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~ Food & Drink ~
Meat, Poultry & Fish
Pork & Bacon: Pigs were the primary meat source because they forage easily in woodlands (masting on acorns).
Cattle & Sheep: Raised mostly for milk, cheese, butter, and wool; meat came primarily from older animals past their prime.
Game & Fowl: Venison and wild boar were strictly high-status foods hunted by nobility. Geese, ducks, chickens, and wild birds (like wood pigeons) were common.
Fish: Freshwater species (eel, pike, trout) and preserved marine fish (herring, cod) were essential, especially during Christian fasting days and Lent.
Prime Meats & Game
Choice Domestic Cuts: While commoners ate older draft animals, royalty dined on prime young beef, suckling pig, mutton, and lamb.
Hunted Game: Venison (red and roe deer) and wild boar were elite staples, reserved strictly for the king and his nobility through control of royal hunting grounds.
Fowl & Wild Birds: Feasts featured domestic geese, capons, ducks, and wild game birds such as partridge, crane, heron, and swan.
Core Staples, Grains & Fine Breads
Bread: The foundation of every meal. Peasants ate dense, dark breads made from barley, rye, and oats. Fine white wheat bread was reserved for the wealthy and religious houses.
White Wheat Bread: Unlike the dark barley or rye loaves of peasants, kingsate fine white bread (sifted wheat flour).
Pottage: A thick, slow-simmered stew of grains, field peas, broad beans, and herbs (leeks, garlic, onions, and cabbage). It formed the daily meal for most of the population.
Dairy, Sweets & Spices
Dairy Luxuries: Rich cheeses, butter, and cream were served alongside meals.
Honey & Sweetmeats: Honey was the primary sweetener, used generously in glazed meats, fruit preserves (apples, pears, plums), and rich pastries.
Imported Spices: Elite cooking incorporated rare trade goods from Mediterranean and Eastern routes, including black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and galangal.
Vegetables, Fruits & Foraging
Vegetables: Root crops included carrots (purple/yellow varieties, not orange), parsnips, turnips, and radishes.
Fruits & Nuts: Apples, pears, plums, cherries, sloe berries, blackberries, elderberries, and hazelnuts were consumed fresh, dried, or preserved.
Flavourings: Herbs like parsley, mint, sage, mustard, and thyme provided flavour. Imported spices (pepper, cinnamon) were rare luxuries for elite households.
Drink
Ale: The primary daily beverage for all ages, brewed from barley or oats. It was safer to drink than unboiled water.
Mead: Fermented honey, highly valued and associated with noble halls and feasting.
Cider & Wine: Apple cider (cyder) was common; grape wine was largely imported or produced in small quantities by monasteries for church services and elites.
Wine & High-Grade Mead: Kings drank imported Frankish or Mediterranean grape wine from silver or horn vessels, alongside spiced mead and strong, high-quality brewed ales.
Fresh & Rare Seafood
Freshwater & Sea Fish: Royal households enjoyed fresh salmon, trout, eel, pike, and marine species like cod and herring.
Status Seafood: Oysters and sturgeon were prized delicacies served at high-status tables.
The Food Render (Feorm)
An Anglo-Saxon king rarely stayed in one palace; he travelled his realm with his retinue, consuming the feorm (food rent) owed by local estates. Historical food render lists (such as those from King Ine of Wessex) reveal that a single royal visit required:
10 casks of honey
300 loaves of bread
12 casks of strong ale & 30 of small ale
2 full-grown oxen (or 10 sheep)
10 geese & 20 chickens
5 salmon
100 cheeses & 10 pounds of butter
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