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This is coming from the site Gode Cookery, I love this site more than one can imagine! But the article is fitting for this time of year if I do say so myself.......
Such festivity was true in medieval times as well, though there are striking differences in what was eaten and served at Christmas time then as compared to now. Simply put, there were not as many Christmas-specific foods as there are now; mankind feasted heartily, but on foods and recipes that also were available and popular during the rest of the year - these were produced in finer quality and eaten in greater amounts at this time, but there was not a specific and detailed menu on what should or should not be eaten at Christmas. Much of the festivity that revolved around food seemed to be not in what was being offered, but in how it was offered, the quantities that were available, and in the act of sharing a meal and eating together. Several dishes of healthy, tasty food and ale to last a day, along with fuel for cooking and warmth, and candles to light the long evening, was an honored and acceptable gift from the lord to his villeins. In some recorded cases, the gift of food for the day was as simple as a loaf of bread, ale to drink, and some firewood. Many lords would invite their workers and serfs to the manor for Christmas dinner; in most cases, though, the food, serving utensils, and even the fuel for cooking were usually provided by the villeins themselves. It seems the real spirit of the moment was seen in the communal exchange of food and the enjoyment of feasting with friends in front of the burning Yule Log of the lord's hearth.
There are some food rules to remember when composing an authentic medieval feast; as the days leading up to Christmas were the fast, or fish-days of Advent, fish was eaten in great quantities up to and including Christmas Eve. (This, therefore, usually meant that fish was not considered an appropriate food for the post-Advent Christmas period; one would be considered a poor or offensive host to offer fish for a Christmas meal!) The practice of serving fish up until Christmas Day survives enthusiastically today as the modern Italian-American tradition of a large and extravagant Christmas Eve seafood dinner.
And there were a few foods did became associated with Christmas at this time: the Boar's Head, which still today holds great connotations of Yule, and Plum Pudding & Mincemeat Pie, two treats also contemporarily linked with the holiday. However, these foods were also quite common during the rest of the year; the Boar's Head was found at many great dinners, being considered an honored dish at all times. Plum Pudding would have been eaten whenever economy and season dictated. And Mincemeat Pie (made with real meat) was simply yet anothermedieval-style meat pie with a heavy dried fruit base. Still, the medieval population found these dishes particularly appealing at Christmas, and the Boar's Head was considered so standard that if a real one could not be acquired, a faux presentation made of cake or other foods was more than acceptable.
By medieval times, the game of the Bean King or Mock King was old enough to be considered "ancient." This was a cake or a loaf of bread which had hidden in it a small object, such as a bean. Whoever found the bean in their portion was proclaimed the Bean King, and presided as a humorous ruler over the Christmas festivities. In some cultures the Bean cake was shaped like a crown and was associated with the Three Wise Kings.
---------- A Christmas Eve dinner and A Christmas Day dinner ----------
The Advent fast, prohibiting meat, chicken, milk, cheese, butter, etc. (i.e., virtually all animal products), and lasting a time period that included the four Sundays preceding Yule, was THE primary motivation for the festal consumption of food during a medieval Christmas. This simple fact should always be kept in mind when planning a medieval feast in an authentic manner. Christmas itself ran from Christmas Day up through Epiphany, or Twelfth Day (January 6). The rules and standards of food at Christmas time lasted for this entire 12 day period.
A Christmas Eve dinner should be composed of medieval dishes that are for fish-days, fast-days, Ember days, and for Lent. (Ember Days were four significant fast-days held during Lent, just after Pentecost, September, and in December during Advent.) These sorts of recipes are usually clearly denoted in medieval cooking manuscripts, and can be found throughout the recipe sections of Gode Cookery. Exotic and varied viands of fish & seafood should dominate: grilled, fried, roasted, baked fish, etc. with a variety of sauces; oysters, mussels, crabs, lobster, clams, and assorted shellfish (such as periwinkles) are very acceptable and can be prepared in a multitude of ways. Almond milk should be the ingredient used for sauces, as it was the main substitute for milk during a fast. Fried foods are prepared in olive & nut oils (see: Oils) rather than animal fats.
