonapartists, including four women and four children, into the wilds of Texas, which was then part of Spanish-ruled Mexico. They built a military fort called the Champ d’Asile (Field of Asylum) on the banks of the Trinity River, near the present site of Moss Bluff, TX. Within months the colony collapsed under the pressures of infighting, lack of food, Indian attacks and news of Spanish troops on the way from San Antonio to eject them. The settlers retreated to Galveston, where pirate Jean Laffite helped them return to New Orleans. A survivor recounted “how many tears our story caused to flow, we who looked as if we had returned from another world.”
Though the Champ d’Asile was short-lived, it spurred the United States and Spain to agree on the disputed border between their territories. The Transcontinental Treaty of 1819, also known as the Adams-Onís Treaty, transferred Florida to the United States, established the Sabine River as the boundary between Louisiana and Texas, and defined the Mexican border all the way to the west coast.
The Army Man
Not all of Napoleon’s officers engaged in unsavory pursuits. General Simon Bernard, a French military engineer, was issued a special commission in the US Army. James Monroe (then Secretary of State) wrote to General Andrew Jackson in 1816: “It required much delicacy in the arrangement, to take advantage of [Bernard’s] knowledge and experience in a manner acceptable to himself, without wounding the feelings of the officers of our own corps…I…find him a modest unassuming man, who preferred our country…to any in Europe, in some of which he was offered employment, and in any of which he may probably have found it.”
Bernard is best known for designing Fort Monroe in Virginia, the largest stone fort in America. He also designed Forts Adams, Hamilton, Macon and Morgan. He returned to France in 1831, after the Bourbons were overthrown, and later served as France’s Minister of War. When Bernard died in Paris in 1839, President Martin Van Buren directed all US Army officers to wear mourning dress for thirty days.
Other Bonapartists of Note
General Henri Lallemand (brother of Charles) settled in Philadelphia and wrote a two-volume Treatise on Artillery, which the US Army adopted as its standard manual. General Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes joined the Society for the Cultivation of the Vine and Olive, which successfully petitioned Congress to grant the French emigrants land on the Tombigbee River in Alabama. His property at Demopolis included a log cabin, in the centre of which stood a bronze bust of Napoleon, surrounded by swords, pistols and flag-draped walls.
Pierre-François Réal, who served in key police positions throughout Napoleon’s reign, settled at Cape Vincent, NY. He built an octagon-shaped dwelling, known as the “cup and saucer house,” and devoted one of the rooms to Napoleonic memorabilia. A number of exiled Bonapartists wound up in the area. In honour of its French heritage, Cape Vincent hosts an annual French Festival, complete with a Napoleon-led parade.
Other Napoleonic soldiers had to scrape a living in occupations to which they were unaccustomed, such as farming, teaching and shopkeeping. Many did not thrive. Captain Louis Lauret wrote: “I have become a man of the woods, wandering in the forests of Georgia….I am on my way to Florida, where I plan to camp out this winter.” This allowed Lauret to “avoid the sight of the world, which fills me with horror.” Though they tended to return to France as soon as it was safe to do so, the Bonapartists had a lasting impact on American place names, culture, and mutual Franco-American sympathy among their descendants.
Read more about the characters mentioned above, and other Bonapartists who went to America, on my blog.
*****
A big thanks to Shannon Selin. She’ll give away an ebook copy of Napoleon in America to someone who contributes a comment on my blog this week. I’ll choose the winner from among those who comment by Friday at 6 p.m. ET. A winner within the US or Canada may choose between an ebook or a paperback copy.
Did you like what you read? Learn about downloads, discounts, and special offers from Relevant History authors and Suzanne Adair. Subscribe to Suzanne’s free newsletter.
On Saturday 7 November, I’ll teach my most popular workshop combo—“Plotting with the Hero’s Journey” and “Creating Archetypal Characters Instead of Stereotypes”—at the headquarters library in Fayetteville, NC. These two workshops are my condensation of material from several sources, including Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey.
