Richard III's statue has been relocated in Leicester (England)

I have mentioned in previous posts that I have a sister who lives in the centre of the city of Leicester. She has been able to witness recent developments. 

First, to set the scene. On 23 May 2014 the long awaited outcome of a Judicial Review held earlier in March 2014, was delivered at the Royal Courts of Justice, London. The deliberations were not about where King Richard III should be buried (Leicester or York or any other place) but whether several defendants, including the Secretary of State for Justice, had a duty at common law to consult about where and how the King's remains should be re-interred. The action had been brought by the Plantagenet Alliance  a group of fifteen collateral descendants of king, who believed they should have been consulted. 

King Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485)

The Judgement found that 'there are no public law grounds for the Court interfering with the decisions in question'. 'Since Richard III's exhumation on 5 September 2012, passions have been roused and much ink has been split. Issues relating to his life and death and place of re-interment have been exhaustively examined and debated. The Very Reverend David Monteith, the Dean of Leicester Cathedral, has explained the considerable efforts and expenditure invested by the Cathedral in order to create a lasting burial place "as befits an anointed King". We agree that it is time for Richard III to be given as dignified reburial, and finally laid to rest.'

Re-located in Leicester Cathedral's precincts 

Leicester has been re-designing its city centre and cathedral precincts to create a Richard III themed pedestrian experience which links the important sites. This transformation is not yet complete. But this week Richard III's statue has this been re-located from Leicester's Castle Park to it's Cathedral precinct. He has been furnished with a new sword, replacing his dagger. 

My sister did wonder, below, what type of deliveries were expected by road back then in the 15th century. Hay? Armour? Or perhaps, most enticingly, street food in the form of MedievalMorsels? The most likely street food would have been the ever popular pie or "chewit" sold by itinerant traders. Individually sized, encased in pastry-crust and therefore easy to carry and easy to eat. 

Medieval street vendor's pie by MedievalMorsels

World Cup is on.Time for a Beer. What's so peculiar?

I was making a steak and ale pie, so I needed some dark ale with great taste to "inform" the stock. I chose Theakeston's "Old Peculier". Then I got absorbed , as I hoped the ale would be in the pie, in looking at the emblem on the bottle's neck and reading about it. 

A peculier bottle of beer devoid of contents!

Could this be the Archbishop of York?

Explained on the bottleneck, Theakston's most famous beer takes its name from the seal of the Peculier Court of Masham which was granted back in the 12th century. "It was the custom at the time for the church to administer the law, and this proved too arduous a task for the then Archbishop, who was based in York. So with due archiepiscopal aplomb, he set up the independent Peculier Court, headed up by the Peculier of Masham."

Theakston's by contrast was established in 1827 not in the 1200's. This particular "Legendary Strong Ale" is 5.6% proof and is made from barley and wheat.

Now, from earliest Medieval times cereal was needed for bread-making and to feed the animal stock that worked the land - oxen and horses later.The demand for cereals was immense in proportion to the population, because insufficient land was under cultivation. So it was fortunate that a huge new granary opened up, also in the 12th century, when Germany expanded onto the plains of Eastern Europe.

Image courtesy Medieval Woodcuts Clipart Collection

   
Beer drinkers should pay attention from this point. So plentiful and cheap were supplies of cereal from the Baltic that, courtesy of the well organised Hanseatic League traders plying their trade across the North Sea, there was now grain enough to spare in England - even for brewing!! Fermented barley, known as malt was an essential ingredient. A weak,  unfiltered and cloudy "small ale" was home brewed, often by women of the household. Drunk by all classes of medieval society, and their children, it provided some nourishment. Because water is boiled as part of the process, ale was a safer drink than water itself. Its alcoholic content would also discourage micro-organisms to some extent, although ale did rapidly go sour. Strong ale was no doubt brewed for medieval festivities, or for consumpion in alehouses.

What is the difference between ale - drunk in one form or another from the earliest times across  many civilisations - and beer I hear you ask!? Its a historical difference now rather lost in the  move to modern beer production. Ales were made long before hops first reached England's shores in 1524. The beer making process practised in continental Europe used hops, which imparted a bitter taste that balanced the sweet malted barley.

Ale drinking habits continued throughout England into Elizabethan times after 1524, when hops and beer making began to gain some ground in London. According to Anne Wilson’s book “Food and Drink in Britain” by Elizabeth I reign (1558 - 1603) even ale came to be lightly hopped, helping it keep better. Hops, now grown locally to London were no longer an expensive imported item from the Low Countries (Belgium and Holland). Annette Hope in her book “Londoners’ Larder notes that both ale and beer could be made very strong “..and London ale houses, where the ‘ale-knights’ sat all day, drinking until they fell off their stools, were a byword.” A byword for excess! 

