What it was like to visit a Medieval Tavern

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  • Опубліковано 21 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 8 тис.

  • @TastingHistory
    @TastingHistory  8 місяців тому +1042

    Here the knife I talk about: www.oldworldironworks.net/
    And here's the Odin's Skull Mead I mentioned - bit.ly/maxmead

    • @pawem5105
      @pawem5105 8 місяців тому +48

      I love classic "That's a knife!" reference. :)

    • @lisavranesevic5754
      @lisavranesevic5754 8 місяців тому +45

      We Serve Odin's Skull at my place of employment. There is also Viking Blood by the same company. It's great! Also, if you happen across it Viking Alchemist Meadery out of Georgia is AMAZING.

    • @kariannecrysler640
      @kariannecrysler640 8 місяців тому +15

      Definitely some more about meads please! Any ancient brewing would be extremely enjoyable to learn about.

    • @Kaijugan
      @Kaijugan 8 місяців тому +13

      Also, about the Meadery I mentioned. The owners? They love Tasting History. I think they even mentioned watching a few of your Viking videos in particular

    • @newindianajones1
      @newindianajones1 8 місяців тому +6

      Odin’s Skull is a decent mead. Reminds me of Fireball with less alcohol.

  • @Kulthul
    @Kulthul 8 місяців тому +6001

    I love the painting of the person, holding the other person’s hair while they vomit. It’s just proof that humans never change.

    • @SunnyIlha
      @SunnyIlha 8 місяців тому +127

      😂 he barfed because he drank too much.
      The other dude has to hold him away from hurling all over him.
      I don't drink a drop myself I'm a teetotaler, but I've gotten snuckered a few times in my life.

    • @MainPrism
      @MainPrism 8 місяців тому +108

      Ironically I paused the video to look at some comments. I just so happemed to be at 15:32 and this exact picture was on the screen 😂😂

    • @Alpenjodler1
      @Alpenjodler1 7 місяців тому +195

      holdeth mine hair

    • @Hailstormand
      @Hailstormand 7 місяців тому +35

      "Hold my hair...[barfs]

    • @SunnyIlha
      @SunnyIlha 7 місяців тому +10

      ​@@Hailstormand
      16:25 😲😆

  • @nigelchaos
    @nigelchaos 8 місяців тому +5993

    "Bestir yourself to correct these matters" is a really gentle way to say "GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!"

    • @mojewjewjew4420
      @mojewjewjew4420 8 місяців тому +214

      "Or else"

    • @JR-tr1df
      @JR-tr1df 8 місяців тому +85

      I am using this from now on when I can. Thanks for pointing this out 😄

    • @ThinWhiteAxe
      @ThinWhiteAxe 8 місяців тому +10

      ​@@JR-tr1df same 😂

    • @101Volts
      @101Volts 8 місяців тому +125

      "So don't be *vain,* and don't be *whiny;* or else I'll have to get *Medieval on your Heine!"* - "Amish Paradise"

    • @44R0Ndin
      @44R0Ndin 8 місяців тому +35

      I have a feeling that time has lowered the impact of those words, because I'm certain that back in the period of it's writing and since it was from another element of the church, that note would have carried power "from on high", the like of which can only be matched by threat of legal charges being filed today.
      In modern terms, over here in the US we'd call that the crime of serving alcohol to minors, which results in instant revocation of your liquor license.

  • @PoppycockPrincess100
    @PoppycockPrincess100 8 місяців тому +2979

    It's incredible to think about how one person's actions and choices could forever influence the development of a language.

    • @TastingHistory
      @TastingHistory  8 місяців тому +479

      And rather arbitrarily

    • @kielbasamage
      @kielbasamage 8 місяців тому +352

      The man who started adding -ussy to the end of random verbs:

    • @curiositycloset2359
      @curiositycloset2359 8 місяців тому +4

      I think ghost was a mistake

    • @world4saker
      @world4saker 8 місяців тому +33

      how about of drinking wine getting sloshed and screaming at people which wine is good and which is shit and get paid damn is one specific job

    • @Yandarval
      @Yandarval 8 місяців тому +23

      You only have to look at the coach and horses that Noah Webster drove through the English language.

  • @matthewtylergee
    @matthewtylergee 23 дні тому +21

    If anyone is wondering why there was a difference between northern english and southern english it's because of the danelaw. "egges" is derived from Old Norse. "Eyren" is derived from Saxon.

  • @bonniherself
    @bonniherself 8 місяців тому +12511

    Fun fact, somewhat tangential, but young goats are unruly, hard to control, and tend to get into things and make messes. Historically, when people called children "kids", they were calling them ill-mannered and rude.

    • @KP-tt5es
      @KP-tt5es 8 місяців тому +1301

      That's funny, I call my kids goats when they start climbing the furniture

    • @iamthereddemon20
      @iamthereddemon20 8 місяців тому +1235

      ​@@KP-tt5esthe turns have indeed tabled

    • @karowolkenschaufler7659
      @karowolkenschaufler7659 8 місяців тому +236

      this is exellent trivia. thank you. a fun fact of the first order!

    • @cathyu.1487
      @cathyu.1487 8 місяців тому +245

      Can confirm! I've raised goats - they're generally sweet and adorable, but very high energy. Can definitely be a handful!

    • @shorttimer874
      @shorttimer874 8 місяців тому +46

      There is a goat featured in some of the stories in the Grantville Gazette which are part of the 1632 sci-fi series who demonstrates this perfectly, I forget his name now...

  • @UK_Canuck
    @UK_Canuck 8 місяців тому +1915

    I had to smile when you mentioned the brooms indicating an alehouse. When I was living in southern Germany, our village was surrounded by vineyards. Every year, just before the new harvest, you'd see hand-lettered signs everywhere saying, "Besen" (broom), and pointing pointing toward one farm or another. As you got to the farm's lane, there would be a twig broom sticking out at the roadside. You'd find yourself seated at a trestle table in the barn, eating rustic sausages, potato salad, and sauerkraut. And drinking wine. Lots and lots of wine which was being sold off cheaply in order for the vats to be emptied and made ready for that year's harvest. Yum! 🍷🍷🍷

    • @chastitymarks2185
      @chastitymarks2185 8 місяців тому +140

      Those are called "Besenwirtschaft" (broom pub).

    • @schnetzelschwester
      @schnetzelschwester 8 місяців тому +122

      They also sell in September-October "neuer Wein" = "new wine", which is half fermented grape juice. It is sweet and sparklig and hasn't yet the full alcohol strength, but be careful! It can knock you out if you drink it like lemonade.

    • @dirtyfiendswithneedles3111
      @dirtyfiendswithneedles3111 8 місяців тому +3

      Sounds serene and incredible

    • @lilykatmoon4508
      @lilykatmoon4508 8 місяців тому +24

      That sounds amazing!

