News

Durham University goes medieval with a feast fit for a king

(2 March 2011)

Authentic medieval cuisine will be the highlight of a banquet designed to bring the past to life for staff, students and the public at Durham University on March 9^th.

The sold-out event has been organised by Durham University's Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and will not only feature food and drink from the time, but will follow many of the period's traditions.Dr Giles Gasper, co-director of the Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies said: "It's one thing to know the practices and customs of the Medieval Period, but to get the opportunity to bring them to life and experience some of the many flavours of the food and drink of the period is an emotive, engaging and therefore much more enjoyable way to understand the past."

 Durham University's historical food expert Caroline Yeldham, who has been preparing the feast, said: "Medieval attitude to food is a vast topic, one governed by many aspects reflecting the era including social standing and religion - there were dietary restrictions for about half the days of the year.

"Medieval cuisine is international, drawing on elements across Western Europe from the first collections of the late 12^th and early 13^th Century, through to the late 16^th Century.

 "The food is distinguished by the use of a wide variety of spices, including unusual ones such as galingale, grains of paradise and cubebs as well as more familiar ones such as pepper, cumin and ginger.

 "The foods for this event are all high status recipes which would've been served at royal and aristocratic tables and will be served with hypocras, a scented wine."

 Consistent with the custom of the era, on the day the meat and vegetable tarts and sweetmeats will be divided into arrangements of four and served to people in tables of eight.