How Medieval Monks Ate Christmas Dinner

When we think of eating in the medieval era, we often envision wooden banquet tables, goblets, elaborate salt cellars, and giant turkey legs. Banquet tables were even more adorned on Christmas, at least for the high born (upper class). But how and what did medieval monks eat at Christmas? Because they had a relatively uninspired regular diet, they looked with anticipation to the meal they would eat on Christmas day. The typical menu for a monastery in medieval Europe was a selection of pottage (soup or stew) prepared with local vegetables or grains, pulses (legumes), coarse bread, fish, and poultry. Red meat was largely prohibited. Come Christmas, however, the monastery table looked remarkably different. Varied types of fish, a wider selection of meat, pâté, finer breads, sweets, and alcohol were all a part of the holiday feast.

Christmas in the middle ages was celebrated with gusto, particularly since the month preceding Christmas was a time of fasting for Christians. Following the advent, monks were treated with better food as a precursor to the actual holiday. Minced meat pies with gravy, poultry like lark and duck, and seafood such as oysters, mussels, and cockles were all part of the holiday table. Medieval monks especially enjoyed seasonings that weren't typically part of their normal meal. Honey, herbs, and spices like saffron and cumin were all used in the cooking, and were considered quite a treat. Monks celebrating Christmas by the 14th century enjoyed much more opulent menus than their predecessors.

Medieval monks were relegated to much sparser dining schedules with meals eaten in silence for most of the year, which made their Christmas meal a communal experience with specific rituals. The different foods eaten at special occasions were called pittances. Often, the food was delivered by senior members of the monastery, and accepted with prayers of salvation from the monks. When red meat was served, it was eaten in a special room called a misericord. During Christmas, monks were treated to more red meat than usual. One explanation for this was that even though red meat wasn't typically farmed on their land, monasteries had ample access to money, and were able to obtain all different types of meat, from beef and pork to lamb. Medieval monks were also gifted pittances from the people of the town, and at Christmas those pittances could include meat and libations.

On a daily basis, most monks partook of ale, but at Christmas, they were allowed wine, food cooked in wine, and other alcohol. Depending on their monastic order, many monks were given a special gown for Christmas, and were allowed a bath (a rarity in some orders). The holiday was certainly a time for monks to relax, be merry, and eat. And eat they did. It's said that at Christmastime, some monks were eating as much as 7,000 calories a day, perhaps in anticipation of a return to vows of poverty.