Food that wiggles

If you haven't guessed by now, my attention to things medieval tends to wander across many facets of daily life. Here is another one: eels. I happened to see a nature show about eels the other day and immediately linked it to medieval food and the wide variety of seafood in Sicily. Eels are both salt and fresh water fish, with more than 800 species. Some are migratory, being born in the ocean and traveling inland in rivers and streams. These particular eels do not breed in fresh water so are often caught in mass quantity as they head back to the ocean using eels traps made of netting or wire. Eels are predators that eat other small fish and crustaceans. The European eel, now critically endangered, is a species that has been recorded at nearly 10 feet long and 350 pounds, although the modern version is smaller. They can live more than 80 years. Medieval castles, monasteries, and farms often raised their own eels in eel ponds as they did their own vegetables, flowers, and other animals. Eels are a tremendous source of protein and Vitamins A and E. They were served fresh, salted or smoked. During the later Middle Ages, eels somehow became associated with the spread of plague, and consumption dropped off. Current Italian cuisine especially favors eels from Valli di Comacchio, a swampy area along the Adriatic coast. Due to the decline in eel populations, present day eel meet is expensive. Some Maine fishermen are becoming millionaires by farming eels, sending the young ones to China's feed lots, and being sold at unheard of prices in Japan.


Moray eel




Medieval eeler



Conger eel, European eel

Louis XIV's shoes - a link

https://www.google.com/search?q=Louis+XIV+wardrobe+pictures&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&rlz=1I7MXGB_enUS583&tbm=isch&imgil=bjtwLIGBCDaWoM%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcS2jCcAEp2T8qfxIXo6etZMDdtURUpT1Jvth8-AubhPoY-pxmcJ%253B1072%253B844%253BzuHakGNFrfrbzM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fbellathewestie.blogspot.com%25252F2010_07_01_archive.html&source=iu&usg=__NLgoMsNOpy5UX74DEKJ89Zq1jF0%3D&sa=X&ei=nSLEU9z6G8rlsATmsICoBw&ved=0CCsQ9QEwBQ&biw=1105&bih=605


I have no idea why this link is so long, but here's where I was ogling Louis' shoes - and other fabulous wardrobe accessories.

Louis XIV and his clothes - especially shoes!!

Now this is just a sidebar here but when I read the post of my co-author regarding Louis XIV's buttons and the incredible amount of money he spent just on buttons, well, I had to google Louis XIV's wardrobe.


As soon as it came up I forgot about his buttons - do definitely check out his shoes!  I would give anything to be walking around in some of those pumps, although they really don't go with mountain living, chainsawing, or the like ...

Drinking Water in the Middle Ages - Another Myth Exploded

From buttons to water - here's another interesting link exploding a common belief people have about the Middle Ages - that they didn't drink water! What about all those references to "watered wine" because few people drank straight wine. But also, cool water in the summertime? Especially in Sicily, where it's not only hot, but two hundred years of Arab occupation produced scores of irrigation and fountains. And let's not forget the need for water because of all the public baths. Yes, people, bathing in the areas that have known Roman occupation was frequent and every town of a fair size had a public bath. Palermo had many. Anyway, check out this terrific article on water at http://www.medievalists.net/2014/07/09/people-drink-water-middle-ages/

Buttons and buttonholes

What would life be like without the ubiquitous button? Buttons were not used as functional items until about the 800s. Seashell and bone “button” decorations, some with holes punched through them to fasten them to fabric or leather, were found in ancient civilizations in Pakistan, China and Rome dating back to about 2000 BCE, but early civilizations used laces, hooks, pins, buckles and belts to fasten their clothing. Nothing more was required for simple tunics or cloaks, but as fashion changed, there arose a desire to make one’s clothing more form-fitting and fancy with complicated folds, attachments, and interchangeability of parts. Use of the button required the invention of the buttonhole. Although the earliest functional buttons were found in 9th century Hungarian tombs, buttons with buttonholes for fastening and shaping clothes appeared first in Germany and France in the 13th century. Some say that returning Crusaders brought the button and buttonhole back with them from the East. French, Italian, and other European paintings from the period faithfully show us the details, the shapes, the materials and the importance of buttons. The number of buttons and what they were made of became a status symbol. It has been rumored that King Louis XIV of France(350 years after our Vespers stories)spent over $5 million on them in his lifetime. As with most other manufactured goods, button makers formed a guild or union that exercised political clout to keep prices artificially high and crush any competitors. Check out La Guerre des Boutons in 17th century France for more about the power of the guild.

