Food, Eating and Identity in Early Medieval England - Allen J. Frantzen

Food in the Middle Ages usually evokes images of feasting, speeches, and special occasions, even though most evidence of food culture consists of fragments of ordinary things such as knives, cooking pots, and grinding stone, which are rarely mentioned by contemporary writers. This book puts a daily life and its object at the centre of the food world. It brings together archaeological and textual evidence to show how words and implements associated with food contributed to social identity at all levels of Anglo-Saxon society. It also looks at the networks which connected fields to kitchens and linked rural centres to trading sites. Fasting, redesigned field systems, and the place of fish in the diet are examined in a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary inquiry into the power of food to reveal social complexity. 

Reviews:

'An excellent introduction' Medieval Archaeology

'An arresting contribution to an important topic' American Historical Review

Frantzen brings his magisterial command of literary evidence to bear on this project, and reminds his readers of some important features of the early medieval period that are often forgotten due to our traditional focus on the feasting hall and monastic refectory at the top of the social pyramid' The Medieval Review 

Publishers: Boydell Press

ISBN: 9781783272457

Pages: 294

Weight: 494 g

Dimensions: 156 x 232 x 18 mm

Dimensions: 234 x 156 mm