medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Colman,
I'm sure no warning was in ordure! There is lots of evidence of fudging
of the normal monastic diet in the later Middle Ages. At Durham
cathedral priory, some time after 1395, the monks stopped using the
refectory on a daily basis, and ate in a "misericord" where normal
dietary restrictions did not apply. The refectory itself was only used
communally thereafter once a year, on the feast day of St Cuthbert,
while through the rest of the year the novitiate ate at the high table
in the refectory. At Finchale, too, the monks stopped using the
refectory at some time in the late Middle Ages, and quite pertinently
with respect to Duiske Abbey, ate instead in the prior's hall, where
dietary restrictions also did not apply because of his duty of
entertaining outsiders. Elsewhere, the monks retired to the infirmary,
another place in the monastery where normal dietary restrictions were
eased. At Bardney in the 15th century, the monks of the house were
divided into three separate households who ate in different parts of the
monastery: one group in the abbot's hall, another in the refectory and
the other in the infirmary - although I don't know whether they took turns!
Cheers,
Jim
Colmán O Clabaigh OSB wrote:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> Listmembers may (or may not) be interested in the discovery and
> excavation of the latrine of the townhouse of the abbots of Duiske
> abbey in Kilkenny city recently. It gives an interesting insight into
> the late medieval monastic diet, which was heavy on beef and swan!
> Unlike England, practically no domestic accounts survive from medieval
> Irish monasteries which means that discoveries such as these are
> particularly significant. Not for the fastidious though. You have been
> warned!
>
> http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/news/What-the-abbot-ate-for.6076149.jp
>
> Colmán Ó Clabaigh OSB
> Glenstal Abbey
>
>
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