BREAD
. Bread was the basis of every meal in the Middle Ages: in France, other foods were
summed up in the word companage, “what accompanies the bread.” It was usually made
from wheat, rye, or maslin (mixed wheat and rye), but barley and oats, among other
grains, were also sometimes used. The best wheat bread, the kind that appeared most
often on the tables of the rich, was described as “white.” The brown, or “bis,” bread,
likely to be the fare of the household help and often used for “trencher” bread (a slice on
which a diner could put pieces of meat, etc., as we use plates), might be either whole
wheat or maslin. Rye bread, apt to be the food of peasants but not confined to any one
class, was usually classified as “black.” Bread was made simply from flour and water,
with or without a leavening of sourdough or yeast—usually derived from beer brewing.
Unleavened bread was baked on a hearthstone or grill into flat breads or wafers, while
leavened bread was generally baked in an oven. All standard loaves were round, whether
they were small individual rolls (miches) of white bread or large rye loaves.
Constance B.Hieatt
[See also: COOKING; MEALS; MILLS AND MILLING]
Bautier, A.M. “Pain et pâtisserie dans les textes médiévaux latins antérieurs au XIIe siècle.” In
Manger et boire au moyen âge: actes du Colloque de Nice (15–17 octobre 1982). Nice: Faculté
des Lettres et Sciences Humaines, 1983.
Stouff, Louis. Ravitaillement et alimentation en Provence aux XIVe et XVe siècles. Paris: Mouton,
1970.
BRÉTIGNY
. A village in the Beauce, Brétigny (Eure-et-Loire) was the site of an important treaty
between England and France. Concluded on May 8, 1360, it ended the first phase of the
Hundred Years’ War. Having captured John II in 1356, Edward III had negotiated two
draft treaties with the French, but when the second was rejected he invaded France in
1359. Unable to force a decisive battle or capture a major town, Edward agreed to the
Treaty of Brétigny, which French historians have considered a disaster for their country.
It was, in fact, less harsh than the rejected draft of 1359. It provided for major cessions of
territory in southwestern France, giving England a large duchy of Aquitaine that would
be held in full sovereignty without feudal ties to the French crown. John II would be
released in return for a ransom of 3 million écus (500,000 pounds sterling), 20 percent to
be paid before his release and the remainder in six annual installments. The banished
supporters of the rival kings would recover their property, and Edward III would abandon
his claim to the throne of France. Although ratified at Calais in October 1360, when John
was released, the treaty was not implemented in every detail, and war resumed in 1369.
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