    • @valor101arise
      @valor101arise 8 місяців тому +8

      Fascinating

  • @thefez-cat
    @thefez-cat 8 місяців тому +863

    If anyone wants to know, a "spart axe" (more commonly spelled sparth) is a large axe intended for use as a weapon rather than a tool. They are believed to be descended from the Dane axe, though a precise definition isn't really possible from the available writing (so far as I know).
    Basically dude wasn't just walking around with his lumber axe, he was armed and looking for a fight.

    • @andersjjensen
      @andersjjensen 8 місяців тому +73

      A sparth looks very much like a typical Viking bearded axe, but the axe head is often mounted "upside down" which allows for a shorter handle. Both types have about the same mass as their equivalent small wood axe, but the head would be forged much more drawn out in every direction, as human targets don't require the metal to have as much girth as a stubborn oak tree.

    • @HuSanNiang
      @HuSanNiang 8 місяців тому +17

      in German you have a Spaltaxt , it is one sided and still used to split logs.

    • @cmaden78
      @cmaden78 7 місяців тому +2

      ​Ew

    • @chrismurphy3184
      @chrismurphy3184 7 місяців тому +5

      Thank you. Can always rely on someone in a Max video to explain stuff!

    • @lordeden2732
      @lordeden2732 7 місяців тому +3

      Wrong way around was a tool which during times of trouble doubled up as a weapon

  • @mefisto8124
    @mefisto8124 3 місяці тому +230

    "Died of misadventures" is the kind of thing you'd get at the end of your Oregon Trail playthrough...

    • @banefulwillow
      @banefulwillow Місяць тому

      Best cause of death ever.

    • @heidimisfeldt5685
      @heidimisfeldt5685 Місяць тому

      Open to interpretation, in my opinion.

    • @kingtitusthe3rd876
      @kingtitusthe3rd876 Місяць тому

      Can’t wait to get Kingdom Come Deliverance. The food, music, people. 👍

  • @overlordlaharlyun5444
    @overlordlaharlyun5444 7 місяців тому +1159

    Human history is really comedic of how no matter where you are people are people

    • @drums4b
      @drums4b 6 місяців тому +41

      Right! Someone once told me that times change but people don't. Um......baloney to put nicely.

    • @WheresWaldo05
      @WheresWaldo05 6 місяців тому +7

      *no matter when they are

    • @ProfessionalNamielleLewder69
      @ProfessionalNamielleLewder69 6 місяців тому

      ​@@drums4bPeople used to make dick jokes and fanfics thousands of years ago. Fast-forward to modern day and the only things that changed were the languages and medium.

    • @strogonoffcore
      @strogonoffcore 3 місяці тому +1

      @@WheresWaldo05 where and when

    • @gerardflynn7382
      @gerardflynn7382 2 місяці тому

      I believe that Australians have a great term for this.
      Dingbats.

  • @kidzbop38isstraightfire92
    @kidzbop38isstraightfire92 7 місяців тому +962

    Always loved the idea of going into a warm, cozy pub on a dark & rainy night and getting some hearty stew and a refreshing drink.

    • @v4v819
      @v4v819 7 місяців тому +66

      Come to my town there's no shortage of inns, taverns and pubs to come out of the rain into... Not to mention the local watering hole...

    • @alanaw27
      @alanaw27 7 місяців тому +73

      Same in my Scottish village. Two local pubs which serve good food. One is a very old and used by travellers for centuries as it was on the main route to Edinburgh.

    • @r3tr0actiongamer24
      @r3tr0actiongamer24 7 місяців тому +7

      The fact your name is kidzbop makes you uncomfortably Creepy

    • @kidzbop38isstraightfire92
      @kidzbop38isstraightfire92 7 місяців тому +18

      @@r3tr0actiongamer24 I'll get ur children's... Lol jk, I just thought the name was ironically funny

    • @Monkee2112
      @Monkee2112 7 місяців тому +11

      Ireland still exists for you.

  • @L_mattox
    @L_mattox 8 місяців тому +1422

    I hope that in 500 years, they’ll have infotainment holovideos like this, and they’ll be explaining the recipes & goings on of American diners and bars and such.

    • @TastingHistory
      @TastingHistory  8 місяців тому +601

      I’m actually working on a video on diners, so you don’t need to wait 500 years. Just a month.

    • @leahreiss2943
      @leahreiss2943 8 місяців тому +67

      What about Automats? 🧐​@@TastingHistory

    • @nicholesnow
      @nicholesnow 8 місяців тому +117

      Diners, Drive-Ins, and Days of Yore

    • @jerseygirlinatl7701
      @jerseygirlinatl7701 8 місяців тому +34

      @@leahreiss2943I heard on last week's Milk Street Radio podcast about documentary that was just made about the rise and fall of Automats. Has commentary from Mel Brooks. He even wrote and sang a song!

    • @Deadxman616
      @Deadxman616 8 місяців тому +13

      yes I need to see one try to figure out Dinner slag

  • @BinroWasRight
    @BinroWasRight Місяць тому +3

    This is brilliant! You really took me back to my 16th-century living history days, as many of these dishes and types of establishments were still popular then. All the love, as always!

  • @HFG
    @HFG 8 місяців тому +372

    I'm not a big "cooking show" guy, but Max's warm and friendly, conversational delivery really sells the show. He seems like he'd be a quality guy to hang out with.

    • @DenSchimmige
      @DenSchimmige 7 місяців тому +29

      I bet he did put all his points into Charisma 😂

    • @HFG
      @HFG 7 місяців тому +20

      @@DenSchimmige hahahaha! The best comment. I can't decide if he's a bard or an alchemist though.

    • @sillerbarly4927
      @sillerbarly4927 7 місяців тому +1

      We all know he has to be a warlock with hard tack as his patron

    • @darienb1127
      @darienb1127 4 місяці тому +2

      From the small amount i've seen, it feels much more of a history channel with cooking on the side.

    • @heidimisfeldt5685
      @heidimisfeldt5685 Місяць тому

      ​​@@darienb1127 🎯
      Exactly what I so enjoy about watching it.

  • @Del-Lebo
    @Del-Lebo 7 місяців тому +323

    I am SO happy that you mentioned "perpetual stew"!!! I am 58 years old and I have been doing this every year starting a year after moving away from home when I graduated college and got my own place in 1991! Starting on winter solstice in my Big crock pot! I will have that on my kitchen counter until vernal equinox! It is a wonderful and fun "recipe" that really satisfied whenever I , and family, want a cup of broth, or a big bowl of proteins and veggies! I use a digital thermometer unit that will alert me if the temp' drops below 140F....My crock pot is awesome...keeps at 141-143 on the keep warm setting! Love it! I just put the last leftover into a big container a week ago. Brilliant Max! Thank you again!

    • @adrielrowley
      @adrielrowley 7 місяців тому +23

      How does the thermometer sit in the stew?
      As a single person who is disabled and on SSI, love this idea and like to give it a go.

