I have had an enquiry from a local historian working on Hundred Rolls from
Steeple Aston, Oxfordshire (date 1279). She has come across a reference to a
tenant paying 1 pound of cumin every year to his lord.
Cumin (Cuminus cyminum) is seemingly well documented as being used in
Anglo-Saxon & Medieval times, but does not occur in the online version of the
Archaeobotanical Computer Database (ABCD). Today Cumin is regarded
as difficult to grow for seed in the UK - it has to be sown early in Spring,
initially under glass. Instead, cumin is imported from India, Turkey etc.
Two questions: first, is there evidence from farmers' manuals or similar for
cumin cultivation in medieval England and, second, if cumin was grown
here, was the climate warmer?
Thanks!
Mark
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Dr Mark Nesbitt
Centre for Economic Botany
Royal Botanic Gardens
Kew
Richmond
Surrey
TW9 3AE
UK
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