Unveiling Medieval Lives Through Diet
Scientists Provide Unique Insight into Medieval Diets of Different Social Classes, Sexes, and Ages Through Stable Isotopes
If you live in or have been to Europe, you’ve probably encountered an old medieval cemetery or two. As you walked among the graves and headstones, you may have wondered about the individuals buried there, who they were, and how they lived.
I’ve wondered about this before. I wonder about their names, everyday lives, what they imagined the future to hold, and if any record of them (besides their grave) survives.
During the Middle Ages, religion played a significant role. However, much of the knowledge on how it and other socio-economic factors shaped medieval life comes from historical documents written by the elites and church leaders or from what we can glean from the skeletons found in church cemeteries.
Archaeologists Dr. Jane Holmstrom and her colleagues wanted to determine if these historical records were as accurate as we assume and how different individuals in different social classes would have lived.
To do this, they decided to isotopically analyze the diets of individuals from two contemporary cemeteries in the south of France: the cemetery of the elite Saint-Jean de Todon (9th-13th cent. AD) and the cemetery for lower-status individuals, Saint-Victor-la-Coste (9th — 13th cent. AD).
They found, as expected, that the diet amongst the elite and the lower-status individuals was different, with elites consuming more fish and animal protein overall. Interestingly, while the lower-status individuals all had a relatively similar diet, some of the elite showed differences, with males receiving more protein (like meat) than females. They also found that the children of the elite were weaned later in life than their lower-class counterparts.
While some of these dietary differences can be explained when looking at the historical records, others are more enigmatic simply because next to nothing was written about them.
Socio-Economic Changes in Medieval France
At the end of the 8th century, Europe was undergoing an economic and social structural transformation. Previous archaeological research conducted in the south of France has revealed that these changes affected culture, economy, and social organization, including the reorganization of final space.
A few hundred years later, during the 10th century, the Cluniac reforms were initiated by the Abby of Cluny in France. The reform established monastic independence from the local authority, prevented simony (sale of church offices), and enforced clerical celibacy.
The reform movement gained particular traction in areas where royal influence had weakened. Further reason for the reforms and changes sought was the wish to restore uniformity and discipline to the church and its priests, monks, and nuns who had strayed too far from the path set out by St Benedict. It hoped to eliminate personal identity within monasteries and promote a collective identity through uniform clothing and burial. Perhaps even uniform food. This same uniformity was not expected by the laypeople (ordinary people). By the 11th century, many of the elite had begun opting for grave markers, distinguishing them even in death.
As part of the reform, dietary restrictions were implemented. These forbade the consumption of meat and even set limits to the amount of vegetables, bread, and wine that could be consumed by followers. These reforms were expected to be followed by church leaders and laypeople, with minor exceptions, for example, for the very young, old, and ill.
Some rules were also less strict for certain people; for example, laypeople could eat meat as long as it was not a fasting day, on which only fish could be allowed.
Of course, this rule benefited the elite more, as they could afford meat, while lower-class people had to settle for vegetables and other plant products.
The Hypotheses and Sites
The researchers used stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes to analyze the banes. These can indicate whether an individual had a mainly marine or terrestrial diet, plant vs. animal diets, and between types of plants consumed, such as between C3 (e.g., barley, oats, and wheat) and C4 (e.g., millet) plants.
The researchers hoped to test the hypotheses that the elite would likely have had a diet rich in fish and animal protein (meat or animal products like dairy), the Cluniac monastic communities (also within the elite cemetery) would have a mostly vegetarian diet, with regular access to fish, and the lower class would have a primarily vegetarian diet and occasional fish and perhaps animal protein consumption.
They used two sites for their study, Saint-Jean de Todon and Saint-Victor-la-Coste.
The site of Saint-Jean de Todon (more recently known as Saint-Jean de Rouzigue) had been occupied since the Roman period. However, its predominant use occurred during the medieval period. Between 2002 and 2012, the church was completely excavated, and results indicate that the grounds were used more or less continually between the fifth century and the modern era.