    • @kikitcat5
      @kikitcat5 7 місяців тому +2

      Are you worried about a fire hazard?

    • @Draconaa
      @Draconaa 6 місяців тому +5

      My mum did this from May to September (Australia's winter) (1980s) and I loved a cup when I got home from high school.

    • @dulciemidwinter1925
      @dulciemidwinter1925 6 місяців тому +3

      In Poland they Make Bigos, Hunters stew.

    • @mikeoglen6848
      @mikeoglen6848 6 місяців тому +4

      @@Draconaa wouldn't it "go-off" in this time?

  • @robromeo9486
    @robromeo9486 7 місяців тому +592

    I am so grateful you chose this path over Disney. It's been wonderfully enriching. Seriously thank you.

    • @megatronisfun
      @megatronisfun 7 місяців тому +7

      Was he going to make Disney videos? Like the history or what? Now I’m curious lol

    • @lifeincolour09
      @lifeincolour09 7 місяців тому +69

      ​@@megatronisfun He used to work at Disney and when he was called back he chose UA-cam instead. This is the full video watch?v=jHpkqBFKmvA of him explaining.

    • @megatronisfun
      @megatronisfun 7 місяців тому +6

      @@lifeincolour09thank you for answering, I want to watch the video but can’t click the link, what’s the name?

    • @lifeincolour09
      @lifeincolour09 7 місяців тому

      @@megatronisfun It's just called "I quit" so it might hard to find. You can right click on the link I gave you and then press "Search Google for" or something like that and you'll find it. Or simply copy the text into Google search. UA-cam does let me paste full links in comments.

    • @benjalucian1515
      @benjalucian1515 7 місяців тому +11

      @@megatronisfun I think it's called "I quit."

  • @SuperParatech
    @SuperParatech Місяць тому +2

    Stumbled upon this channel today because I was looking for an old style food recipe.
    What an amazing presentation.
    Excellent about the pottage and enough information to create a variation at home.
    The historical context with accompanying illustrations really emphasises the amount of work and passion that went to making this video.
    What a privilege today to have seen it and learned something new.
    Thank you

  • @banannarama
    @banannarama 6 місяців тому +1583

    The “Died by misadventure” story is relatable, just recently I was drunk at home and gave myself a black eye by falling

    • @chriscase6929
      @chriscase6929 6 місяців тому +20

      Also sadly the official cause of death for the much missed Bon Scott.

    • @cyberneticshadow5572
      @cyberneticshadow5572 6 місяців тому +59

      That damn "falling sickness" 😂😂

    • @lucasshea3382
      @lucasshea3382 5 місяців тому +13

      Did the same thing except I was one cm away from being a pirate needless to say I have slowed down on the drinking 😂

    • @banannarama
      @banannarama 5 місяців тому +6

      @@lucasshea3382 oof I’m glad you’re okay! I too have cut back on drinking since the incident 😅

    • @Nichaansama
      @Nichaansama 5 місяців тому +3

      ​@@cyberneticshadow5572yoo that shi was funny, 😂

  • @lisapardini9790
    @lisapardini9790 7 місяців тому +761

    This reminds me of the poem, “peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot 9 days old” Now it makes sense.
    Always interesting Max!

    • @nickryan3417
      @nickryan3417 7 місяців тому +29

      The video on Pease Pottage was another good one. While the name of the dish is often mis-stated as "peas porridge", that was never the dish. For extra fun there is a place named "Pease Pottage".

    • @just_passing_through
      @just_passing_through 7 місяців тому +8

      Peas pudding is essential with corned silverside. Yummy!

    • @Jay-hr3rh
      @Jay-hr3rh 7 місяців тому +12

      For 55 years I've been saying "piece porridge."

    • @ccburro1
      @ccburro1 7 місяців тому +11

      I would assume that they had to keep their stews/porridges on low cooking all the time since they had no way besides that to safely store “leftovers”?

    • @TheBlackbelair
      @TheBlackbelair 6 місяців тому +5

      This is what children probably chanted as mother was cooking.

  • @himesilva
    @himesilva 8 місяців тому +712

    I love that having a ne'er do well friend with a gambling problem appears to be a timeless issue

  • @Philip-Bo-Bo
    @Philip-Bo-Bo 4 місяці тому +8

    Max Miller is great and should talk about more than food, because he talks so well and with such easy historical knowledge and insight. And he even pronounces Chaucer before the great vowel shift. I'm smitten, or smited, by the knife, and also by his comment that everything changes - not only English, but also pubs. Which is true. I've been in the The Tabard in Southwark, and it's great, but it's not the same as in Chaucer's day, although I bet Chaucer wishes it was, because it has lots of different beers not just 1 Ale. Thanks Max for bringing it to life and putting into words the pictures and sounds that matter in history. My grandmother had an everlasting stockpot on her stove, which was what they called a bokenarde in late Victorian times. Want to know what it tasted like? Marmite. It was great. If you like Marmite. (Of course I do).

  • @wlukemeyer
    @wlukemeyer 7 місяців тому +58

    Watching Max's kitchen over the year getting progressively more fancy behind him as he gets progressively more subscribers, GO MAX!

  • @atomic_wait
    @atomic_wait 8 місяців тому +321

    If you're ever in Seattle, in the nearby town of Carnation there's a historically accurate medieval village run as a living museum called Camlann. It includes a tavern with period accurate food and drink, and it's very tasty. Would recommend.

    • @paca_bill4863
      @paca_bill4863 8 місяців тому +26

      Yep, the Bors Hede Inne is a wonderful place to find some 14th century fare. We've been there for several of the Medieval Feasts they offer during the year. Lots of fun and great food, especially if you come in period garb! Highly recommend!

    • @atomic_wait
      @atomic_wait 8 місяців тому +11

      @@paca_bill4863 I've considered volunteering there but I've never been the theater kid type, seems like it lends itself to the theater kid type of personality.

    • @kathleenhensley5951
      @kathleenhensley5951 8 місяців тому +7

      I have one of their older cookbooks!

    • @Paperskinglassbones
      @Paperskinglassbones 8 місяців тому +8

      Added to my travel wishlist. Thanks!

    • @EmersSarah
      @EmersSarah 8 місяців тому +20

      What?!? I've lived in the Seattle area my entire life and have not heard of this place. How is this possible?!? I am checking it out immediately- Thank you!!

  • @elizaripper
    @elizaripper 8 місяців тому +10146

    I now want a D&D campaign that doesn’t leave the tavern because you spend the game figuring out what to order. 😃😋🥘🍻

    • @mrbuisnessdziffko5229
      @mrbuisnessdziffko5229 8 місяців тому +632

      It ends up being a very long session of dice rolls determining how wasted you are xd playing a dwarven berserker was a boon. We also drank irl, to make it more immersive

    • @TastingHistory
      @TastingHistory  8 місяців тому +868

      I think that sounds great

    • @dud3655
      @dud3655 8 місяців тому +453

      Dude... shrink the players to the size of ants... the kitchen has now become an entire country to explore. Let's say the party was accidentally served a shrink potion and their goal is reaching an antidote on the counter that was once a few dozen meters away from them, now thousands...

