Harry Mary Andruschak wrote:
> So what did Saint Francis have against breakfast? His rule for us
> Penitents came out in the yaer 1221. Was breakfast a part of the
> landscape then?
>
> Off and on I have used GOOGLE, but terms like "breakfast history" or
> "history of breakfast" tend to bring up articles on the development of
> commercial cereals.
>
> But today I GOOGLED with the term "middle ages breakfast" and obtained
> this page...
>
> http://www.godecookery.com/how2cook/howto05.htm
>
>
> Fascinating reading. It would seem as if breakfast was something of a
> new-fangled notion, and I can understand crusty old Francis not
> wanting HIS penitents to bypass hunger pangs and indulge themselves
> with food. Only eat on an empty stomach.
>
> In my case, I have found it interesting to realize that, on the
> prescribed two meals a day, I am hungry some of the time, but by no
> means weakened or malnourished.
>
> It could be argued that breakfast would lead to a softening of
> character. In the Worst Case Scenario, Protestantism. <G>
>
> If anybody else knows a good source of information on the prevelance
> of breakfast in the year 1221, I'd appreciate the link
If student life about 50 years before that would be of interest,
there's this:
Holmes. Daily Living in the Twelfth Century.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/029...pr_product_top
The author follows Alexander Neckam, a real person
who went to study at the university in Paris in 1178.
"Alexander was awakened at dawn by the blowing of the
watchman's horn from the tower of the Grant Chastelet...
hurried through his dressing....It is reasonable to assume that
Alexander stopped for mass most mornings at the Church
of Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, before rushing to the house of
[Master Adam du Petit Pont]... During the class, the students
sat on straw, or stools, or an occasional bench, while the
teacher occupied his high-backed chair....After several hours
of it, the students walked in groups or talked with the teacher
until the time to return to their quarters for their first meal at
about ten o'clock (our time). We suspect that fast was often
broken before that with a cup of wine and perhaps with a
famous Parisian pastry." [p. 112]
So it sounds like *official* breaking of fast was several hours
of study into the day, but earlier when mass was over, they'd
feel free to grab a pastry before class?
Then there's also:
Courtenay, Schools and Scholars in Fourteenth Century England
> http://tinyurl.com/5hhhok
"University scholars, originally tied to eccelsiastical practice,
took their meal just after midday, although the increasing
presence of secular students in the 14th and 15th centuries
brought that meal to the morning side of midday." [p. 5]
8~)
--
pax,
ruth
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OT: "And let them be content with dinner and supper" 
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