In the plotting workshop, I map out the twelve stages of the Hero’s Journey in “Star Wars,” “Romancing the Stone,” and “Blazing Saddles” and give a lot of information about each stage. After we’ve covered that material and the seven main archetypes, I think I’ll get the class to map out the Hero’s Journey for protagonist Mark Watney in “The Martian.” The stages of the Hero’s Journey in this gem of a movie are distinct and super easy to pick out. It’s as if the writers wrote the screenplay with Joseph Campbell watching over their shoulders and nodding with approval.
Here are the stages. And if you’re one of my students this Saturday, you’re now ahead of the class. There’s a spoiler alert if you haven’t yet seen the movie.
Stage 1: The ordinary world
In the not-too-distant future, botanist Mark Watney is at work on the surface of Mars with his fellow scientists. The small group’s mission is to live on the planet for about sixty days in a structure called “the Hab,” studying Mars and collecting samples. The team members work together well and have an easy rapport with each other. It’s clear that each person is well suited for the multi-year mission.
Stage 2: The call to adventure
A sudden and violent dust storm heralding the hostile nature of Mars separates Mark from his fellow scientists, destroying equipment. The team thinks that Mark has been killed. Remaining on the surface in the storm to look for his body would imperil their lives. Grieving Mark, they abort their mission and blast off. However Mark is alive, although injured. He staggers back to the Hab and performs surgery on himself. Then he realizes he’s been stranded on Mars.
Stage 3: Refusal of the call
Hoping that he can survive until the next manned mission arrives, Mark tallies up how much food and water he has available. Unfortunately he has a fraction of what he needs. Mars doesn’t give second chances. Mark concludes that he’s out of options and will die on Mars.
Stage 4: Meeting the mentor
But Mark is a scientist. Using his knowledge (inner mentor), he figures out how to generate water from hydrazine rocket fuel—after one failed attempt that almost kills him. Specifically though, Mark’s a botanist, and one of his fellow scientists left some potatoes behind. Can Mark create a greenhouse on Mars and cultivate a potato crop to help him stretch his food supply until the next mission arrives?
Stage 5: Crossing the first threshold
Mark takes a leap of faith. He creates the greenhouse and plants potatoes. The potatoes grow, he harvests his first crop, then he plants another crop. Success makes him optimistic. Not only does he accept the challenge of surviving on Mars until the next mission arrives, but he’s idealistic that he can tame Mars until then.
Stage 6: Tests, allies, enemies
So far, Mark is staying one step ahead of the physical demands of surviving on Mars. However humans aren’t meant to live alone. The stash of disco music and “Happy Days” episodes left behind by one of Mark’s teammates doesn’t substitute for companionship. He needs human contact. From a map, he figures out where the old Pathfinder probe is buried. Can he use it to contact Earth? Since his rover won’t travel that far, he modifies the fuel source to take him there. He brings Pathfinder back to the Hab. Through much MacGyvering, he establishes contact with Earth and NASA.
Stage 7: Approach to the innermost cave
An explosion wipes out Mark’s potato crop, reinforcing the fact that he’s only been buying time on the hostile world. NASA has one rocket built. Rather than using it to launch the next manned mission to Mars, the agency decides to use the rocket to send Mark supplies directly. NASA’s scientists then set Mark up on a food-rationing plan that will get him through until the rocket arrives.
Stage 8: Supreme ordeal
The rocket that was to bring Mark supplies blows up right after it blasts off. Mark comes face-to-face with the death of his idealism. Despite his best efforts and those of the geniuses in NASA, he cannot tame Mars. Mars doesn’t compromise. The planet is going to claim him. He’ll starve to death before he can get help from Earth.
Stage 9: Reward/seizing the sword
The Chinese, who have been monitoring the situation, are willing to let NASA use their rocket to send supplies to Mark. NASA officials say no and order Mark’s original team, now approaching Earth, to land. But Mark’s teammates, who are overjoyed to learn that he’s alive, decide to disobey NASA’s direct orders. Working on the sly with the Chinese, they slingshot their craft around Earth, pick up the supplies from the Chinese rocket, and head back to Mars. This heartens Mark.