    • @WildWestSushi
      @WildWestSushi 8 місяців тому +82

      i thought i would have to scroll more to find a roleplay comment lol

    • @VieVentar
      @VieVentar 8 місяців тому +137

      Please no, don't suggest that around my players.
      So many god damn shopping episodes.

  • @kpadalldotablet1009
    @kpadalldotablet1009 2 місяці тому +5

    You do such a good job. Your passion for the subject shows clearly.

  • @its_clean
    @its_clean 8 місяців тому +311

    4:35 Max my dude don't ever apologize for your tangents. "Anyway I just thought that was interesting" is literally the reason we love you!

    • @princessolatino
      @princessolatino Місяць тому

      Truly! I find the tangents to be very insightful and just as entertaining as the actual topic of the video, and they add so much charm!

  • @placidandy
    @placidandy 6 місяців тому +762

    Brewing up ale and selling it from one's house used to be one of the few occupations available to basically anyone, specifically women who were often barred from professions. Brewsters used to be able to support themselves after their husband passed away or otherwise buggered off by selling small beer to the local kids. Heartwarming stuff!

    • @shawnbottom4769
      @shawnbottom4769 5 місяців тому +8

      One of the reasons it was necessary to establish the "standard pint" in those days!

    • @yoeyyoey8937
      @yoeyyoey8937 5 місяців тому +1

      What professions were women barred from and where?

    • @placidandy
      @placidandy 5 місяців тому +61

      @@yoeyyoey8937 most professions were strictly controlled by guilds or similar structures, such as licenses from the crown or royal appointments, this meant that there were literal gatekeepers to entry into professions- one couldn't simply decide to apprentice in a trade they had to be accepted by the relevant guild first. Women were barred from membership. For most of the feudal period there were strict structures in place to protect the social position of the various trades.

    • @yoeyyoey8937
      @yoeyyoey8937 5 місяців тому +3

      @@placidandy that makes sense. Were there any women’s guilds or did they just do whatever work didn’t require a membership?

    • @placidandy
      @placidandy 5 місяців тому +40

      @@yoeyyoey8937 there weren't souch women's guilds, as professions that were specific to women. For instance an unmarried woman who supported herself with sewing/spinning was called a spinster and someone, often female, who brewed ale was a brewster, hence the surnames today. This is all relating to the fixed and defined "professional trades" which were very rigid, the real world being what it is among poor families every family member would be pitching in with whatever the household was doing. A "cottage industry" meant a job that a household was performing alltogether, for instance if you had a loom in your house then every family member was probably helping to run it.

  • @Blackbubble90
    @Blackbubble90 8 місяців тому +177

    The broom outside the original alehouses was interesting: in Germany, there are still so called "Besenwirtschaften", directly translated that is something like Broom pub. They have a broom outside the door for recognizability. Those are temporary pubs where vintners used to seasonally sell their own wine. These are also part of the Alemannian "Fastnacht" every year, when all over the villages and towns broom pubs pop up to sell alcohol (not just wine) for a few days. They have different regulations than permanent pubs, there is actually a "Besenverordnung" (broom decree) to regulate them

    • @m.h.6470
      @m.h.6470 8 місяців тому +7

      Came here to say just that. They usually "pop up", during early wine season, so when you can get the first "Federweiße" (German term for partially fermented young wine).

    • @fabrisseterbrugghe8567
      @fabrisseterbrugghe8567 8 місяців тому +1

      Neueswein? That's what it was called near Mannheim when I lived there.

    • @m.h.6470
      @m.h.6470 8 місяців тому +2

      @@fabrisseterbrugghe8567 "Neuer Wein" and "Federweißer" are two names for the same thing.

    • @ThePokemap
      @ThePokemap 8 місяців тому +5

      I think this is also the origin of witch’s or at least the out fit and cauldron stereo type

    • @LessThanLucid
      @LessThanLucid 8 місяців тому +2

      ​@ThePokemap I was looking for someone to comment on that. I think I saw an article in the Smithsonian about women brewmasters and witch iconography.

  • @ElianeGrandys
    @ElianeGrandys 3 місяці тому +2

    I came for the recipes, stayed cz the story, and leaves with new knowledge.
    What a great channel to discover.
    English isnt my main language, i apologize for the bad grammar.

  • @caseysilkwood47
    @caseysilkwood47 8 місяців тому +227

    I am far more obsessed with the "more mundane" everyday life in the middle ages (or any time period for that matter) than I am with the royalty and nobility. I love video games like the Guild series that let you live the life of the everyday medieval citizen. Have you read Ian Mortimer's "Time Travelers's Guide to Medieval England"? It's one of my favorites!

    • @TastingHistory
      @TastingHistory  8 місяців тому +55

      I’ve read that several times as well as his other books. They’re fantastic.

    • @danielmantell3084
      @danielmantell3084 8 місяців тому +10

      Heh, was thinking about that book the entire time watching this video. More, "Good things to know when being teleported to the past".

    • @Ephesians5-14
      @Ephesians5-14 8 місяців тому +13

      Me too! I want to know how average and poor people lived because that was the vast majority of the population.

    • @rnabo031
      @rnabo031 8 місяців тому +5

      Than you will like Kingdom come: Deliverance

    • @caseysilkwood47
      @caseysilkwood47 8 місяців тому +3

      @rnabo031 I love it. It is one of my all-time favorites, and I remember being so excited when they first announced it.

  • @richardjohnson4052
    @richardjohnson4052 7 місяців тому +372

    Your perpetual stew sounds like what I grew up with on the farm and ranch. Mom would just keep topping it off with more water, spices and whatever meat and veggies were handy. It was on the cast-iron stove that was a stove and heater so was always hot.
    If hungry, we scooped a ladle for whatever meal.
    When my father was born, my grandmother set a chili pot on the cast iron stove and went to bed. Grandfather would keep refilling it until one day my 3 uncles got so tired of chili 3x a day so they dragged that pot into the desert and buried it, letting it ferment.
    Some day, some developer will discover that pot which will explode and destroy dozens of square miles of Arizona desert.

    • @blakksheep736
      @blakksheep736 7 місяців тому +7

      Pfffffffffffffft

    • @DrSabrinaRojek
      @DrSabrinaRojek 7 місяців тому +9

      Sounds epic

    • @humility-righteous-giving
      @humility-righteous-giving 7 місяців тому +3

      its quite amazing the liberties people take in explaining the explosiveness of sealed fermented foods!! they do not have remotely that kind of power, even to explode a glass jar is hard for a ferment ,,and not all ferments can build even that kind of pressure

    • @richardjohnson4052
      @richardjohnson4052 7 місяців тому +28

      @@humility-righteous-giving It was a joke! Like when military people stationed in Korea joke about kim-Chi being a land-mine.

