The Versatility of Spice in Medieval World
In the middle ages, the communication between regions became intense increased to a new level. As a result of this communication and with the refined road and sea line systems, trades became much more intensive than ever before. When international trades was in its full bloom, each region has its characteristic goods in this competitive market; for instance: Chinese are well-known for their silk and precious stone and woods, which led to the reopening of the ancient silk road; European produces great wine and iron, which all had a large impact over time; African and their ivory and gold, luxuries even in nowadays. But among these different kinds of regional goods, spices somehow stood out from others
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In the time when spices were popular among social elites, being able to purchase and use spices meant a lot to these people. “Only out of a kind of reserve snobbery or world-renouncing simplicity could a person of high rank fail to serve highly spiced meals to guests. It was not a preference but and obligation. Spices weren’t necessary for subsistence, but they were required in order to demonstrate and maintain social prestige” (Freedman 6). Being able to serve a fancy meal with spices is a symbol of one’s class and wealth. The trend of fashion shifts from time to time, but and rich people always want to find a way to fascinate their guests. For instance, in some Asian countries, families used to put precious stones and paintings in places they could easily be seen. In medieval world, people always appreciate a fancy meal cooked with precious spices. Spices, due to their prices and values, “Since the origin of spices was shrouded in mystery and many thought that they emanated from "paradise", spices were not only costly, but were imbued with a sense of magical power. In a culture in which people grew or hunted most of what they ate, the man who could afford to purchase such exotic berries as cubebs or grains of paradise and have them incorporated into sumptuous fare to present to his guests, was seen as a benevolent, god-like host: one with the …show more content…
And that it was the massive demand of local and exotic spices stimulated the popularization of spices trade. They would argue that spices served mainly as ingredients for cooking and preserving perishable goods. However, while this is true, spices were popular among medieval people also because its versatility. As a matter of fact, ingredients like salt can do an even better job in terms of preserving perishable products. Furthermore, alt is a major ingredient that provide flavor to dishes too. Being no different from other ingredients when it comes to cooking and preserving, what differentiate spices from other goods is precisely because of its versatility. Though mainly used in cooking, the religious and medical use of spices in cannot be overlooked. As a matter of fact, people have been utilizing the multiple use of spices from a long time ago: “One of the first documents which separated herbs out according to their uses was the Fromond List, a circa 1525 copy of an earlier original. It listed 49 'herbes for potage', 8 'herbes for sauce', io 'herbes for the copp', I9 'herbes for a salade', 13 'herbes to stylle', 5 'herbes for savour and beaute', 7 'Rotys for a gardyn' and i6 plants 'for an Herber' ”(Leach 126). This shows that the use of the versatility of herbs and spices has a long history. They have and will continue to play a major
An African rhino horn for some Chinese silk, 6 Iron bars for 12 Ferghana horses, or Chinese orange trees for India’s spices. Trade was encouraged by the Silk Road because it was the earliest type of compromise when wars were fought, and supplies were demanded.
Before the Modern Era, international communication was not prevalent. Many factions were present between distant regions in the world, and regional trade flourished between lands that were close in proximity. Lands in the Americas or South America did not experience a strong connection to lands further east due to these gaps in communication. However, due to the emergence of silver, regional economies all combined to form one global economy. In this global economy, different, distant regions interacted through a common trade. Silver production, common from the 1500s to 1750, helped global interactions flourish. Different regions, specifically China and the Philippines, Spain and its colonies, and England collectively experienced shifts in their societies and economies through a combined need to interpose themselves in this global flow of silver, that was then expanded upon through different methods of gaining silver.
Throughout the Middle Ages, cities in Afro-Eurasia grew as trade centers due to advantages such as faster transportation from the waters of the ocean. Calicut brought merchants together from all around Asia because the government protected them through laws and policies, also of their spices exclusively pepper. As a result of the exchanges happening in Calicut, there was a war between Calicut, Portuguese and Chinese forces heavily armed with men and many lethal weapons. People from China and Portugal wanted to trade for Calicuts specialties, specialties like spices especially pepper that made them more wanted than others. From trading people inherited culture, religion, and ups and downs from trade.
desire for the opulence of the Chinese silks, gold, perfumes, and other high end products. The
Have you ever wondered what people ate in the Elizabethan Era? The Elizabethan Era had foods that are in common with foods that we ate today, but there are a few different types of foods that they ate then that we don't eat now. This paper will tell readers the things that the Elizabethan Era ate, and their different eating times.
