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4. Foodstuffs typical for the nobility
The first choice for this category is obvious - meat galore!
As the meat definition for peasants applied to the nobility as well, some more extravagant items would inevitably appear on the menu - a medieval noble would virtually eat anything that moves. Larks, nightingales, even swans have been known to land on the plates of the upper classes. However, everyday food was a somewhat simpler affair, though it would, of course, have a higher content of meat.
Undoubtedly, the types of meat most common for the tables of Bretonnia‘s nobility would be venison, wildfowl, pork, and chicken. However, meat was generally not, by then, consumed as we know it - as meat preservation was a somewhat iffy affair, the respective meat would be consumed almost immediately after slaughtering rather than letting it mature a little. Either that, or it would be smoked or salted for long-term storage. The ripe meat we are used to today was simply too risky for most medieval folk - if the meat got a little too ripe and rotted, valuable resources would have been squandered, and with the Warhammer world being so unforgiving, I cannot imagine that anyone would have been willing to take that risk.
Meat, of course, has a lot more „risky“ aspects when we are considering Warhammer background. I seriously doubt anyone would fancy a steak from a mutated boar with four tusks and red eyes, so I believe that the selection of meat was even slimmer than for a European noble (which makes it all the more likely that meat wasn‘t allowed to mature).
Many quarries from he hunt would probably merely end up as trophies, their meat being too obviously tainted - and for some reason, boar are the most likely candidates to fall into that category (see Knight of the Realm or the  BRB). This begs the question whether boar is actually eaten in Bretonnia. In Europe, it was a valued (and darn tasty, too) type of meat, for which many different recipes have survived. In the Warhammer world, this seems a little dubious, as Warhammer boar are hugely different from ours - considering the description from the most recent O&G army book, most of them probably have meat tough as leather. Few wild boar would actually be worth consuming. I assume that this could well be the mark of a seasoned noble hunter in Bretonnia - being able to spot the particular animals which are free from taint and still make good eating. The young are an obvious choice, though it is probably more the challenge of getting past the berserk sow that makes them worthy of consideration for an accomplished huntsman!
Considering the background, fish would rather more be something for the noble classes - and our history suggests as much too: While fish were enormously plentiful until the 19th century, there had been attempts to regulate fishing dating back as early as the Carolingian era (8th-9th century), which probably translates into extremely restrictive legislature in Bretonnia. Some lords might sell fishing permits, but in Bretonnia, this would probably mean that only the wealthiest peasants could afford it. Plus, we have to bear in mind that no matter how noble you were, getting your hands on fish should you be living further inland will inevitably prove problematic.
Hence, salt water fish or crustaceans would be highly sought after luxury items if you were living in Bastonne or Montfort - even salted herrings wouldn‘t be cheap. As fish and assorted crustaceans which dwelled in freshwater were routinely bred by monks and specialized granges in the Middle Ages (Cistercian monasteries were renowned for their aquacultures - as they lived in a strictly vegetarian manner, fish were even more important in their diet), we can assume that those are common enough in Bretonnia as well. Some public-minded noble might actually feed some to his household (though he is likely to deduct it from their pay afterwards...).
One ingredient we are likely to find in any noble Bretonnian household is jus vert. This would be a liquid herb concentrate with varying ingredients (basically, every accomplished chef had his own recipe). In late medieval Europe, it was the absolute culinary craze - and as the Bretonnians like to show off with fancy stuff of about any category, jus vert is thus a likely must-have for the nobility.
Other ingredients which we can get from any supermarket these days were, back then, so valuable that wars were fought over the control of the trade routes.
One of these items is a less obvious candidate: Rice was an absolute rarity. It had to be imported from China or India by the Silk Road, and, while it transported extremely well, the quantities were comparatively tiny. The same is true for almonds - these had to be imported from warmer climates, as almond trees cannot stand long exposure to sub-zero temperatures (one European winter on the outside, and the average almond tree has had it) - and the decorative trees we have in our gardens these days were bred in the 17th century and later still. Almonds, mixed with white bread crumbs, sage, and butter, could be used for baking small cakes which were used to sop up gravy and sauces - the rich man‘s bread for certain occasions.
Needless to say that spices were the probably most hotly sought after and expensive ingredients. Pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger root, cloves - all of these were quite literally worth fighting for.
Hence, gingerbread was probably one of the most expensive commodities known in the Middle Ages. Every spice that went into the dough was literally worth its weight in gold, making each gram of gingerbread as valuable as any treasure. A popular 16th century folk tale from Nürnberg (Nuremberg) actually tells us of a wealthy merchant who had a loyal and honest servant thrown into jail, as the merchant had suspected him of stealing his box of gingerbread! (It then transpired that the merchant had, while under the influence, mislaid the box himself. The servant was freed, though the merchant, of course, remained unpunished...) Anyone living in Britain might even be familiar with the custom of gilding gingerbread - while purely decorative, it originally was meant to underline the value of this dessert.
This leads us to the fact that there is one category of dishes which would be reserved almost exclusively for the nobility: the desserts. The best dessert a peasant could hope for would be a bowl of honeyed oatmeal with a few apple chunks or berries, perhaps some fried pears in batter - anything beyond that would be the prerogative of the nobility. This is mainly due to the fact that sugar cane would simply not grow in colder climates, and that extracting sugar from turnips was a technique not known until the Napoleonic era. Hence, sugar was almost incredibly expensive, and thus a lot more prestigious than honey - it had to be imported from Sicily, Egypt, Canary Islands or any other place with a suitable climate and a high level of agricultural development (mostly where the highly advanced Arab farming system had left its mark). Generally, it can be said that the more expensive the ingredients, the greater the pains a noble would go to to obtain them!
One of the most popular desserts was marzipan in one of its many forms. We‘ve already seen how rare almonds were, and, considering how expensive sugar was (though one could use honey instead, if needs be), this made it the perfect dessert to show off with. There was another reason for the popularity of marzipan - it could easily be sculpted into almost any shape. Heraldic motifs, castles, exotic animals and the like would adorn the banquet tables of the nobility - the sculptures themselves being sometimes a lot more elaborate than the preparation of the dish itself!
All in all, if you were a nobleman, you could hope for a relatively balanced and diversified diet - though I‘m glad we can simply pick up a pizza or some Chinese takeout these days.
Long live the Round Table of Bretonnia!
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his is the meetingplace for all Bretonnian Generals in the Warhammer World. Come, and sit among peers at the Round Table, join the discussions, browse the growing library of articles or take a look at the masterpieces in the gallery!
I shall certainly be consulting it for future posts in any future Bretonnian fiction I write.
) and they work perfectly well with modern-day dishes.
).
), though nothing is being said about consumption; might well be that their meat is simply too magical (care for a chunk of warpstone, anyone?).