Stage 10: The road back
The team doesn’t have the fuel to land on Mars and blast off again. Mark will have to meet them in space as they fly by. Then they’ll slingshot around Mars to head back to Earth. In the rover, Mark undertakes an arduous journey across Mars to a crater where there’s a spaceship parked for a future mission. He has to lighten the ship considerably to be able to blast off with what fuel is in it. That means removing the nosecone and the piloting and life support systems. But at that point, Mark is way over Mars. Dying in space is preferable to dying on Mars.
Stage 11: Ultimate test/resurrection
Mark’s teammates are able to remotely take over blasting off his ship from the surface. Mark loses consciousness from the G forces. When he comes to, he finds out that his ship’s orbit is too low for him to meet with his teammates’ ship. But he can see them. So he climbs out the hole where the nosecone would have been and punctures his glove, using the jet of escaping air to propel him toward his teammates. They catch him, bring him inside their ship, and head home.
Stage 12: Return with the elixir
Back on Earth, Mark is now singularly qualified to teach survival training to astronauts. He tells a class of students that yes, he thought he was going to die. And without any idealism, he reminds them: “This is space. It does not compromise.”
Did you like what you read? Learn about downloads, discounts, and special offers from Relevant History authors and Suzanne Adair. Subscribe to Suzanne’s free newsletter.
Many thanks to Southern Writers Magazine, where I’m featured for the November-December 2015 issue. The article provides information on the historical background of the Michael Stoddard series, details development of characters like Nick Spry, and goes into the importance of my reenacting experience. Interested? Purchase a copy. Follow Southern Writers Magazine on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about your favorite Southern authors.
Tweet: Check out #mystery author @Suzanne_Adair featured in Nov-Dec 2015 Southern Writers Magazine. http://bit.ly/1PgNS7y @SouthrnWritrMag
Did you like what you read? Learn about downloads, discounts, and special offers from Relevant History authors and Suzanne Adair. Subscribe to Suzanne’s free newsletter.
A wayward wife, a weapons trafficker, and a woman with “second sight”—it’s a puzzle that would have daunted any investigator. But Michael Stoddard wasn’t just any investigator.
Late January 1781, in coastal North Carolina, patriots flee before the approach of the Eighty-Second Regiment, leaving behind defenseless civilians to surrender the town of Wilmington to the Crown. The regiment’s commander assigns Lieutenant Michael Stoddard the tasks of tracking down a missing woman and probing into the suspicious activities of an unusual church. But as soon as Michael starts sniffing around, he discovers that some of those not-so-defenseless civilians are desperately hiding a history of evil.
Deadly Occupation, book #1 of my “Michael Stoddard American Revolution Mysteries” series, is on a mini book tour through next week. I’ll update the following list as permalinks go live:
Monday 12 October, at the English Historical Fiction Authors blog, Debra Brown posted my essay on Major James Henry Craig, a hero for North Carolina’s loyalists during 1781.
Sunday 18 October, at the Writers and Other Animals blog, Sheila Boneham interviews me. The interview includes a story about how an editor at a mid-sized publishing house didn’t believe my historical research and rejected Deadly Occupation.
Thursday 22 October, at the A Covent Garden Gilfurt’s Guide to Life blog, I discuss William Herschel and astronomy in the eighteenth century.
Sunday 25 October, at the Make Mine Mystery blog, I discuss why I strive to write historical mysteries that are as accurate as possible, rather than settling for “Hollywood history.”
Purchase Deadly Occupation here:
Amazon Kindle US
Amazon Kindle UK
Nook
Apple
Kobo
Paperback
Today is release day for Deadly Occupation, book #1 of my “Michael Stoddard American Revolution Mysteries” series. Here’s the book’s description:
A wayward wife, a weapons trafficker, and a woman with “second sight”—it’s a puzzle that would have daunted any investigator. But Michael Stoddard wasn’t just any investigator.