    • @humility-righteous-giving
      @humility-righteous-giving 7 місяців тому +2

      @@richardjohnson4052 you win the exchange!! i solute you!!

  • @MattSuguisAsFondAsEverrr
    @MattSuguisAsFondAsEverrr 7 місяців тому +93

    Death by misadventure is when you accidentally die after knowing the possibility you would die that way

    • @myself8354
      @myself8354 5 місяців тому +3

      Such as going mountain climbing and falling to your death. You perish from something going wrong and succumbing to environmental hazards you were trying to avoid.

    • @heidimisfeldt5685
      @heidimisfeldt5685 Місяць тому

      Could mean quite a number of things. Open to interpretation.

    • @richkroberts
      @richkroberts Місяць тому

      Bon Scott of AC/DC was listed as dying of misadventure back in 1980 after he went out drinking and later died.

  • @kenle2
    @kenle2 3 місяці тому +62

    "Hey, Paladin"
    "Yes?"
    "We're cooking the dinner meal. We need you to smite this hen."
    "Uhh ... is it evil?"
    "Well, she looks pretty shifty to me. And I'm hungry, so ..."

  • @schildkroete
    @schildkroete 8 місяців тому +420

    Fun fact: Thanks to the Vikings, the English word "egg" was actually borrowed from Old Norse, and so it's actually closer in pronunciation to the words for 'egg' in Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Icelandic. Cognates for native Middle English "ey" ("eyren" in the plural) still exist in English's closest linguistic relatives such as Frisian, Dutch, and German, and like the word "ey" , those cognates also lack the final "g" sound.

    • @CrizzyEyes
      @CrizzyEyes 8 місяців тому +45

      I noticed that as a bit of a German speaker. The German word is "Ei," and "Eier" for plural, pronounced pretty much the same way.

    • @VoodooMcVee
      @VoodooMcVee 8 місяців тому +21

      @@CrizzyEyes Exactly. And before there was a standardised orthography for German, everyone wrote everything the way it was spoken, even in dialect. That's why spellings such as "Eyer", "Eyren" or "Eyeren" were perfectly possible.

    • @DisplayKeesBack
      @DisplayKeesBack 8 місяців тому +36

      Eieren is the Dutch word for eggs.

    • @wilhelmseleorningcniht9410
      @wilhelmseleorningcniht9410 8 місяців тому +21

      the reason for this by the way is a process called 'sharpening' (or Holtzmann's law) that Old Norse went through, where geminate J's and W's (note that J has the German quality here) hardened or 'sharpened' (sharpening is a loan translation from the German term Verschärfung) into a geminate ggj and ggv (the V is a W sound) sound.
      Egg was originally ajją in Proto-Germanic as it's reconstructed before becoming egg (the J was lost word finally) in Old Norse and ǣġ in Old English (the G there is incidental, that's just how Old English wrote J sounds, though some did come from the palatisation of G's)
      a similar thing happened again in Faroese, itself descendent from Old Norse, called Skerping in that language, which is how Jógvan is cognate to John in English. Latin Iōannēs was loaned as jóan, which being treated like "jówan" basically (makes more sense when you realise that Faroese also diphthongises long vowels, somewhat like English, in such a way that it generates a W type sound), got turned into Jógvan, note also the ó is shortened, fronted, and unrounded (though not in all places) like as in "yeh")

    • @dustintacohands1107
      @dustintacohands1107 8 місяців тому +10

      Old English sounds insane when spoken properly

  • @FreyaofCerberus
    @FreyaofCerberus 6 місяців тому +168

    I am constantly surprised at how delightfully wholesome this channel is. It doesn't hurt that it's combining my favorite two things. History and food. But it's the wholesome host that really sells it.

  • @liryns
    @liryns 8 місяців тому +53

    I love how in this recipe “egg” was “eyroun” - I went down a rabbit hole of documentaries where Canterbury Tales affects the course of English… and as I’m typing this you bring it up!

  • @sarah-ann2882
    @sarah-ann2882 2 місяці тому +1

    I LOVE your videos! My husband and I grow a big garden with chickens and we have kind of a passion of trying to cook like our ancestors with simple ingredients. Im a big fan of history also so its a perfect combo. THANK YOU

  • @purple_menace6604
    @purple_menace6604 7 місяців тому +437

    I love that wine scammers were publicly humiliated. In the ancient and medieval world alcohol was serious business!

    • @chaoticklutz3633
      @chaoticklutz3633 5 місяців тому +47

      Beyond serious. There were death penalties in Ancient Mesopotamia for wine and beer tampering. If someone was found to have tampered with wine/beer or knowingly sold bad wine/beer for money, they would be shoved in their own wine/beer barrels and drowned in their liquor.

    • @michellejarvis7878
      @michellejarvis7878 5 місяців тому +32

      With no knowledge that boiling water would make it safe to drink, beer and wine were widely consumed because they were safe. The fermenting process killed bacteria.
      Drinking alcohol that had been tampered with could kill you. It was serious business.

    • @flyerton99
      @flyerton99 5 місяців тому

      @@michellejarvis7878
      > With no knowledge that boiling water would make it safe to drink, beer and wine were widely consumed because they were safe. The fermenting process killed bacteria.
      The fermenting process uses BOILED WATER.
      This is a fucking historical myth, they were perfectly capable of boiling water! They just liked drinking alcohol because it was nice to drink!

    • @cheekibreeki4638
      @cheekibreeki4638 5 місяців тому +8

      I have admiration for the laws of the time, without a doubt more effective than what we have now.

    • @idolmike6779
      @idolmike6779 5 місяців тому +13

      ​@@cheekibreeki4638Yeah but the only problem is that innocents that were wrongly convicted still got killed

  • @julieneff9408
    @julieneff9408 8 місяців тому +1873

    "A lot fewer orcs and elves" - so, not none, just fewer?

    • @fillhixx
      @fillhixx 8 місяців тому +47

      Well,……yah..

    • @01cthompson
      @01cthompson 8 місяців тому +137

      I wish I could say the same about the bar down the street.

    • @michaeldonahue1009
      @michaeldonahue1009 8 місяців тому +112

      Evolutionary science posits that there must have been at least some orcs in earlier times. Oakland Raiders fans had to have come from somewhere.

    • @rcrawford42
      @rcrawford42 8 місяців тому +51

      A: "Mutants."
      B: "Trolls."
      A: "Mutants."
      B: "Trolls."
      A: "Mutant trolls."
      B: "I'll buy that."

    • @Qardo
      @Qardo 8 місяців тому +51

      It is said some humans are Orcs. Though, I will not speak further. May upset certain people. Even though they said it first.