As new ideas traveled main trade routes, such as the Silk Road and the Mediterranean, the effects of such were felt through an influx of contact between countries due to increased desire for new information and countries gaining a larger presence on the world stage. This phenomenon can also be seen through the lens of cultural exchange that took place during this same time period in Eurasia. A major component of the Eurasian trade networks, such as the Silk Road and Indian Ocean, was that they fostered interregional contacts that had ceased to previously exist. When a country had a desire for study or technology, they earned more respect on the global stage. This can be further examined by looking at Marco Polo’s voyage into Asia.
During the 15th century Europe had numerous changes. The population expanded rapidly which gave rise to new classes of merchants. European nations were very wealthy when it came to spices. Therefore, they traded them on the land route from Asia. These land routes were controlled by the Turkish Empire, which lead to many problems for the countries who were trying to trade these spices and acquire other valuables. This then steered them to begin searching for other routes of trade to essentially cut out the “middle man”. A race then began to erupt between many European countries such as Portugal, Spain, France, and England. These four countries all wanted to be the first to discover new land. However, Portugal pulled ahead and sailed along
people there so that over England as a whole a fifth of the men, women
During the classical era, there were shifts worldwide with regards to economic imports and exports. As many societies transformed from hunting-gathering societies into specialization societies, global trade networks expanded. This led to the founding and growth of many complex trade networks, both on land and by sea. Two notable trade networks were the Mediterranean Sea network and the Silk Road. The Mediterranean Sea is in Europe, and the trade network lined the shores of Turkey and North Africa. The Silk Road was trans-Asian. It reached from China to the Eastern Mediterranean. While these networks had multiple similarities in their expansion and spread of religion and ideas, there were many differences. These included the type of materials
The merchants from East Asia continued to exchange goods with the European merchants, and vice versa. Both of the merchants from East Asia and Western Europe remained intensely dependent on trade, especially on the Silk Road. These exchanges led to a great and powerful state, regardless of what sort of merchandise was being traded. This was one essential reason for why the Silk Road remained, for the most part, unaltered, but another is that it allowed for the diffusion of religion, since the very beginning of this trade routes existence. Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and other religions were being diffused all throughout Eurasia. The Diffusion of religion never really stopped to extend their minister effort to different parts of the world. For example, Old Greek writing and content of literature were acquired and deciphered by the Islamic Caliphates and eventually, the Christian’s in Europe got these amid the Crusades along the Silk
Goods such as pepper, ginger and other spices were introduced to Europe more prominent rates. Cost for items dropped as authorities competed for taxes collected along Silk Road. Traders saw potential to benefit other countries such as China and India if the travel time and distance was cut down. Gun-making also was introduced to Europe and other regions during the Mongol’s
Medieval Food Food is something that all people have always and will always need to consume in order to survive and thrive. Not only this, but it is also has an important societal function. Food is an important part of celebrations and sometimes dictates roles in societies. In Medieval society food was important for banquets, what was eaten by a person could denote what class a person was from, and was often mentioned in the literature. For my project I presented desserts, bread, and a couple of drinks.
Medicine in the Middle Ages We are very lucky today! When we are sick, we go and see the doctor, and he or she can usually make us better with the use of medicine. It wasn‘t like this in the medieval era.
Black pepper, the “King of Spices” was the first driver of historical globalization, according to Yale professor Paul Freedman (2003). Black pepper, in the Middle Ages, was found all around Europe, and were often traded in place of a standard currency (Haggerty A., 2011). Paralleled to today, the origins and production of spices were much a mystery; coming from far off lands and picked by mysterious means (Singletary K., 2010). Europeans in the middle ages believed the burnt appearance of black pepper was attributed to a harvesting method that involved burning down trees to prevent serpent guardians from poisoning the pickers (Singletary K., 2010). The exotic nature and scarcity of spices in medieval Europe were signs of wealth, and thought
...ition of spices into the market during the Middle Ages not only created an economic boom but also led to the change in social, political, and religious outlooks of society. The vast importance of the spice trade opened the doors for nations to expand and create new relationships with neighboring regions, but most importantly it allowed individuals such as Columbus, Da Gama, Polo and other explorers to be able to discover new domains that eventually led to the colonization of the Americas today. Paul Freedman’s book does an excellent job in enlightening the reader of how meaningful spices were throughout the centuries and with the help of numerous primary sources, the message was clear just after reading the first chapter. The book allows us to have a better understanding of the fundamental importance spices played in shifting the medieval times into the modern era.