Food in Medieval England: Diet and Nutrition (Medieval History and Archaeology) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199273499 ISBN 13: 9780199273492

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2006

Synopsis

Food and diet are central to understanding daily life in the middle ages. In the last two decades, the potential for the study of diet in medieval England has changed markedly: historians have addressed sources in new ways; material from a wide range of sites has been processed by zooarchaeologists and archaeobotanists; and scientific techniques, newly applied to the medieval period, are opening up possibilities for understanding the cumulative effects of diet on the skeleton. In a multi-disciplinary approach to the subject, this volume, written by leading experts in different fields, unites analysis of the historical, archaeological, and scientific record to provide an up-to-date synthesis. The volume covers the whole of the middle ages from the early Saxon period up to c .1540, and while the focus is on England wider European developments are not ignored.

The first aim of the book is to establish how much more is now known about patterns of diet, nutrition, and the use of food in display and social competition; its second is to promote interchange between the methodological approaches of historians and archaeologists. The text brings together much original research, marrying historical and archaeological approaches with analysis from a range of archaeological disciplines, including archaeobotany, archaeozoology, osteoarchaeology, and isotopic studies.

About this title

About the Author:

C.M. Woolgar is Reader and Head of Speical Collections at the University of Southampton Library.

D. Serjeantson is Research Fellow in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Southampton.

T. Waldron is Consultant Physician at St. Mary's Hospital, London, and Honorary Professor at the Institute of Archaeology at University College London.

Review:

"The editors and their collaborators earn the highest praise and thanks for serving us this rich banquet."--Richard C. Hoffmann, The Agricultural History Review

"This is a most valuable book with. A wealth of new information."--John Langdon, Economic History Review

"The comprehensive breadth of topics within a single volume on medieval food is unprecedented; this book--a successful fusion of multiple perspectives and data--has set a new standard for current understanding and future research."--Aleks Pluskowski, Reviews in History

"This is a fine book...it is Blair's close readings, or rather close listenings, which carry the argument. Blair let us hear that sound in the rhythms of the poetry she discusses with such keen and well-tuned attention."--Tennyson Research Bulletin

"A valuable addition to Oxford University Press's impressive Medieval History and Archaeology series."--Mark Page, English Historical Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0199273499
• ISBN 13: 9780199273492
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 368
• Editor: Woolgar C.M., Serjeantson D., Waldron T.