Medieval cooks came up with a variety of ways to circumvent the restrictions of a fast-day: mock cheese was made out of fish and almond milk, fish was made to taste like meat, etc. And some people relied on extremes in common food beliefs to see them through their fast: beaver tail (a high source of fat & protein) was acceptable as the beaver lived in water, like a fish; ordinary geese were often identified as being the mythical Barnacle Goose by both sellers and consumers alike. The Barnacle Goose, being a product of the ocean, was not a true land-goose and therefore was not restricted. Therefore, if the cook or host of a Christmas Eve dinner wishes to serve goose, it may be done so, but only in the honest faith that it is a true Barnacle Goose that is being served! (Imagine a platter of Barnacle Goose surrounded by oysters, mussels, clams, etc. Yum!)
Bread, cheese, ale, & wine should be included with the foods of both a Christmas Eve or a Christmas Day dinner.
A medieval Christmas Day dinner could be composed of rich and extravagant dishes, heavy with meat and sweets, and laden with delicacies and treats; or, an equally authentic way to eat would be to have simple but hearty dishes like stewed chicken or beef, or pork, ham or bacon served with mustard, along with cheese, bread and ale. The choice is yours, as was our medieval predecessors. Certainly, the Boar's Head should be included in any large dinner or party, whether real or made of cake, as well as Plum Pudding, Mincemeat Pie, and such treats as gingerbread, spiced wines, etc. Venison was a popular meat at Christmas, and possibly represented about 1/4 of all meat eaten at that time, according to household records. Goose, duck, hen, and an enormous range of fowl & poultry served in or with a variety of sauces; dishes of beef, pork, & rabbit prepared in numerous ways; rich soups and thick pottages and stews; a plethora of sweets and desserts - the list of acceptable foods that are authentic, delectable, and highly appropriate for a Christmas Feast would be a long one! Any documented, authentic recipe found in A Boke of Gode Cookery which is not intended as a fast-day item would be more than suitable.
And don't forget about the Bean Cake! More about it HERE.
Decorating the home with greenery during the holiday has been a custom since the Roman festival of Saturnalia, and has been documented as having occurred in London as early as the 12th century. The Medieval dinner table or dining hall can be suitably garnished with holly, evergreen, etc., just like today.
Singing carols at a Christmas dinner was such an expected activity that paid carolers and minstrels were often included in the budgets of large feasts. Other entertainments, such as masques and mummery, were also very common.
To compose your Christmas feast menu in a medieval manner, please visit Messe It Forth.
---------- What the Experts Have to Say ----------
Fast and Feast by Bridget Ann Henisch is filled with detailed and fascinating information on all aspects of food in Medieval society. Here is what the author has to say on Christmas:
And now this information from The Art of Cookery in the Middle Ages by Terence Scully:
Comments by Francis & Joseph Gies from Life in a Medieval Castle:
Now, compare the Gies' information with that from Food & Feast in Medieval England by P. W. Hammond:
---------- Christmas Feast Recipes ----------
All of the recipes in A Boke of Gode Cookery can be easily perused at one site: All Gode Cookery Recipes. Keep in mind that for an authentic feast or dinner, you should only be using those recipes which are documented as coming from authentic sources; A Boke of Gode Cookery, Recipes from A Newe Boke of Olde Cokery, Medieval Recipe Translations, and many of the recipes from The Historical Cookery Page are documented, but very few from Modern Recipes for Beginners are. Be sure to check the site-source of each recipe, and if that recipe has the credentials necessary for an authentic dinner!
Any recipe that is not defined as a fast-day, Lenten, etc., dish is suitable for a Christmas dinner. Keep in mind that all sorts of dishes involving of beef, pork, venison, rabbit, etc., were very common, as well as any featuring hens, goose, poultry, duck - in other words, all varieties of meat and fowl were standard Christmas fare. Fish should only be served during Advent or Christmas Eve. Any sweet or dessert rich with spices is also recommended, as well as any of the recipes for mulled beverages & spiced wines. Ale, bread, & cheese should be a part of any Christmas meal, as well as caroling and entertainment. And don't forget: for information on how to compose your Christmas feast menu in a medieval manner, please consult Messe It Forth.
