A Christmas Feast in Medieval Ireland

Irish History Podcast

Fin Dwyer

Ireland, Irish History, Norman Invasion, Great Hunger, Vikings, Interviews, History, War Of Independence, Great Famine

4.7 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2015

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The turkey only arrived in Northern Europe in 16th century so what did people eat for Christmas Dinner? In this episode I look at the foods available in medieval Ireland. This includes everything from larks cooked in cinnamon and cloves, geese cooked in garlic to soggy pies and lethal takeaways!

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Attention at all passengers. You can now book your train tickets on Uber and get 10% back in Uber credits to spend on your next train journey.
0:11.0	So no excuses not to visit your in-laws this Christmas.
0:16.5	Trains now on Uber. Tees and sees apply check the Uber app.
0:22.4	The Irish History Podcast is supported exclusively through the generous contributions of listeners like yourself.
0:29.0	You can help get the show out more frequently in 2016 by donating at Irish History Podcast.
0:35.6	That's Irish History
0:47.6	Podcast 2015 Christmas Special this part I guess is my Christmas gift to you.
0:53.0	Two years ago I released a book on medieval life in Ireland.
0:57.0	It's never been released on audio.
0:59.0	However, for this Christmas show I have exclusively recorded one chapter, which is the closest I could find to one with a festive team.
1:06.2	The book looks at differing aspects of medieval life, but this one is titled Grubs Up, Food in Medieval Ireland. It will give you some sense of the range of foods
1:15.9	on offer if you were shopping for a Christmas, late medieval Ireland was a land abundant with food,
1:29.0	in good years feels swayed with great crops of wheat, oats, corn and barley.
1:35.0	Shepherds tended to large flocks and herds of animals which were reared from meat and dairy products.
1:41.1	The sheer size of these animal herds alone was staggering. In 1290, 51,000
1:47.2	cattle hides were exported from Irish ports. Milk from both cows and sheep were converted into cheese and butter, while rabbits, swans, peacocks and hens were also commonly reared for the dinner table.
2:00.0	A wild variety of vegetables were grown including onions, garlic, leek and kale.
2:05.8	While the countryside supplied many staples of the medieval diet, and even wider variety of foods
2:10.8	were available for purchase in urban markets. The numerous coastal ports attracted
2:15.8	fishermen who brought ashore large stocks of fish, salmon and eel were particularly popular.
2:22.4	When not consumed immediately, fish was preserved through
2:25.2	salting so it could be exported. While pigs were common in the countryside, they were also
	...

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