  • @LewisMR2
    @LewisMR2 7 місяців тому +334

    That picture of a medieval town at 8:51 is called Exeter, I was born and raised there and still live there now. That bridge you see is actually still standing to this day.

    • @kavalogue
      @kavalogue 7 місяців тому +31

      How old are you now???? 8-900??

    • @evelanpatton
      @evelanpatton 7 місяців тому +7

      Thanks for that cool share. 🎉
      How lucky you are to live within a place whose local environmental investments by society still exist.
      In the U.S.A. We have some trees still left from this time, for the indigenous people’s lived with bio-mimicry, sustainable resource management, sustainable seasonal migration, & smaller communities- knowledge a little more naturally “alchemical”. Still, I love and am grateful to be able to be present in both, for different reasons. 🤎💚💛🧡

    • @MrPhilodoxical
      @MrPhilodoxical 7 місяців тому

      Wait until Joe Biden gets ahold of that bridge.

    • @squarecoffee8750
      @squarecoffee8750 7 місяців тому +15

      The city still has its roman wall ! Aswell as a 14c house that was physically moved to save it .

    • @morbidlyobeserobocop3038
      @morbidlyobeserobocop3038 7 місяців тому +4

      ​@@kavalogue
      They don't put salt in their food, helps em live longer

  • @McCuipandKitty-qw1wj
    @McCuipandKitty-qw1wj 3 місяці тому +5

    There is a pub where I used to live in stourmouth that was built in the 15th century. It was owned by the monks from Canterbury. Over 600 years its use has been changed from a brewery to a pub and back to a brewery over and over. It was used briefly as a salt house (salted meat storage) in the 17th century. The last time it was used as a brewery was in the 19th century when raiders burned the bridge and raided the whole area. After that it has been in constant use as a pub except for a short time in the 1970’s it was used as a post office. Still to this day you can sit by the fireplace that had a cauldron cooking stew for customers of the pub and the monks while it was a brewery. If you do visit the area you can visit the church there which was built in the 9th century

  • @typhoon2245
    @typhoon2245 7 місяців тому +31

    The more of these videos I watch, the more impressed I get about the research that is done before hand. That is a lot of work.

  • @Terpenesteve
    @Terpenesteve 7 місяців тому +132

    I know it can't be just me...but for some reason Medieval meals always look so good...They might not have had the best, or the most..but man did they do the best they could with what they had. Sometime a good hearty stew on a cold rainy day is just what the soul needs. Awesome video as always! I am so enamored by all these old recipes. Pretty much the foundlings of a lot of common day stews or soups we have nowadays !

    • @mikeg3439
      @mikeg3439 6 місяців тому +14

      I had farm raised food in a remote village in Italy. It was the most FOOD tasting food I had ever had. It was like mother nature herself was nourishing me. I came back to California and food just seemed like a shadow of it at best.
      We have bred out and modified much that is good in food, with mass produced farms that answer more to shareholders by far, than to consumers.
      If you can manage it, grow your own organic food. You'll notice the difference, trust me.

    • @GabrielGoods
      @GabrielGoods 6 місяців тому +13

      I make a strew we call BROWN.. like game of thrones.. meat, heaps of vegetables including root vegetables and cooked for ages.. and barley.. at the end.. it’s delicious.. nothing better than a bowl of brown on a cold day.. 😂😂

    • @TertorForss
      @TertorForss 5 місяців тому +2

      @@mikeg3439 There is indeed a huge difference in taste, smell, nutrition and even feel when you compare organic homegrown, normal foodstuffs to the modified monstrosities that look very pretty but have a fraction of the nutrients.
      Especially eggs! good quality eggs smell and taste great but the factory farmed ones are just bland, tasteless and sad and often with skewed omega profiles thanks to the garbage they are fed. Also applies to pigs in a big way. Chickens and pigs are the epitome of "you are what you eat" and pork especially can go damn near toxic thanks to the horrible things they are fed.
      I spent last summer on a farm, just a small basic farm but organic, more like they used to farm even just 100 years ago. And the pork was absolutely delicious, as were the eggs.
      And no wonder since the pigs just ate what the people ate, just organic veggies and the like. Honestly never felt so good as that summer, food is such a huge part of our well-being and yet its also so difficult to realise how badly your body is doing because you just get used to the poor quality food all around you.

    • @XIIchiron78
      @XIIchiron78 5 місяців тому +1

      I tend to find that kind of food the most satisfying too. An assortment of simple things done well.
      I think it appeals to us because it's more real? Than a lot of food today. It's all substance.

  • @kailexx1962
    @kailexx1962 7 місяців тому +268

    You can find Verjuice (Sour Grape Juice) at middle eastern markets/grocers. Its used for Shirazi (Persian Cucumber Salad).

    • @FauxReal.
      @FauxReal. 6 місяців тому +11

      Just like you get Asian ingredients from an Asian market, you get middle eastern ingredients from middle eastern markets

    • @TimGreigPhotography
      @TimGreigPhotography 6 місяців тому +2

      You can get it at most supermarkets in Australia. Its no big deal

    • @margaretf718
      @margaretf718 6 місяців тому +6

      This is not in American grocery stores and I found your comment helpful. ta

    • @robm6510
      @robm6510 6 місяців тому +7

      ​@@FauxReal.And medieval ingredients from cultures that haven't progressed beyond medieval times ...

    • @libbykelly2809
      @libbykelly2809 5 місяців тому

      @@robm6510oh…

  • @tobinsuke
    @tobinsuke 2 дні тому

    “There were a lot fewer orcs and elves” is the best casual aside I’ve heard anywhere in quite some time. Love this content and presentation.

  • @Sierra.Foxtrot
    @Sierra.Foxtrot 4 місяці тому +657

    The "eyroun" bit was pretty enlightening to me as it immediately evoked the modern dutch word that i knew for "eggs", "eieren". I find etymology to be a fascinating subject, and making these connections is always quite exciting, so thank you for this ;-)

    • @eigilholm6979
      @eigilholm6979 4 місяці тому +38

      It is interesting, because the germany-area of Germanic languages use eyroun-sounding names for eggs (Ei), whereas the Nordic countries use egg-sounding names for eggs (Ägg, æg, egg).

    • @thesilverpen
      @thesilverpen 4 місяці тому +12

      Thought the same, Germanic sound.

    • @JohnFromAccounting
      @JohnFromAccounting 4 місяці тому +4

      Do you think the Saxons brought over their word for egg?

    • @Mullafunka
      @Mullafunka 4 місяці тому +32

      The saxons probably brought over eyroun and the vikings Ägg, æg, egg.

    • @vojtechhoracek7704
      @vojtechhoracek7704 4 місяці тому +28

      @@Mullafunka Not probably, that's exactly what happened along with many other Norse words and grammar structures. Modern English is essentially four languages wearing a long trenchcoat, pretending to be one.