Here are a few Gode Cookery suggested recipes for Christmas:
BEVERAGES:
DESSERTS:
- Clarrey - wine mulled with honey and spices.
- Caudell - wine thickened with eggs.
- Potus Ypocras - wine mulled with honey and spices.
MEAT:
- A Bake Mete - A pear and custard pie.
- Apple Muse - a dish of blended apples, almond milk, and honey.
- Auter Maner Leche Lumbarde A honey and egg loaf with a sweet wine syrup.
- Blaunderellys - Baked apples.
- Bryndons - small cakes in a sauce of wine, fruit, and nuts.
- Faire Marchpane Being a Chessboarde - An elaborate marzipan soltetie.
- Gyngerbrede - a sweet honey candy. See also: Medieval Gingerbread.
- Marchpane - a basic recipe for making marzipan.
- Nucibus Pineis Saccharo Conditi - Pine nuts in sugar.
- Perys en Composte - pears in wine and spices.
- Perys In Confyte - pears cooked in honey and wine.
- Peti Pernantes - Currant and custard tarts.
- Rys Lumbard Stondyne - A sweet rice and egg pudding, garnished with small candies.
- Rysshews of fruyt - spiced rissoles of fruit.
- Sambocade - Medieval cheesecake.
- Sambocade Cheesecake - a Medieval cheesecake.
- Seed Cake - a sweet seed cake.
- Tourteletes in fryture - small fig pies basted with honey.
- Trayne Roste - Food-in-Disguise! "Mock entrails" of batter-fried fruit & nuts.
- Visions of Sugarplums - detailed instructions for preparing sugarplums, the quintessential Christmas sweet.
- Wardonys in syryp - pears in wine and spices.
POULTRY:
- A bake Mete Ryalle - pork & chicken pies.
- A Siryppe pur vn Pestelle - Pork in a wine, egg, and pepper sauce.
- Basic Meat Pie - instructions for a standard Medieval meat pie.
- Beef y-Stywyd - stewed beef ribs.
- Boor in Brasey - Pork soup.
- Brawn en Peuerade - pork or chicken in a thick wine sauce.
- Bruce - A soup of tripe, chicken, or pork, seasoned with wine.
- Bruet Sarcenes - a meat dish made with Sauce Sarcenes.
- Cameline Meat Brewet - beef pickled in Cameline Sauce.
- Conyng - Rabbit in a ginger sauce.
- Conyng in Gravey - Rabbit (or chicken) in almond milk.
- Connynges in Cyrip - rabbit in a wine-currant sauce.
- Connynges in grauey - rabbit in broth.
- Crustade gentyle - a pork and almond milk pie.
- Doucettes - a pork & egg pie, seasoned with honey & pepper.
- Flampoyntes - a pork & cheese pie, decorated with pastry triangles.
- Hattes - small meat-filled pastries shaped like Medieval hats.
- Kede Rosted - Lamb roasted with vinegar & salt.
- Leche Lumbard - Food-in-Disguise! A pork loaf made to resemble a large peapod.
- Malaches of Pork - Pork quiche.
- Mincemeat - a homemade recipe for mincemeat made with actual meat.
- Mortreus de Chare - a recipe for pork mortrews, a dish of ground meat thickened with eggs and bread crumbs.
- Mortrews - a meat pate.
- Pourcelet farci - roast pig stuffed with pork, egg yolks, Brie cheese, & chestnuts.
- Pyes de Pares - a pie of beef, pork, and fruit.
- Pygge y-farsyd - stuffed roasted pig.
- Pumpes - pork meatballs in Almond Milk.
- Stewed Lombard - Pork, almond, & wine stew.
- Stwed Beeff - beef ribs baked in a sauce of wine, currants, & onions.
- Tartee - pork and fruit pie, topped with whole chicken pieces.
