A Handbook of Anglo-Saxon Food: Processing and Consumption

by Ann Hagen (Author)

8 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0951620984

ISBN-10: 0951620983

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Information from various sources is here brought together to build up a picture of how food was grown, conserved, prepared and eaten during the period from the beginning of the fifth century to the eleventh century. No specialist knowledge of the Anglo-Saxon period or language is needed, and many people will find it fascinating for the views it gives of an important aspect of Anglo-Saxon life and culture.

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Product details

Publisher : Anglo-Saxon Books (December 15, 1998)
Language : English
Paperback : 192 pages
ISBN-10 : 0951620983
ISBN-13 : 978-0951620984
Item Weight : 10.2 ounces
Dimensions : 6 x 0.5 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,583,990 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,940 in Food Science (Books)
- #6,520 in England History
- #8,301 in European History (Books)

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8 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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Christopher R. Travers

Important survey of Anglo-Saxon food-related practices

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2010

Verified Purchase

This book discusses a number of important topics, such as food preparation, from milling technology to where ovens were placed, as well as how food was probably cooked, what is known about manners in a feast, the social and religious roles of fasting, and the like. It's a fascinating book which reaches well out of the store room and into monastic and feudal life.

The final chapters involve problems related to food supply, such as malnutrition and adulteration of foods. These also provide a great deal of insight into what daily life was like in the Anglo-Saxon age.

All in all, this short book is very valuable and well worth the effort to buy.

Helpful

Carol Norton

A Handbook of Anglo-Saxon food reviewed

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2007

Verified Purchase

I purchased this book because I'm now a member of a Viking re enactment group and believe me, fighters and crafters get hungry. We needed something period to provide in "living History" activities and this book came very highly recommended by several ladies that also do this type of activity. It has lived up to all of it's praise and I'm going to be ordering the other books by this authoress as well.

7 people found this helpful

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Jim Chevallier

Rigorous and readable on a little-known era

Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2012

I write food history myself and have been working on a roughly parallel era in France, so I have some idea how hard it is to find information on this early period and to present it in a readable way. Hagen simply stuns me with her rigorous, extensive scholarship and breadth of view, all gracefully presented in a very readable way. She doesn't just write (in "Cooking Methods") that pigs were roasted; she discusses what wood was best and how it was cut to properly cook the different parts of a pig of a certain size. She is cautious (almost to a fault) about stating definitively anything that is not actually documented, no matter how likely it is to be true. She also looks across the Channel where that is useful.
Not knowing the Anglo-Saxon side well, I would have liked a few more date references along the way; as it is, I'll have to revisit certain sections with a chronology at hand, since she tends to treat the period as a whole without dividing it into the segments that almost surely existed. But that will not matter to most readers, least of all those who start with knowledge of the Anglo-Saxons.
I don't know if similar studies exist for Italy, Germany, etc. but she has already set me to thinking about a comparison of my own material with that presented here (some striking differences exist, despite a relatively limited range of foods in both countries). Overall, this book is worth a look for anyone with a general interest in food history (which is often anecdotal and dubiously documented); it is a model of how to approach the more arcane corners of the subject.

Helpful

Mary-Catherine Berman

An Excellent Study in Anglo-Saxon Food Preparation

Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2000

This book is a comprehensive study on the variety, availability, preparation,and storage of food in the Anglo-Saxon period...it is the BEST treatise on the subject. As the Cook for an Anglo-Saxon re-enactment group, I rely heavily on the contents of this book for ideas and guidance. The inclusion of many interesting bits of information make it more than just a food book. One bit of information that I found intriguing was that forensic investigations of Anglo-Saxon Cemeteries showed that people at that time had an inordinately higher incidence of Arthritis in their Mandibles (jaws),because of the toughness of the meat, with women and children even higher, probably because they usually ate after the men. This prompts you think, and ponder their existence so long ago. Wherever your interests lie, Cooking, History, Experimental Archaeology, Re-enactment, this book will thoroughly entertain you.

26 people found this helpful

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jobeverley@poboxes.com

A wonderful glimpse into life in another age.

Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 1998

I love books that give details of life in the past from original sources, and that sums up this book. With lists of foods and their common and uncommon uses, A Handbook of Ango-Saxon Food is fascinating in itself, and invaluable to anyone writing in the Anglo Saxon period, or even in the early Norman. Jo Beverley, historical romance author.

12 people found this helpful

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OMH

Disappointed

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 1, 2013

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It did not give me the information that I was seeking but I am sure that for other users it would be just what they wanted.

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