Radiocarbon dating of some skeletons indicated that the cemetery was specifically dated between the 9th and 13th centuries. The analysis of the graves, grave goods, and demographics revealed that the cemetery contained high-ranking church officials and some wealthy local elites.
There were almost two times as many males as females in the cemetery, with most males being over the age of 40. Amongst those buried were also pilgrims, three of whom had been buried with the scallop associated with the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella.
The site of Saint-Victor-la-Coste is located ca. 10km south of Saint-Jean de Todon and was first used in the 1st century B.C. The church was built after the 1st century. However, it is possible, if unknown, that it could have been erected over an older structure. Graves are simple stone graves without associated artifacts, except for two burials with ceramics. The cemetery interred individuals from the lower class.
The Findings
At Saint-Jean de Todon, the elite cemetery, the individuals ate a diet heavy in wheat, rye, oats, and barley but had regular access to animal protein, as predicted. However, an interesting finding was that males tended to consume greater amounts of fish than females. Similarly, females ate fewer animal proteins than males overall.
This may be partly explained by the rules of fasting and the Benedictine rules, which allowed fish during fasting but also laid down rules on food distribution based on age, sex, and status. This rule stipulated that female nuns would receive less food than their male monk counterparts. These rules may partly explain the different dietary signals seen between males and females buried at Sain-Jean de Todon.
Further results indicate that despite their higher standing or greater wealth in life, individuals with marked graves did not exhibit dietary differences from their unmarked grave counterparts, indicating that while they may have been able to distinguish themselves from one another in some ways in both life and death, they still ate the same overall diet. These grave markings also almost all date back to around the 11th century, when the elite’s perceptions of commemoration began changing, thus leading them to try to distinguish themselves from one another with grave markers that could indicate family status and social power.
Only two pilgrims could be isotopically analyzed, and only the female, not the male, was buried with a grave marker. Based on the isotopes, her diet was more animal protein and fish-based than that of the other females buried in the cemetery.
At Saint-Victor-la-Coste, diets were relatively homogenous overall, indicating that while the elites may have had varying diets, likely because they also had access to more resources, the lower class tended to eat the same overall diet. Their diet was heavy in grains and vegetables, and females and males tended to eat similar diets. This could potentially indicate that the dietary divisions seen in the upper classes were less enforced or practiced among the lower classes.
The findings made on children at both cemeteries were of most interest. Very little information is known about medieval Europe's breastfeeding and weaning practices. However, it is known that affluent mothers could breastfeed or hire a wet nurse to feed their children. Meanwhile, lower-class individuals either could not breathe themselves or hire a wet nurse and thus would often need to supply their infant with animal milk, such as cow or goat milk.
These weaning and breastfeeding practices can be observed in the individuals buried at both cemeteries. Results indicate that the children at Saint-Jean de Todon between the ages of 2–3 or 4 were still being breastfed or had been in the process of weaning. While the children at Saint-Victor-la-Coste (between the ages of 1 and 2) were in the process of weaning by the time of death. The data indicates that lower-class children were also weaned at a younger age than their elite child counterparts, who could continue to breastfeed for another year or two.
The study by Dr. Holmstrom and her colleagues provides new insights into medieval European dietary practices, revealing the complex interplay between religion, social status, and diet. By using stable isotopes, the researchers were able to uncover nuanced differences in diet between social classes and even within a single social class.
Their findings not only confirm many historical records but also reveal interesting dietary practices that affected different sexes. They even provide a glimpse into the diets of medieval children and how social status began affecting these youngsters as early as when they first began breastfeeding.
If a future archaeologist were to isotopically analyze modern society's diets, what would you think they would find, and how do you think our current eating habits reflect our social hierarchies today?
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References
- Doucette, J.S. and Møller, J., 2021. The collapse of state power, the cluniac reform movement, and the origins of urban self-government in medieval Europe. International Organization, 75(1), pp.204–223.
- Holmstrom, J., Dupras, T., Ardagna, Y. and Vidal, L., 2024. Saint-Jean de Todon and Saint-Victor-la-Coste: exploring diet and social status in medieval southern France (C. 9TH–13TH AD) using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 16(8), p.124.