Late January 1781, in coastal North Carolina, patriots flee before the approach of the Eighty-Second Regiment, leaving behind defenseless civilians to surrender the town of Wilmington to the Crown. The regiment’s commander assigns Lieutenant Michael Stoddard the tasks of tracking down a missing woman and probing into the suspicious activities of an unusual church. But as soon as Michael starts sniffing around, he discovers that some of those not-so-defenseless civilians are desperately hiding a history of evil.
Purchase Deadly Occupation here:
Amazon Kindle US
Amazon Kindle UK
Nook
Apple
Kobo
Paperback
Over at the English Historical Fiction Authors blog, Debbie Brown has posted my essay on Major James Henry Craig, a hero for North Carolina’s loyalists during 1781.
Reviews on blogs:
Aobibliophile
Amber Foxx
Caroline Clemmons
Warren Bull
Charlie has won a copy of The Serpent Sword by Matthew Harffy. Congrats to Charlie!
Thanks to Matthew Harffy for the fascinating scoop on what Anglo-Saxons ate during the so-called “Dark Ages.” Thanks, also, to everyone who visited and commented on Relevant History this week. Watch for another Relevant History post, coming soon.
Did you like what you read? Learn about downloads, discounts, and special offers from Relevant History authors and Suzanne Adair. Subscribe to Suzanne’s free newsletter.
Relevant History welcomes Matthew Harffy, who lived in Northumberland as a child. The area had a great impact on him. Decades later, a documentary about Northumbria’s Golden Age sowed the kernel of an idea for a series of novels. The first is the action-packed tale of vengeance and coming of age, The Serpent Sword. Matthew has worked in the IT industry and as an English teacher and translator in Spain. He has co-authored seven published academic articles, ranging in topic from the ecological impact of mining to the construction of a marble pipe organ. He lives in England with his wife and two daughters. To learn more about Matthew’s books, check out his web site, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
*****
I sat down this evening with my family to eat one of our favourite meals—Chilli con Carne. Beef in a rich sauce of tomato, onions, kidney beans, peppers, cumin, chilli pepper powder, cinnamon, garlic, cocoa, salt, oregano and black pepper. All of this on a bed of basmati rice. It was delicious!
I got thinking about how many of the things I was eating and enjoying would not have been available to the characters in my book, The Serpent Sword. It is set in Britain in 633 A.D., and whilst much of the story is concerned with epic battles, warriors and kings, the fate of nations, and the search for justice in a dark and troubled time, everyone needs to eat!
Dark Ages grub
Food in what is commonly known as the “Dark Ages” was a far cry from our modern diet. Now we can easily obtain fruit, vegetables and spices imported from all over the world. But Europeans had not yet been to the New World (or if they had, they hadn’t returned with all of the wonders of later centuries, such as tomatoes, cocoa, potatoes and the many other delicacies that came from the Americas), and whilst there were some imports from mainland Europe, Asia and Africa, these things would have been extremely rare and expensive, and of course, only items that could remain fresh for a long time, such as spices, could be imported.
Everyday food would have been much simpler than what we are used to. Pottage would have been a staple—basically whatever was available cooked in a cauldron over the house’s central hearth. This would be accompanied by bread, baked in a clay oven or on a griddle. The vegetables used would be seasonal, so the pottage would change as the year went on. There would be times when there was some meat in the stew, such as when calves and lambs were killed in spring to leave cows and ewes with milk. At other times, there would be no meat. Hunting would be an extra source of food that would be very welcome.
In general, meat would have been consumed quite sparingly. Nobles would have eaten more meat than the poor. The richer one was, the more meat one could afford. Fish was eaten fresh or, if it was to be stored for longer periods, it could be smoked or salted. Butter and cheese were made from the milk of goats, sheep and cows. Milk wouldn’t keep for long with no refrigeration, even in the British climate, so converting it to cheese and butter made it last much longer.