MedievalMorsels 12th scale dolls house food, predominantly wheat with barley loaves, and barley bannocks

MedievalMorsels one inch scale dollhouse miniature food rye with barley flatbread loaves

 MedievalMorsels makes a range of one inch dolls house miniature foods from Medieval and Tudor times- flatbreads that used barley as an ingredient in varying proportions with rye and other grains. It also produces dainty barley bannocks that would grace a rich guildsman's dining table!

Gloucester's claims to fame!

House in Cathedral precincts

The Old Crypt Schoolroom erected in 1539 

We were in Medieval Gloucester the other day. Gloucester's fine cathedral remains partly under scaffold wraps as the long process of masonry cleaning and restoration continues.  

In 1216 the cathedral witnessed the first coronation of King Henry III at the tender age of nine. Henry III has several claims to fame. The son of (bad) King John who was forced to sign the Magna Carta, he established England's first parliament, bringing the practice of absolute monarchy to an end. He was the only English monarch to lose his crown twice but he died as monarch! First, he became unpopular with his barons and subjects and was deposed by his ruling Council. Then, as an ageing king his son - later Edward I - regained the Plantagenet crown in battle. But effectively it was his son who ruled, side-lining the king who now had time on his hands. He was a pious man, devoting himself to re-building Westminster Abbey in the new Gothic style of architecture, as well as other fine churches, in the second half of his "reign".

Some Grotesques have had a structural make-over.

Whilst speaking (writing) of Gloucester we cannot overlook the marvellous Gloucestershire Old Spots Pig, awarded "traditional speciality guaranteed status" from the EU, putting it's bacon, pork and ham products on a par with Champagne and Parma ham! The once commonplace orchard grazing pig belongs is a breed that has been formally recognised relatively recently, to protect its ancient bloodline. As it happens, the Princess Royal is Patron of the Gloucestershire Old Spots Pig Breeders’ Club, whose motto I love - "100 years of porcine perfection"!

Medieval Tudor dollhouse miniature food -12th scale cured bacon

I imagine that most home-killed medieval free-range pork was equally delicious, regardless of breed. MedievalMorsels makes one inch scale doll's house miniature bacon joints for your Medieval, Gothic or Tudor dollhouse scene.  Visit MedievalMorsels in the future when I hope to have developed other porcine products, 12th scale doll's house miniature ham and pork models!

Gloucester's other claim to fame of course is Beatrix Potter's charming children's story "The Tailor Of Gloucester". Its one of my personal favourites, after "The Tale of Peter Rabbit". I grew up with these tales, at home we had a near complete set of the little books. Tradition carries on, so when my god-daughter was born I sent her a book each year for the first years of her life. Some of Gloucester's narrow alleyways are little changed from their not so whimsical representation in this little gem of a story.

Herring in disguise -kipper or bloater?

I had a lovely lightly cured kipper or was it a bloater for breakfast (or was it lunch?) the other day. The last time some wonderful freshly preserved fish like this came into the house they were eaten before I got around to photographing them. Not so this time! 

And here they are - handsome fellas artistically posed with some red pears which set them off rather attractively don't you agree? 

 My partner often does some food shopping so surprises abound! And the connections I can with medieval eating practices seem endless, giving me food for thought, and blogging material!

Can there ever be such a thing as a fresh kipper?  Lets consider a Dark Ages or Middle Ages (Medieval) fisherman, or indeed a Renaissance times "trawler of the sea". In northern Europe herring was a popular, cheap and plentiful fish caught from earliest times - there is evidence it was fished before 1000 AD!! That's over one thousand years pursuing this versatile fish. 

Woodcut of ocean going fishing vessels dating from about 1550

A smelly job 

 But herring is an oily fish and goes bad very quickly, so immediate steps had to be taken to preserve it for transport to market. The processing on board ship involved gutting, flattening, salting and packing the fish into barrels. A very smelly and messy business I have no doubt. 

Brined "white herring" by MedievalMorsels 

Historical re-enactors' brined herring

 Peasants living close to North Sea ports in Europe, or even in medieval London, would have easy access to brined "white" herring. It was a relatively cheap "staple" food.  It offered a "fresher" and welcome alternative to the even saltier, often many-years-old, "stockfish" (salted cod). This dried fish by con trast needed the equivalent of a medieval mallet as well as long soaking (often in unclean water) to render it edible! 

