 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Believable Fantasy: 10 Points to Consider Point #7: What’s to Eat?
Thursday, April 23, 2009
I think a topic often overlooked in fantasy is food and drink. I say this in respect to a more Medieval-type fantasy setting, and I say it because meals back then were very different from meals we have today. So in regard to this topic, I’ll be writing about a more archaic time.
Food was an integral part of society. Not only was it a basic need for survival, but it reflected social status and culture. Meals were a time for gathering and communing with friends, family, and other people of significance—just as our holidays are often focused around a meal. Meals brought people together.
Where you lived dictated what you would eat. Without extensive transportation or frozen foods, you ate what was around you. Plants and animals (game or domestic) indigenous to your region would be the basis of your diet. If you live by the sea, you’re eating fish, crabs, etc. If you cannot farm your land, then you rely upon hunting and gathering to obtain your food.
Your social status also dictated your diet. Spices were hard to come by and were often expensive imports. Only the rich could afford honey, sugar, cinnamon, and the like, and they were saved for special occasions. Meat was also expensive, and so the poorer folk survived on vegetables and fruit---often mixed in a sort of brothy composition so that it would last for days. Food was also difficult to preserve, as meat needed salting and was often rotten (hence spices to cover the flavor). No refrigerators back then! Think of what you would pack if you planned a lengthy journey and would not have access to a refrigerator. That rather limits your options, doesn’t it?
Meal preparation was an all-day affair. If you stayed at home (that’s right, ladies), you would be in charge of the meals. Without microwaves or stoves, you had use of a fireplace or a stone oven. In our culture today, meals are almost instant. Because of this, we neglect to think about where our food came from. What are the ingredients in jellybeans? How are they made? Can we honestly say we know the origin and the process through which our edibles come? In Medieval times they did, as they slaughtered the animals themselves, harvested the wheat, gathered the eggs, etc.
Because of the time involved in preparing meals, the necessity and fortune of being able to eat for a day, and the social importance of the gathering, rituals, customs, and etiquette evolved as well. Pre-meal prayers are offered in thanks to a higher power, elbows are kept off the table, and you don’t salt your vegetables until you taste them first (lest you offend the chef). We can all think of personal customs that couple our meals.
All this taken into consideration, you may be wondering just what these meals were. There are many great resources to find out about Medieval cooking, beverages, and meal customs. That takes a bit of research, but the time is well spent when you think of believability. Lord Binterman cannot sit down to a dinner of chicken nuggets and a cheeseburger on his trencher, and nor can you ignore that yonder peasant won’t be entreating himself to snowcones and elephant ears. You may find that in your studies, you will come to appreciate a little more the meal you set in front of you (unless those peppers really did come from your garden).
-Stefanie
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