  • @hlynnkeith9334
    @hlynnkeith9334 7 місяців тому +30

    Max, 15:00 So glad that you cleared up the use of the trebuchet. I, too, got the image of a woman being flung 400 yards as punishment. The chastisement doth not fit the crime.

  • @andersonic
    @andersonic 8 місяців тому +95

    I hope to heaven you meet up with JDraper in London! Two of my favorite infectiously enthusiastic history buffs.

    • @cauldronmoon
      @cauldronmoon 8 місяців тому +9

      I love Jenny Draper of London. She is entertaining, funny and smart.😀

    • @michelehood8837
      @michelehood8837 8 місяців тому +7

      Love J Draper!!!

    • @unrulycrow6299
      @unrulycrow6299 7 місяців тому

      That would be such a FUN collab tbh

    • @VinceWhitacre
      @VinceWhitacre 7 місяців тому +2

      Hopefully Max will take one of Jenny's tours - they can do a video together.

  • @dede07gee
    @dede07gee 3 місяці тому +2

    I love the Pokémon in the background it’s actually what got me watching these videos and then I got into the history of these videos

  • @trublgrl
    @trublgrl 8 місяців тому +246

    Yeah, "Likewise, the woman brewer shall be punished by the... trebuchet..." made me double-take as well. I'm glad Max looked into it. The explanation reminded me that when I was a kid, the summer camp I went to, HAD a dunking sort of trebuchet, though no one called it that. They did theatrical themes at the camp every week, and one was that outlaws were raiding the camp. The punishment, once they were caught, was a good ol' dunkin' in the pond.
    On a trebuchet, apparently.

    • @flannelpillowcase6475
      @flannelpillowcase6475 8 місяців тому +9

      That sounds incredible

    • @lukascph
      @lukascph 8 місяців тому +10

      Very interesting! Probably where the Simpsons writers got their catapult from.

    • @nellgwenn
      @nellgwenn 8 місяців тому +10

      I immediately got a vision on Monty Python...Run Away!

    • @andersjjensen
      @andersjjensen 8 місяців тому

      Executioner: "This dishonest hag, who goes by the name of Mary the Piss Pitcher, has been found guilty of thinning down the Ale not once, not twice, but THRICE by the Royal Ale Conners. Her life, in the eyes of the law, is thus forfeit as a reminder for all who witness".
      ZOINK
      "Shriiiiiieeeeeeek"
      SPLAT!
      I mean, it sounds Medieval all right. Wouldn't even be the most gruesome practice of the time period. Though perhaps a bit excessive for fudging the QC. Glad they only resorted to mechanical dunking. But it does beg the question: Was the practice so common they had to utilize mechanical help to not build a back-log, or did they use the trebuchet solely because it looked scary?

    • @evelanpatton
      @evelanpatton 7 місяців тому +2

      Too much litigation in our country today to try & maintain that kind of historical recreation, someone could “poke an eye out” & then sue (not just wear a patch for life & have a great story for which to scare the kiddies with…arrrrr!

  • @marlabrunker738
    @marlabrunker738 8 місяців тому +146

    FWIW: "misadventure" is when you do something for fun that you know has an element of risk (getting drunk at a tavern, in the example provided in this video [~16:00]), but then whatever you were risking actually occurs (falling down on your way home, breaking your skull, and dying, in this case).
    Other examples would include most sports injuries: skiers don't expect to break their legs, scuba divers don't expect to get the bends, horse riders don't expect to get thrown, etc; but these are known risks and they do happen. Such instances are misadventures.
    (I apologize if this is old news to y'all. I only learned it recently.)

    • @arthas640
      @arthas640 7 місяців тому +15

      thank you for adding to my autistic hoard of trivia information and grammar

    • @Llortnerof
      @Llortnerof 7 місяців тому +11

      In other words, they went on an adventure and failed in some unexpected but not unreasonable or unusual way.

    • @marlabrunker738
      @marlabrunker738 7 місяців тому +10

      @@Llortnerof
      Yup.
      All those corpses on Mount Everest?
      Deaths by misadventure.

    • @jenx5870
      @jenx5870 7 місяців тому +6

      Basically, an accidental death caused by a risk voluntarily taken by the deceased person. That would be the official definition of death by misadventure.

    • @Crimea_River
      @Crimea_River 24 дні тому +2

      Would HIV count?

  • @artcoughlin8403
    @artcoughlin8403 8 місяців тому +55

    definitely ending some work emails with "bestir yourself to correct these matters" love it 😆

  • @Dante010176
    @Dante010176 Місяць тому +3

    Your reading of the old text is amazing!

  • @PLuMUK54
    @PLuMUK54 7 місяців тому +165

    My Grandma kept a stewpot on the cast iron cooking range from the time of her marriage in the 1910s to the 1950s when the range was removed. It was even transferred from her first home to the house where I currently live. Every day, vegetables were added to the pot, at weekends, meat was added, and daily potatoes were placed in the oven to bake. It was the only way to provide good food at a time of poverty.

    • @kellygable1668
      @kellygable1668 7 місяців тому +4

      hey thanks , answered my question . they just kept adding to the same pot .

    • @PLuMUK54
      @PLuMUK54 7 місяців тому +25

      ​@@kellygable1668 People added what they had, either what they could harvest in their garden (if they were lucky enough to have one) or whatever was cheap in the shops. Meat might not be added for weeks if money was short. As a result, the flavour varied almost daily. In bad times it might be almost a soup. In good times it would have beef and lots of vegetables. The gravy was so dark it was almost black. Each day water was added as well.
      The taste was unbelievably good. These days I sometimes make a stew in a slow cooker and leave it for several days bubbling away. Not as good, but a nice reminder of times past.

    • @Narnendil
      @Narnendil 7 місяців тому +5

      Did she ever clean the pot during those years? Wouldn't the inside of the pot gradually get more and more coated with layers of old food?

    • @SuzD0n
      @SuzD0n 7 місяців тому +7

      Also known in my area as a stock pot.

    • @ianheding7830
      @ianheding7830 7 місяців тому +11

      The rule... I think... would be once any meat or bone was added... nothing could be taken from the pot for a good 12 - 24 hours... ie the time needed to kill any added germs. A crockpot will work the same way...ie if you toss a chicken in a crockpot and have a feed 3 hours later.... you will get very sick... wait 24 hours... And you will be fine.(personal experience)... keep to this rule and the crockpot will feed you Forever.

  • @bigblueboringer
    @bigblueboringer 6 місяців тому +100

    Every town in England claims to have the oldest inn, lol. You could probably organise a month-long “oldest inn” pub crawl and still have more places! Hope you enjoy your trip next month and experience some real ales and pub grub!

    • @katybeaumont
      @katybeaumont 6 місяців тому +4

      Listen to the Oldest Pub episode of the History Hit podcast where the guy explains the issues with “oldest pub” claims.

    • @Jonas-lj8ul
      @Jonas-lj8ul 5 місяців тому +1

      You'd die of alcohol poisoning before you ended the row!