Its fitting that the herring was in fact MedievalMorsel's first 12th scale dollshouse miniature food to be listed in my Etsy online shop. My maternal grandfather was a Suffolk-based drifter-man away for long periods  at sea chasing herring in the early 1900's. And I grew up in King's Lynn, Norfolk  an important Hanseatic League port for medieval merchants trading in barrels of herring and other produce from and via the North Sea!

 I will tell the tale (tail!) of medieval red herring another time. And ,yes, the kipper versus bloater thing will have to wait until then too....

Venison - a Royal hunting perogative

Vegetarians should skip on down because I am "posting" about a venison stew I cooked last week. I  told my son it was a meat casserole, unwilling to be more specific in case he would not try it! That strategy paid dividends. I slow cooked it in the oven for most of the afternoon, creating a lovely wafting aroma. He remarked upon passing through the kitchen "that stew smells good!" Mission accomplished - and many root vegetables used up as well.

What a coincidence to find just this product in one's 'fridge!

It was a complete coincidence there was venison in the house. I had spent quite a bit of time reading about and "writing up" some historical aspects about deer because roasted venison was my latest line in 12th scale miniature Medieval and Tudor dollshouse food. I had literally just finished and looked in the fridge only to find these packets bought by my partner had bought the previous evening. My immediate thought was that I did not believe my eyes! But rapidly I realised how useful for blogging purposes. Last, I wondered how I could balance the strong taste so that everyone, including me, would eat the casserole. I knew I should probably use a lot of vegetables, and so a culinary plot was hatched....

Medieval Morsels one inch scale roasted venison for a Medieval or Tudor dolls house setting

I was not alone with grappling with the consequences of a strongly flavoured meat. In the Middle Ages and later in Tudor times venison was traditionally rubbbed with ground ginger and pepper, which served to hide the strong taste. Also, as a bonus, the spices stopped the meat tainting. Perhaps this practice is why we use the term "seasoning" for the process of hanging game for days or weeks to improve its flavour. Favourite medieval accompaniments were sauces, jellies or preserves using rowanberries, sloes, red currants, or cranberries. Our venison came with a sachet of red port, wine and plum sauce so taste values have changed little since Medieval times! For Medieval Morsels I produced a sauce of rowanberries for my 12th scale oven or spi-roasted venison haunches destined for a miniature Middle Ages or Tudor feast.

When the Duke of Normandy, William the Conqueror, invaded England in 1066 he swiftly enclosed areas of "barren" land, Hampshire's New Forest area being the first in 1079, for his use as protected deer hunting grounds. Highly unpopular Forest Law benefited the beasts of the developing forests but at the expense of the local peasant population who were given small concessions to graze their livestock and gather fallen wood.  Hunting was an exclusive Royal pursuit enjoyed by the Sovereign and his (or her) favourite nobles. Charles II (1660-85) was the last Royal to hunt in Britain's forests. Venison was only eaten by the nobility- unless it had been poached at some considerable risk.

Britain had three species of deer in Medieval times, native red deer and roe deer, and the once native fallow deer which had been reintroduced by the Romans. Our shop bought venison was red or fallow deer, reared in Ireland or the UK and vacuum packed in Yorkshire! Today we also have exotic escaped species - muntjac and Japanese sika deer. The red and sika deer are intent on interbreeding apparently! So much so that pure bred wild species may be at risk. There's an unanticipated consequence.....

Pigeons galore!

Its late Spring in England so there are plenty of young fledgling birds around in gardens at the moment. My younger sister phoned excitedly last weekend to say that the mallard duck nesting in her garden had produced upwards of ten ducklings. What a responsibility! I am reminded that when she and I were young we followed the annual progress of robins nesting in the large, door-less and ramshackle shed-cum-garage at the bottom of our parents' garden. Baby robins are very appealing And trusting!). They have an unnaturally wide yellow "gape" and long wispy feathers intermingled with their emerging adult plumage. This "fuzzy" stage only lasts a few days after fledging - so cute when back-lit!

Adopted pigeon squab Charlie in the USA!

Baby robin. Image: copyright Sue Bryan

Blackbirds successfully breed where I live and I watch the progress of their young. Large (and rather stupid) wood pigeons have always frequented our garden too but I have to say I have never spotted a young one.

