I’m back again with a part 2! I know all of you were waiting with bated breath for this, so I have delivered. This sequel post will be all about the Middle Ages and how deeply intertwined major world events and eating are.
Let’s start out with defining the Middle Age and what France was up to during that time. Roughly the 5th to 15th century is what encompasses the Middle Ages, which is a long, long time. Right after that was the Renaissance, from the 15th to the 16th century, which was a period of returning to the Classics yet also transitioning into modernity. The 14th century was a bad time for pretty much everyone, however, as two major natural disasters occurred that cut its population in half (perhaps even more): the second Black Death wave and the Great Famine of 1315-1317.
France in particular really suffered from famines, having a total of 10 famines in the 14th century, some lasting upwards of years at a time. This caused the average life expectancy to drop from 35 pre-disasters to 28 during the Great Famine to 17 during the years of the plague, which as you might have pieced together, is kind of really super bad.
Also occurring around this time were several more fun events, like the Hundred Year’s War, the Great Schism of the Church, and the Avignon Papacy. Reminder – this is only the 14th century. I haven’t even touched on the other Crissie of the Late Middle Ages (mostly a lot of strife concerning religious upheaval and political instability).
It wasn’t all bad, though! Before all of this, from 1000 – 1250, there was a huge boom of population and expansion, where a warm period started, Vikings stopped their raids, and crops started to grow really fast. Feudalism also rose in this time, resulting in a revival of larger towns and thus trade. This, unfortunately, led to overpopulation, and eventually the Great Famine.
So you’re probably like, “Max, this is supposed to be about bread, why have you written a dissertation on why the Middle Ages sucked?” Well, first of all, shut it, I’m getting to that part. Second of all, this is me restraining myself. There’s a lot I’m leaving out for Dr. Smith’s and my swollen hand’s sake. That’s all for this post, you’ll have to find out more in part 3.
Sources:
Bakers in the Middle Ages – Give Me History
Lucas, Henry S. (October 1930). “The great European Famine of 1315, 1316, 1317”.
Plague (Black Death) bacterial infection information and facts (nationalgeographic.com)
Internet History Sourcebooks: Medieval Sourcebook (fordham.edu)
I think the Hieronymus Bosch art from that period tell you a lot of what you need to know about the Middle Ages, namely to be glad you weren’t born in that era.