It’s important to realize the medical science had a huge influence over people’s eating habits in the medieval age, especially when they were dropping like flies due to never-ending natural disasters. There was this prevailing idea from the 3rd century till about the of the four bodily humors, Flegmat (phlegm), Sanguin (blood), Coleric (yellow bile) and Melanc (black bile). Sounds gross, right?
The basic idea was that these humors are what made up the human constitution and needed to be in specific ratios in order for one to be healthy. An excess of any of these bodily fluids is a sure sign of illness. Each food was assigned to one of the humors based on its properties and characteristics, like if it was served warm or cold, or what season it came from. Food wasn’t the only thing that mattered, however, as even factors such as soil, wind, and water of a place can affect one’s humors.
As such, everyone from the wealthiest of nobles to the homeless living under bridges aspired to eat in a way that would keep them in eucrasia, or healthy due to balanced humors. Poor folks who only ate a few core ingredients were thought to just get sick more often, as their humors were always going to be out of the golden ratio. Your social class and occupation also affected what food would be available to you, as coarse, cheap food was for the working laborers, while the exotic, expensive cuisine was reserved for nobles.
Now finally, FINALLY let’s talk about bread, which is what started this research spiral in the first place. People in Europe (and by extension, France) didn’t really eat bread until the 14th century, especially in the lower classes. This was for a variety of reasons, mostly agricultural, until a warm period popped up and allowed for a more widespread growth of wheat, rye, barley, and other cereals. From then on, it became staple in almost everyone’s diet, from the lowliest farmer to the corrupt clergymen to seasoned soldiers and even on the king’s dinner table. Basically, it would have really sucked if you had Celiac Disease.
These grains were made into all manners of food, like bread, porridge, gruel, pain, oatmeal, bread, and even porridge! Okay, so nothing interesting happened with all this grain until the 16th century. Key kinds of bread and pastries were created, like biscuits (i.e. cookies), wafers, pies, fritters, and eventually doughnuts! My next post will be focused on what France’s contributions to the bread world were.
Sources:
Kalachanis, Konstantinos; Michailidis, Ioannis E. (2015). “The Hippocratic View on Humors and Human Temperament”. European Journal of Social Behaviour.
The History Of Bread In France – Busby’s (busbysbakery.com)
The History Of French Pastry And Confectionery – Eat the Globe
Eszter Kisbán, “Food Habits in Change: The Example of Europe” in Food in Change, page 2–4.