In Medieval times, domesticated pigeons provided a reliable source of winter protein for rural people of all classes. A chicken's reproduction dropped off in winter so the pigeon, with its long breeding season, provided a solution to this problem. MedievalMorsels produces 12th scale dollshouse miniature foods including oven roasted pigeon for a Medieval or Tudor feast or dining setting! Though equally acceptable in a witch or warlock diorama, a barbarian themed or fairy miniature setting.

Pigeons were first domesticated 5,500 years ago in Asia. The sub-species living alongside man are all descended from the Rock Pigeon. Though its unlikely that pigeon eggs were eaten as a product of pigeon husbandry, instead they were left to develop into squabs (young pigeons) destined for the pot or spit roast! In poultry terms, the first one inch scale miniature dollshouse food that MedievalMorsels modelled had to be the pigeon! And not the goose, capon, guineafowl or duck - all of which were eaten alongside wildfowl of all descriptions. I have yet to model most of these.

 Whole roasted pigeon for a Medieval or Tudor feast

How were the pigeons supposed to fly in?

Close to where I live is a track called Pigeon House Lane complete with its own "pigeon house", listed by English Heritage. But curiously this square stone building has no means of access for the birds so is probably a misnamed 19th or 18th century stable. See what you think - opposite!

Leicester - a fine city

Leicester is a fine city, it has a lot to offer the Medieval enthusiast! 

Recently there was much national, and indeed global, excitement when the presumed remains of King Richard III were discovered beneath the tarmac of a Leicester car park. The discovery of an almost complete skeleton was later confirmed by the University of Leicester to be Richard III, based on several combined lines of evidence - historical, archaeological and scientific . The last Plantagenet King of England died in battle on Leicestershire's Bosworth field in 1485 at the age of 32, defending his crown against Henry Tudor. The latter was the victor, becoming Henry VII and founder of the Tudor dynasty. 

The Plantagenet era (1216 - 1485) was a dangerous Medieval period for "those who fight" - Kings, Dukes, Earls, Barons, Knights, noble Lords, gentlemen and the armies that they raised. The other strata of medieval society - "those who pray" and "those who work" - might have hoped to survive the dynastic and political upheavals attendant in the Middle Ages. But for this they would have needed good judgement and some good luck as well... 

The author taking a sneaky peek in "that" car park back in 2012 

The trench where Richard III's remains were discovered

I was passing through Leicester this Easter. An elder sister is lucky enough to live near the centre of the city, proving very handy for the Richard III excavation back in 2012 and the still current Richard III exhibition, both close to the Cathedral. This time she recommended I visit the Medieval Guildhall also in the Cathedral precinct. The Guildhall is in fact a series of furnished halls and rooms offering plenty to admire...

I was particularly taken with the beautiful stained glass windows dating, it is thought, from around 1500. On closer inspection as an added bonus there was engraved graffiti from the 1800's. The vandals usually left their names and dates, but one wrote that the "..glazier is a fool.." Rather harsh I thought!

What remains of the origin window designs is thought to represent seasons of the year according to the Medieval agricultural calendar. This panel shows a peasant harvesting long stalked wheat with a scythe. (By comparison today's wheats, selectively bred, are much shorter.) Autumn harvest was an important and probably exhausting time. But once the harvest was safely gathered into the Manor or Abbey granaries there was much feasting and merry making by peasants courtesy of their Lord. Autumn aside, "villeins" had no choice but to work many days a week for their Lord, with little time spent on theie rented strips of land. In effect they provided slave labour. "Freemen", also peasants, earned a living from land they rented, but were obliged to give several days' labour without pay to their Lord at harvest time.

Most wheat was sold for profit to be consumed in the towns of cities. White, or more likely grey, "manchet bread" containing a high proportion of wheatmeal or flour was eaten only by "gentlemen". The lower social classes ate "maslin" bread with a much higher proportion of rye or barley than wheat, resulting in a heavy, dark loaf that wore down the teeth!

Medieval Morsels models "maslin" bread  

Medieval Morsels models white "manchet"  bread 

If you get a chance to visit  Leicester you should do so - it really is a fine city. And it just happens to be the home city long connected with the Thornton side of my family. My father and uncles - the four sons of a (steam) engine driver - all won county scholarships and attended Leicester's Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys during the 1920-40s. My father read for an external degree in mathematics at University College, Leicester - the University did not receive its own charter and was unable to award its own degrees until 1957. He proceded to do his teaching practice at Leicester Grammar School, then located next to the Cathedral.  He was actually learning his profession a mere stone's throw from the hastily interred, last mortal remains of heroic Richard III.