My A-Z posts are all themed around northern Britannia AD 71-84, the era of my historical novels.
F is for FOOD
An Army marches on its belly; Roman supplies do pay
Maybe not those from the deli; But stuff stored well in clay
Zoom back to AD 75. What might my Roman slave, in northern Britannia, be out looking for to fill her master’s low table? Will it vary much from today’s fare?
Would her master have been indulging in a fabulous Roman Banquet?
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| Wikimedia - Pompei |
Stuffed dormouse? Milk fatttened snails? Wild boar stuffed with live birds to fly out when the stomach was sliced? Other 'deli' produce?
Sadly, I don't think so - although the Roman military leaders might have indulged in something like this scene when back in Rome. (plenty of sources out there on the web for Roman feasts)
So- if northern Britannia didn't lend itself to decadent food fests what would the average Legion Legate (commander) have been eating?
Bread. The Celts already
grew a kind of spelt wheat which would have been purloined from the native farms and
would have produced unleavened breads.
Fish and seafood (oysters) were popular choices in Roman cuisine which could be acquired from rivers, lakes or the sea. Some of the bread might
be spread with liquamen or garum- deeply rich fish sauces that were stored
for two months before use. They travelled well in sealed jars throughout the Empire.
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| Wikimedia -fresco from Pompei |
Olives? Shipped in sealed vessels the oil was used for cooking,
and for dipping the bread into. To go along with the olives and oils, my slave
would be purchasing the many herbs and seasonings that were easily transported
around the empire - pepper, ginger, cinnamon, dried onions, parsley to name
only a few possibilities. She would find them new, but no doubt an improvement
on the basic Celtic stews she was used to.
Wild boar? Absolutely, but probably without all the faldelals!
Meats? The cook would be roasting plenty– beef, pork (suckling pig), mutton, lamb, venison and boar. Stored ham that had been
pickled in brine or had been salted was popular, as was wildfowl and chicken. Eggs
from many types of birds would have been happily chomped on.
Native berry fruits in season would add some sweetness to
the table, and nuts some variety.
Dairy foods? They also ate - and drank - dairy foods as in
cheese, butter and milk.
Dates also stored fairly well and were shipped to
Britannia.
The Romans imported many new vegetables into Britain (cabbage, onion, leek, shallots, carrots, endive,
globe artichokes, cucumber, marrow, asparagus, parsnip, turnip, radish and
celery) but I think it unlikely that my Roman Legate would have been eating any of them while on campaign in the northern Britannia areas in AD 71-84.
Tomatoes? No. They were not introduced to Britain in Roman times. They only
came many centuries later – and were not really in use until closer to
Victorian times.
Imported wine would be the most likely drink as anything
else was often suspect- though the Celts produced 'small' beer.
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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dougga_Banquet.jpg
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(I've cheated here since this image is of a 2nd century banquet -not in Britannia)
Oats? A form of porridge, or thinned down as gruel, was a staple
diet of the Roman soldier – excellent choice since it is a slow release energy
food.
My slave’s supermarket would be the market stalls while in a
garrison fort. Before setting forth on campaign the jars and fresh or dried goods
would be packed onto the wagons, or onto pack mules. The fresh meats and fish
would be provided by the venator along
the way. (A specialised hunter who accompanied the marching forces of Rome, mostly non-combatant
since their duty was to forage for food).
All in all quite a healthy diet!
Slainthe!
Details for images:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pompei_-_House_of_Julia_Felix_-_3_-_MAN.jpg?uselang=en-gb
