Diet

Economy Blurring Class Division

The diet of the lower orders had substantially improved. Consider, for example, the average diet of an English peasant. Pre-1348, their diet consisted of:

• Bread and oatmeal pottage
• Very little meat
• Some thin ale

As the Black Death killed off a large chunk of the population Europe saw a major shift in diet. Fewer mouths to feed meant the English could expand their horizons in terms of what crops to grow. A diet that pre-plague consisted of mostly grain and sugar now was much more balanced as many people could afford lean meats and a variety of fruits and vegetables. Immediately post-Black Death, they could now eat:

• Beef and mutton instead of bacon
• Wheat bread instead of barley
• Fresh fish instead of salted herring

This was incredibly significant in a world where status was bound up in obvious consumption, especially clothing and food. Elite food was now obtainable by everyone.

Diet as an Indicator of Wealth

In 1378 John Gower, a friend of Geoffrey Chaucer, said

“laborers of olden times were not accustomed to eat wheat bread […] their drink was water […] clothing was plain grey. Then was the world of such folk well-ordered.”

This is the upper class being concerned that lower classes were having an improved diet. This shows that diet was an indicator of class and wealth because it threatened the upper class. This also shows that class and wealth indicators improved for the lower class after the Black Death.

https://australianmedievalists.wordpress.com/2014/11/21/dining-with-death-an-exploration-of-food-culture-during-the-long-black-death-1348-1771-part-ii/