Alison Sim - Food & Feast in Tudor England

F OOD

& F EAST

IN T UDOR

E NGLAND

A LISON S IM

For my Dad, Alex Sim a dreadful cook but a wonderful father

This book was first published in 1997 by Sutton Publishing Limited

This paperback edition first published in 2005

Reprinted in 2011 by

The History Press

The Mill, Brimscombe Port

Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2QG

www.thehistorypress.co.uk

This ebook edition first published in 2013

All rights reserved

Alison Sim, 2011 , 2013

The right of Alison Sim to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

EPUB ISBN 978 0 7524 9542 2

Original typesetting by The History Press

C ONTENTS

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS

T hanks to Dr David Gaimster of the British Museum for his help with the tableware section.

Thanks also to the following people: Margaret Peach, Caroline Johnson and Roy Porter, whose portrayal of Henry VIII is an inspiration to us all. Thanks to Tim Massa for his advice on the wine section. Finally, thanks to Liz Clarke for providing the only B&B in London with hot and cold running gin.

ONE

I NTRODUCTION : F OOD AND S OCIETY IN THE S IXTEENTH C ENTURY

S ixteenth-century society revolved around the monarch. He or she could provide jobs, pensions, help in a lawsuit and just about anything else any ambitious person could want. The monarch was not an easy person to gain access to, though, so for most people it was necessary to procure the good favour of one of the charmed circle of courtiers who were regularly in the royal presence. If you wanted to move in the highest circles, you had to find ways of gaining and keeping the support of these people.

At this time it was becoming possible for individuals not born to wealth and influence to rise in the world as never before. The expansion of both trade and government bureaucracy meant that new opportunities were opening up for those able to get an education. More and more people were trying to rise in the world, and, in the process, gain influence among those close to the king or queen. An ambitious Tudor would try to dazzle the influential with a very obvious display of wealth so as to be accepted into their circle. Tudor tastes were not subtle: if you had money, you flaunted it.

The reason behind this was the strict social hierarchy that existed in Tudor times. The Tudors saw society as being rather like a ladder, with each person standing on a different rung. This ladder included not only humanity itself, but the whole of Creation, with animals, plants, minerals, etc. all having their own place on the ladder beneath man, and with saints, heavenly beings and, of course, God himself above man.

The situation was not as fixed as it might seem, though. Just as in any age, some once-powerful families found themselves going down the ladder while new families replaced them. There were also lots of people fighting at all levels over who should take precedence. Putting on a lavish display of your wealth not only confirmed your place on the ladder, it could also help you and your family to climb.

For example, the more people you employed, the more patronage you evidently had at your disposal. If you were very obviously wealthy, families higher up the social ladder might consider marrying their children to yours, which would give you access to that familys network of contacts. As most business was generated by knowing the right people, new contacts could bring you all sorts of opportunities, from jobs at Court to the chance to make sure that a judge who was trying a case you were involved in saw things your way.

Then, as now, there were plenty of other ways of showing off your wealth. The most obvious was to dress well. Before the Industrial Revolution, cloth was, in real terms, vastly more expensive than it is today. The Petre accounts, which cover the years 1548 to 1561, include London russet at 7 s 4 d a yard, broad russet at 2 s 6 d an ell and kersey from 1 s 3 d to 4 s a yard, depending on the quality. These were hardwearing, high-quality wools which wealthy people might give to their servants to wear as Sunday best or which might make an everyday gown for a merchants wife.

It is difficult to estimate how much cloth would be needed to make a gown as there was no standard width for material at the time. Some were very narrow indeed, such as silks which might be only 22 inches wide. Gowns also varied a great deal in the amount of fabric needed. A gown for a wealthy lady who might want long, dangling sleeves and a train, if these happened to be in fashion, obviously required much more fabric than a poorer persons more practical clothes. A rough estimate of 10 yards per gown will give a fair idea, however, and it soon becomes obvious just how expensive clothing was. Considering that a skilled worker such as a shipwright might earn 12 in a year, while someone at the bottom of society, like a washerwoman, might survive on only 2, clothing formed a large part of most peoples annual budget.

If you wished to display your wealth, the best fabrics to wear were silk, velvet (which was woven at least partly of silk) and even cloth of silver or gold. Not only were these fabrics expensive, they did not last as long as wool, so wearing them was a sign that you could afford to replace them as necessary. In real terms, clothes made of these fabrics cost even more than designer-original clothes cost today. John Johnson, a wealthy merchant of the staple at Calais in the mid-sixteenth century, had a quilted yellow silk doublet made up in Antwerp for a friend at the huge cost of 33 s 6 d more or less a labourers entire annual income. The Tudors took dressing to impress very seriously indeed.

Ladies and gentlemen who dressed so expensively also wanted their houses to provide a magnificent setting. Tudor tastes in decoration were elaborate to say the least. Every inch of the grander rooms in a large house would be decorated with wall paintings or panelling (which would be painted in bright colours rather than lovingly polished, as surviving Tudor panelling usually is today) and, if the family was particularly wealthy, hung with tapestries. Tapestry really was the ultimate wall covering, as it would take a team of skilled weavers around three years to make a single tapestry of fairly complex design, and on top of that was the cost of all the raw materials, such as fine silk and wool thread dyed in expensively bright colours. The cost of them was enormous. Henry VIII paid 1,500 for one set of ten tapestries showing the life of King David, and these were not even the best set he owned. The most magnificent in his collection were woven entirely of silk and even had silver-gilt thread woven into them. They are still on display at Hampton Court Palace.

Another necessity for the up-and-coming Tudor was a good display of plate for the table. It was still usual in the sixteenth century for guests to bring their own cutlery; huge matching sets of silver cutlery lay some way in the future. This was one reason for giving a silver spoon as a christening gift: it was a useful item which could be used throughout the recipients life. Instead, the Tudors bought elaborate plates, bowls, ewers and other large items. Some were meant for use, others purely for display, but it was all a sound investment: if the family suddenly needed cash, the plate could be melted down and made into coin.