Diets During The Elizabethan Era
Diets across the world are generally very different from one another especially if one were to compare them to the diets of the past. Such as during the Elizabethan era, when there were many plagues that had changed the course of typical diets across Europe and the gap between the different economic classes. The plagues not only heavily influenced the new diets to be established for the different economic classes and meals made for varieties of special occasions but it also helped to steer the population to their new ideologies of common entertainment. During the Elizabethan era the average Elizabethan typically did not eat much unless it was a specified holiday, and a common sources of entertainment for the wealthy were along the lines of
banquets and elaborate feasts while on the other side of the economic spectrum the less fortunate enjoyed activities such as acting troupes and tournaments.
What did the average Elizabethan eat?
The typical diet of an upper class person during the Elizabethan era consisted mostly of rich spices, fruits, lightly colored bread, and typically light meats. Upper class households tended to have larger quantities of meat in their meals, while it was a rare luxury for the lower class to have any at all. Another luxury to the lower class diet were vegetables. The lower class typically consisted of black or brown bread, eggs, and dairy products. On the other hand, the upper class ate white wheat bread called manchet. (Benson) White bread representing the higher classes and as the bread progressively gets darker in hue the more directed it is for lower classes. This representing the early coordination of darker colors with those of lower power and wealth class. Lower class people typically did not have the proper funds to acquire a cook or have the land to have large herds of livestock. (Olsen 285) This also did not assist in the fact that it was typically very hard to maintain a proper home for such a long period of time as plagues swept through the nation and drove entire villages to flee their precious homes. Along with that, water was often fetched from rivers or local wells, and without the modern filtering systems we have today, the water used from these sources were very unreliable and sometimes even deadlier than the common plagues. All economic classes rarely ever drank water due to its impurity and proneness to disease and instead drank beverages such as wine, flat beer, and weak ale. (Benson)
banquets and elaborate feasts while on the other side of the economic spectrum the less fortunate enjoyed activities such as acting troupes and tournaments.
What did the average Elizabethan eat?
The typical diet of an upper class person during the Elizabethan era consisted mostly of rich spices, fruits, lightly colored bread, and typically light meats. Upper class households tended to have larger quantities of meat in their meals, while it was a rare luxury for the lower class to have any at all. Another luxury to the lower class diet were vegetables. The lower class typically consisted of black or brown bread, eggs, and dairy products. On the other hand, the upper class ate white wheat bread called manchet. (Benson) White bread representing the higher classes and as the bread progressively gets darker in hue the more directed it is for lower classes. This representing the early coordination of darker colors with those of lower power and wealth class. Lower class people typically did not have the proper funds to acquire a cook or have the land to have large herds of livestock. (Olsen 285) This also did not assist in the fact that it was typically very hard to maintain a proper home for such a long period of time as plagues swept through the nation and drove entire villages to flee their precious homes. Along with that, water was often fetched from rivers or local wells, and without the modern filtering systems we have today, the water used from these sources were very unreliable and sometimes even deadlier than the common plagues. All economic classes rarely ever drank water due to its impurity and proneness to disease and instead drank beverages such as wine, flat beer, and weak ale. (Benson)