Literature and Society: Food and Feast in Medieval England

Draft Reading List

Each day runs from 9am-12pm; they will be organized as two classes with a break in the middle.

Bold: start of the class week

Parenthetical notes: primary theme linking day’s readings
Presentation in green: shared discussion-leading/presentation on the assigned readings for the
day (2 students for 30min total) in the first half of class
Food and spice presentations: 2 each marked day, 5-7 min apiece in the second half of class
Pink: Supplementary texts to be read and discussed in the second half of each day’s class

Day 1 – Introduction
John Lydgate, Stans Puer ad Mensam (etiquette; food and character)
Lyric, “The Twelve Months”

Day 2 – Sir Thomas Malory: the Accession of Arthur; the Poisoned Apple (food and
community); Susan Pinkard, “The Ancient Roots of Medieval Cooking”
Robert Henryson, “Fable of the Fox and the Wolf”

Day 3 – Geoffrey Chaucer, General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales (food and character);
Susan Bordo, “Hunger as Ideology.”
John Skelton, “The Tunning of Elynour Rummynge”

Day 4 – Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, fitts 1-2 (lavishness; etiquette); M. F. K. Fisher,
“Anatomy of a Recipe”
Recipes; Joke recipes

Day 5 – Sir Gawain, fitts 3-4 (food as literary structure); Elizabeth Telfer, “Food as Art”
Presentation: Lavishness and Excess
Lyrics, Boar’s Head Carols; Lydgate’s “Sotelties”
Food and Spice presentations

Day 6 – Piers Plowman passus 6 and 13 (austerity and poverty; food as metaphor); Sidney
Mintz, “Food and Its Relationship to Concepts of Power”
Presentation: Austerity and Poverty
Chronicles on the Famine of 1314-17; Gower “On the Poor” from Mirror
Food and Spice presentations

Day 7 – Chester Play of the Shepherds (austerity); Mary Douglas, “Deciphering a Meal”
Presentation: Food and Community
Lyric, “Farewell, Advent!”
Food and Spice presentations

Day 8 – Castle of Perseverance (selection on the vices); Piers Plowman passus 5 (excess);
 Carolyn Korsmeyer, “Delightful Delicious Disgusting”
Presentation: Food as Metaphor
Coronation feast menu of Henry IV
Food and Spice presentations

Day 9 – Thomas Hoccleve, “La Male Regle” (excess, especially drinking)

Presentation: Food and Character
Food and Spice presentations
Lyric, “Bring Us In Good Ale”; Chester Play of the Flood

Day 10 – “Land of Cockayne” (excess); Carolyn Walker Bynum, “Fast, Feast, and Flesh”
Selection from Mary of Oignies; Lyric, “I Dare Not Speak When She Says Peace”
Presentation: Food and Gender
Food and Spice presentations

Day 11 – from Richard Coer de Lyon (food and character; taboos); Claude Lévi-Strauss,
“Culinary Triangle”
Presentation: Food Taboos
Turk’s head recipes
Food and Spice presentations

Day 12 – Wynnere and Wastoure (austerity vs excess)

In-class debate, Saving vs Wasting

Day 13 – “Parable of the Wedding Feast” from Cleanness; Song of Songs; Bernard of Clairvaux,
sermons on the Song of Songs (food as metaphor)
Reading as Eating excerpts

Day 14 – Food brought to share

Day 15 – Final Exam

Spice Presentation Topics:

Ale Apples Almonds Bread

Cinnamon Cheese Cloves Ginger

Honey Lemons Milk Pepper

Saffron Salt Sugar Wine