medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Centuries before the European discovery of the Americas, the ancient
Romans already made major dietary use of at least the following legumes:
fava beans, lentils, peas, and chick-peas. Pythagoras' famous
injunction to his adherents to abstain from beans indicates that these
were used dietarily in 6th-century BCE Magna Graecia (this makes the
topic about religion, BTW).
Best,
John Dillon
On Wednesday, November 16, 2005, at 5:18 am, Laura Jacobus wrote:
> Apologies for cross-posting and for the fact that this isn't about
> art or religion.
>
> I once read in a newspaper that legumes and pulses weren't
> introduced into European diets until the discovery of the Americas
> (though they were used in southern and eastern mediterranean).
> Does anyone know offhand of a scholarly reference for this?
>
> (The context, if you're wondering) is explaining the stocky nature
> of Giotto's peasants in the Arena Chapel.
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|