IMC 2016: Sessions
Session 1121: Scandinavian Influences on Changing Tastes in Denmark, Normandy, and England
Wednesday 6 July 2016, 11.15-12.45
| Organiser: | Sally N. Vaughn, Department of History, University of Houston, Texas |
|---|---|
| Moderator/Chair: | Kerstin Hundahl, Historiska Institutionen, Lunds Universitet |
| Paper 1121-a | Weapons of Wine: 11th-Century Norman Women and the Use of Food-Based Poisons (Language: English) Index terms: Gender Studies, Local History, Mentalities, Social History |
| Paper 1121-b | The Case of the Pickled Herring: Evidence of Viking Settlement Food Transfers to Normandy and England in the 11th Century (Language: English) Index terms: Daily Life, Mentalities, Religious Life, Social History |
| Paper 1121-c | 'They feasted each other sumptuously': Food as Luxury in High Medieval Denmark (Language: English) Index terms: Archaeology - General, Art History - General, Daily Life, Social History |
| Abstract | Scandinavian food transfers to England and Normandy, and aristocratic food practices in Denmark. Food-based poisons in 11th-century Normandy show motivations of women who used them to gain or wield power. Comparing Normandy to other medieval regions suggests Norman women gained power denied their non-Viking connected peers. Pickled herring, a prominent Scandinavian food, appears in both 11th-century Normandy and England, connected to St Anselm. Food consumption in Denmark resembled, but was independent of, continental Europe; courtly culture emphasized imported, luxury food to mark elite status. Courtly society stressed food quality, not quantity, with cookbooks, food preparation and presentation, and table manners indicating a more stratified 12th- and 13th-century society. |