What began to rankle many people was the widespread sale of
dispensations, which could be bought from the church and allowed
an individual—or even a whole city—to ignore a particular detail
of the fast. Not everyone was happy with the Lenten restrictions,
and not many people could afford the dispensations, though often
priests could. It’s a course of contention through the Middle Ages. Another interesting feature of medieval food culture is stories and
folktales, which circulated orally and were increasingly written
down. The most interesting story is one that is set in the land of
Cockaigne, a magical place where no one has to work and food fl ies
into people’s mouths whenever they want it. The basic story line
serves as a moral warning against gluttons and people who think of
nothing but eating and drinking all day.Bell, Holy Anorexia.
Burke, Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe.
Bynum, Holy Feast.
Camporesi, Bread of Dreams.
Flandrin, Arranging the Meal.
Grewe and Heiatt, eds., Libellus de Arte Coquinaria.
Henisch, Fast and Feast.
McAvoy, Consuming Narratives.
Pleij, Dreaming of Cockaigne.
Libellus de Arte Coquinaria: Making Walnut Oil
This is the very fi rst recipe in the manuscript owned by the Royal Library
of Copenhagen. The language, if you look carefully, is very similar to Old
English, and if you read it aloud, it is almost intelligible. More interesting
Suggested Reading
Culinary Activity