This essay is included in my new book The Modern Salonnière. The 34 other essays in the book feature similar literary adventures and traveling with intention. …
View More Shadowing Petrarch in ParmaTag: Medieval Times
It’s difficult for me to remember that the hulking castles of Medieval Times were drafty, damp and unfriendly because the movies make them seem so accommodating.
Making the era more fascinating is how the Tudor kings like Henry VIII transported soft goods and metal items from castle to castle when his court was on the move—the tapestries and platters and candlesticks creating the warm glow that the cavernous rooms could not. Consider the fact that the provisions for the kitchen at Hampton Court Palace when he and his court were in residence would have filled a veritable supermarket given there were 600 to 1,000 people to feed during each sitting. The King spared no expense as the feasts for the Tudor court routinely lasted for seven hours or more!
Those meals were prepared in the largest surviving Renaissance kitchens in Europe, and roasted meat was at the heart of each and every one of them (this makes the King’s substantial girth makes sense, doesn’t it?). Six fires would be burning in every roasting room to prepare for these grand productions when the court descended, and the servants minding the spits described their workstations as mortal hell. Hard to believe there was an upside to their jobs, but one existed: they were the only help allowed an unlimited amount of beer each day. It’s shocking anyone’s rations were restricted given the palace was known for racking up orders of 600,000 gallons of the liquid refreshment each year, the majority of which was consumed when the courtiers were present. I find facts like this fascinating so if you do as well, you can click on the Medieval Times tag and find other stories relating to the era.
Medieval Calamities in Paris
This essay about the calamities of Héloïse and Abélard is included in my book The Modern Salonnière. The 34 other essays in the book feature…
View More Medieval Calamities in ParisThe Architecture of Chivalry
This essay about the built legacy of Henry VIII is included in my new book The Modern Salonnière. The 34 other essays in the book…
View More The Architecture of ChivalryThe Nature of Noble Loyalty
It’s spring in London and the flowers are bursting forth on Cheyne Walk, which skirts the edge of the River Thames until it gives way…
View More The Nature of Noble LoyaltyThe Tapestry of History
In just a few hours, the modern ideal of a fairy tale wedding will take place at Windsor Castle. A trip I took to the…
View More The Tapestry of HistoryThe New Face of Religious Zeal
As I circle the domed space, I approach the front of the pulpit for the third time. I can’t believe how perfect it is that…
View More The New Face of Religious ZealFar from Oblivious in Bologna
If you find yourself strolling along the streets of Bologna near the city’s center, don’t be surprised if you turn a corner and come upon…
View More Far from Oblivious in BolognaExploring Frankfurt with Goethe
I am returning to Frankfurt am Main next week to attend Heimtextil for the second time, an experience I truly enjoyed last year for the…
View More Exploring Frankfurt with GoetheIt Is Time to Experience More
Experience more. It sounds like a simple directive but how many of us really take the time to savor what is happening right in front…
View More It Is Time to Experience MoreReading Dante in Milan
“I’d like that sunny table near the windows under the beautiful mirror,” he says to the hostess at Le Vrai, pointing to the niche set…
View More Reading Dante in Milan