There was no sugar for sweets or cakes. The only sweetener was honey. Honey cakes were popular but would have been eaten a lot less frequently than we tend to eat sweet things.
Vegetables and fruit
The staple grain crops were wheat, rye, oats and barley. Wheat and rye were used to make bread, and barley was used to brew ale. Oats were eaten as porridge and also fed to animals.
Commonly eaten vegetables were carrots, but not the orange things we know. These would have been purple-red and much smaller. The inhabitants of the British Isles also ate parsnips and cabbages (though these too, were wild, smaller and tougher). Peas, beans, onions and leeks were common cultivated crops too. Foraged plants, such as wild garlic and burdock, would also have been added to the menu.
Although the food would not have been as rich and spicy as my chilli, there were some herbs that could be used to add flavour to dishes. These included coriander, dill and thyme. The wealthy could possibly obtain imported spices such as ginger, cinnamon, cloves, mace and pepper. However, it is unlikely many would have tasted such things. The import of these goods would become more widespread in later centuries as trade routes to the east were opened up.
Anglo-Saxons ate quite a lot of fruit. Apples, plums, cherries and sloes were all consumed. Of course, no oranges, lemons or bananas!
Drinks
The most popular drink was ale. This would not have been the ale we drink (and I love!) today. Instead it would have been a less alcoholic drink, flavoured with gruit (basically, whatever flowers or herbs you had to hand). Brewed with barley, it would not have had hops, which are what give modern beers their crisp dryness.
The drink that perhaps epitomises the images we have of this period, is mead. Beowulf and other heroic Old English poetry talk of the medubenc (mead bench) in the lord’s hall, where warriors would drink from great horns (literally the hollow horns of cattle). Mead was made from honey and often flavoured with herbs, or meduwyrt (mead plant).
Wine was imported and therefore rare and expensive. Cider (or apple-wine) was drunk, as were fruit juices.
The process for distilling spirits was not yet known, so there was no whisky, brandy or the like.
So food and drink were less varied than today and a far cry from our modern diet, high in fats, sugars and protein. Today we are spoiled, seldom eating something we do not like the flavour of. The amount of fibre and vegetables in the diet of the Dark Ages, coupled with the effort required to pull together enough to survive, would today be seen as the basis for a healthy lifestyle.
However, it was not all good news. In the worst times, when crops failed or when the winter stores were depleted, no amount of effort was enough to keep sufficient food on the table. Death from starvation was not uncommon in this period, and there is even evidence of cannibalism!
I’m happy to stick with my chilli con carne and all the trimmings, but there are many people today who extol the virtues of living in closer connection with the seasons, eating only locally-sourced produce. Perhaps we should call this modern trend to lower our carbon footprint “the Dark Ages Diet.”
References:
http://regia.org/research/life/food.htm
Images attributions:
“Bowl of chili” by Carstor – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bowl_of_chili.jpg#/media/File:Bowl_of_chili.jpg
“Ecologically grown vegetables” by Elina Mark – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ecologically_grown_vegetables.jpg#/media/File:Ecologically_grown_vegetables.jpg
“Magenbitter und Halbbitter” by ChasseurBln – Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Magenbitter_und_Halbbitter.jpg#/media/File:Magenbitter_und_Halbbitter.jpg
“Grilled Lamb Loin Chops-01” by Naotake Murayama from Los Altos, CA, USA – Grilled Lamb Loin ChopsUploaded by Caspian blue. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grilled_Lamb_Loin_Chops-01.jpg#/media/File:Grilled_Lamb_Loin_Chops-01.jpg
*****
A big thanks to Matthew Harffy. He’ll give away a signed paperback copy of The Serpent Sword to someone who contributes a comment on my blog this week. I’ll choose the winner from among those who comment by Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Delivery is available worldwide.
Did you like what you read? Learn about downloads, discounts, and special offers from Relevant History authors and Suzanne Adair. Subscribe to Suzanne’s free newsletter.