The Varangian Guard - Byzantine warriors - or English? Or Scandinavian?

So OK, I'm zooming from food to fighting - too much caffeine?  Maybe, maybe not.  Book #3 of The Vespers Trilogy, which is being written as we speak (or maybe an hour before we're speaking) has a new character called Arduin, who chooses to serve with the King's Assassin, and was a former Varangian guard.  So I did some more research on the Varangian guards, the elite Byzantine warriors who were feared through the medieval world.  Harald Hardrada, the greatest warrior of his time, served as a Varangian guard.


So I can't resist, one more time, another link.  This is a medieval military website where there just happens to be an article about English warriors as part of the Varangian guard.  Enjoy!!!


http://deremilitari.org/2014/06/english-refugees-in-the-byzantine-armed-forces-the-varangian-guard-and-anglo-saxon-ethnic-consciousness/

Food of Apulia - taking New York by storm

OK, just one more link.  It appears that I'm on the cutting edge as usual.  The food of Apulia is taking New York by storm - check out this New York Times article.  Gotta go, I'm getting hungry ...


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/17/dining/the-food-of-apulia-finds-its-way-to-new-york.html?_r=0

Apulia and its food

Boy, I just ran across some fabulous photographs of food in Apulia - so readers - feast your eyes on it - check it out!  http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Puglia+Italy+Food&Form=IQFRDR


I have heard this region of Italy is incredible for white, sandy beaches, incredible food and no tourists.  If that isn't a recipe for travel, I don't know what is!

Puglia anyone? Roman, Byzantine, Norman history up to Gallipoli

Apulia, or Puglia as the Italians call it, has something for everyone.  If you're a historian, like I am, or just a plain history buff, Apulia has it all.  From Roman to 20th century.  Not to mention, fabulous food, seafood, pasta, fresh everything.  The region is known for its wine and its olive oil and it's beautiful besides.  Check this article out from USA Today


http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2007-04-24-puglia-italy_N.htm

While we're on the subject of food - medieval Corleone and Sicily

If you're wondering about medieval food in Sicily - I ran across this wonderful article that talks about the Arab history in Sicilian cuisine - lemons, oranges, sugar cane, sherbet and sorbets and a few other fascinating things - check out this link - as you know, Corleone is the setting in Book #3 of The Vespers Trilogy that Ysabella & Co. flee to after the cataclysm of Aragon and Angevin in Palermo.


Check out this link - https://www.academia.edu/2292026/Food_in_medieval_Sicily

Farmers Markets, medieval markets, fresh produce of Sicily

When Bill and I lived in Palermo for eight months we experienced the delightful variety of farmers' markets, fish markets, and markets displaying the fresh produce of Sicily.  We bought cauliflower or broccoli (which is an interesting lime green shade) which we discovered many locals puree with a few spices for a sauce to toss their spaghetti or pasta with.  We are all brought up to think all Italians make is tomato sauces, especially in the south, but we found out that wasn't true.  Sicilians, at any rate, use a variety of such vegetables to "sauce" their pasta.  We also experienced the delight of freshly caught fish, especially swordfish, as well as sea urchins and sardines.  In the Middle Ages, when Ysabella and Company were cooking, fish and eels were often much sought after for those Fridays and church holidays when eating meat was forbidden.  Just like today, there were carefully tended fish ponds and eel ponds to make that meal preparation convenient.  While we didn't see eels in Palermo, I think we saw almost everything else.


As everyone knows, anything fresh is best!  Stay tuned for some pictures of Palermo's open air markets of fresh fish and produce.