- Tartelettes - pork dumplings in meat sauce.
- Tartes de Chare .iij. A-nother manere - a pork pie with eggs, honey, & spices.
- Tartes of flessh - pork, chicken, & rabbit pie.
- Tartletes - veal & fruit pie.
- To make Sturgyn/Sturgeon (An Illusion) - Food-in-Disguise! A dish of veal which resembles a sturgeon.
- Tourtes parmeriennes - a meat pie decorated with crenellated pastry and miniature banners.
- Venyson in Broth - venison ribs in wine.
- Venyson Y-bake - a venison pie.
- Venyson Y-bake A-nother manere - a venison pie with eggs, honey, & spices.
SOUP:
- Capoun or Gos Farced - chicken or goose stuffed with eggs and pork.
- Chauden - Fowl in giblet sauce.
- Chik Farsed - Game hens stuffed with egg yolks and parsley.
- Chike endored - chicken glazed with a golden batter.
- Chikenes Endoryd -roast chicken glazed with egg yolks.
- Chickens in Pastry in the Lombard Manner - Game hens & bacon wrapped and baked in pastry.
- Chykonys in Bruette - Chicken stewed in an ale sauce.
- Drepe - Game hens in savory almond milk.
- Farsure For Chekyns - Chicken stuffed with pork & currants.
- Ffesaunte Rosted - Pheasant in mustard sauce.
- Gely - Chicken moulded in aspic.
- Gelyne in dubbatte - stewed chicken.
- Goce or Capon Farced - goose or capon stuffed with eggs, onions, & grapes.
- Henne in Bokenade - chicken stewed in broth and herbs.
- Pikkyl pour le Mallard - Duck in a wine & mustard sauce.
- Poullaille farcie - whole chickens stuffed with meat, nuts, eggs, and spices, and glazed green and gold.
- Sauce for a Gos - Goose in a sauce made from its own stuffing.
- Schyconys with the Bruesse - chicken stewed with beef.
- Sorcell Rosted, Wodekoke, & Snyte - Roasted small game birds.
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February 17, 2026 at 12am to February 5, 2027 at 12am – where & how you choose
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Patchwork Merchant Mercenaries had its humble beginnings as an idea of a few artisans and craftsmen who enjoy performing with live steel fighting. As well as a patchwork quilt tent canvas. Most had prior military experience hence the name.
Patchwork Merchant Mercenaries.
Vendertainers that brought many things to a show and are know for helping out where ever they can.
As well as being a place where the older hand made items could be found made by them and enjoyed by all.
We expanded over the years to become well known at what we do. Now we represent over 100 artisans and craftsman that are well known in their venues and some just starting out. Some of their works have been premiered in TV, stage and movies on a regular basis.
Specializing in Medieval, Goth , Stage Film, BDFSM and Practitioner.
Patchwork Merchant Mercenaries a Dept of, Ask For IT was started by artists and former military veterans, and sword fighters, representing over 100 artisans, one who made his living traveling from fair to festival vending medieval wares. The majority of his customers are re-enactors, SCAdians and the like, looking to build their kit with period clothing, feast gear, adornments, etc.
Likewise, it is typical for these history-lovers to peruse the tent (aka mobile store front) and, upon finding something that pleases the eye, ask "Is this period?"
A deceitful query!! This is not a yes or no question. One must have a damn good understanding of European history (at least) from the fall of Rome to the mid-1600's to properly answer. Taking into account, also, the culture in which the querent is dressed is vitally important. You see, though it may be well within medieval period, it would be strange to see a Viking wearing a Caftan...or is it?
After a festival's time of answering weighty questions such as these, I'd sleep like a log! Only a mad man could possibly remember the place and time for each piece of kitchen ware, weaponry, cloth, and chain within a span of 1,000 years!! Surely there must be an easier way, a place where he could post all this knowledge...
Traveling Within The World is meant to be such a place. A place for all of these artists to keep in touch and directly interact with their fellow geeks and re-enactment hobbyists, their clientele.
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