  • @Lionstar16
    @Lionstar16 8 місяців тому +111

    I love your little shout out to William Caxton as I live on a street named after him and there was even a pub called 'The Caxton' before it was renamed 'The Print House'

  • @jamesmoses9646
    @jamesmoses9646 4 місяці тому +11

    My man, you tickle my funny bone. The "trebuchet for the wine merchant women" slayed me.

  • @garyvincent5619
    @garyvincent5619 8 місяців тому +344

    "I'm not drunk! I just have the falling sickness!" 😆

    • @Jonas-lj8ul
      @Jonas-lj8ul 5 місяців тому +6

      Gonna want to remember that line...

    • @GalaxyNewsRadio_
      @GalaxyNewsRadio_ 3 місяці тому +4

      @@Jonas-lj8ulsadly, by the time ur falling that’s gonna be difficult

  • @bobbyhumphries2929
    @bobbyhumphries2929 6 місяців тому +72

    As someone who is THE household cook for the wife and kids, I LOVE videos like this. My home IS the TAVERN for our neighbors. Great video.

    • @emilinano
      @emilinano 5 місяців тому +4

      This sounds sooo cool!

  • @Zippsterman
    @Zippsterman 8 місяців тому +240

    As a beekeeper I've made my fair share of mead, I'd definitely like to see you do a video covering it.
    People tend to expect it to be sweet since it's made from honey, but every fermented drink starts sweet and dries out as the sugar is consumed. I much prefer dry mead, which ends up in a strange duality where it smells sweet but tastes clean and dry. It also ages incredibly well, and will last decades if stored properly.

    • @borjaslamic
      @borjaslamic 8 місяців тому +21

      I'm pretty sure he did one, couple of years (has it been years?) back.

    • @excession3076
      @excession3076 8 місяців тому +2

      There's a lot of Meads on sale in the UK, most I'd say or at least the ones more readily available, that have been "back sweetened" or flavoured with various fruit/herbs.
      It's kind of hard to get hold of a good mead that has been completely fermented.
      And as you say, it's dry and clean, but expensive as it comes from smaller, specialist makers.
      My son in law makes mead, unfortunately he's not that good at it TBH. But he tries....and it's pretty alcoholic so it hits the spot, lol.

    • @supergeek1418
      @supergeek1418 8 місяців тому +7

      As a former bee keeper, myself, I totally relate, and agree. It's been 25 years since I last kept bees or made a batch, but I still have a few bottles, and the last time I had some it was still quite flowery, and incredibly smooth. Mead (like honey) lasts a *very* long time.

    • @FunkyFyreMunky
      @FunkyFyreMunky 8 місяців тому +6

      Hello fellow home-brewer. I'd love to see Max do a video on "Pyment", which is an old method (popular with the Romans) of bulking up a poor grape crop's sugar content with honey. It can make an interestingly complex tipple with the honey notes working well with the grape.

    • @miriambertram2448
      @miriambertram2448 8 місяців тому +1

      J draper is a great channel.

  • @tr-vor9978
    @tr-vor9978 2 місяці тому +1

    clicking on a UA-cam video about medieval taverns and getting 12 minutes through, just to notice the same darkrai plush I have sitting behind him. The darkrai for me was the cherry on top for the video and earned him a subscriber.

  • @markzanetti6228
    @markzanetti6228 7 місяців тому +26

    some algorithm sent me here for my first viewing. I loved your story telling of inns, taverns and ale houses and the lessons in language.
    and apparently so do over 2 million others (subscribers) . I joined as well.

    • @hmsmile1225
      @hmsmile1225 7 місяців тому

      lucky you, so many vids to watch- enjoy😊

  • @ralphpruitt2731
    @ralphpruitt2731 7 місяців тому +23

    The fact that you brought up all of the printing press changed the the English language is fascinating as always, keep up the good work

  • @laurieprichard8760
    @laurieprichard8760 7 місяців тому +19

    Being a member of the SCA, and having cooked for a reenacted Tavern a few times, this segment was heartwarming, delightful and entertainingly educational! Thank you!

  • @Labdominals
    @Labdominals Місяць тому +2

    14:22 - It's good to see "Assay" survived the test of time 👌🏼

  • @Venurkel
    @Venurkel 8 місяців тому +47

    As a native Dutch I noticed that we picked eyren (or eieren as we write it) over eggs ;) Great to see how English is one big cocktail of languages. Love the channel Max! Highlight of my Tuesday commute back home.

    • @misterthegeoff9767
      @misterthegeoff9767 8 місяців тому +3

      It makes sense that eyren was the word used in the south then as that is where the germanic settlers were compared to the Vikings further north with their eggs. England is a big cocktail of different invasions and migrations which explains the mess that is the language.

    • @ChrisTian-rm7zm
      @ChrisTian-rm7zm 7 місяців тому +1

      In German it's "Eier"

  • @5uxxo2
    @5uxxo2 7 місяців тому +17

    Every time Max tastes his food, he is so wonderfully enthusiastic and seems to really enjoy it.
    But I'm beginning to think that it's not the recipes that are good, but that Max is simply an excellent cook, making every dish an experience.

  • @scinanisern9845
    @scinanisern9845 7 місяців тому +205

    Bubble and squeak.
    My mom saw electricity born and come to town. Her mother used to go around and plug things into the sockets to make sure the electricity didn't leak. She saw WWII and worked to do what she could to prepare for invasion. I often sat beside her and asked many questions of what was life like before the light bulb, before the war. She spoke of many things including the taverns and inns. The ever simmering stew was featured by the low fire, and always ready for a bowl. Hunters game, garden critters, vegetables were added as needed with no particular favor for one or another. The pot was ever simmering, and so in time water would boil off, leaving a skin over the top which would grow quite thick. As the stew simmered underneath the bubbles would gather under the skin until enough pressure developed to open an escape and the pot would squeak and wail as it exhausted the built up gasses. Bubble and squeak... whatever is in that pot.

    • @tanhanunna6815
      @tanhanunna6815 7 місяців тому +16

      What great narration! ❤

    • @Thecaptainblackadder
      @Thecaptainblackadder 7 місяців тому +30

      It is funny that I have also witnessed electricity come to my village even though I am a millennial (1982 born in rural India).
      I can find parallels to many of the things mentioned in this video even though food, language and the habits are different.

    • @patmalloy3569
      @patmalloy3569 7 місяців тому +6

      It's unfortunate to learn that these ways of life will soon be gone, if they aren't completely already.

    • @Thecaptainblackadder
      @Thecaptainblackadder 7 місяців тому +28

      @@patmalloy3569 happy for it to be gone. It is one thing to watch a UA-cam video about how was it to be without electricity and altogether a different reality to live without electricity.

    • @matheusgraef
      @matheusgraef 7 місяців тому +1

      this is incredibly well written.

  • @davep7223
    @davep7223 2 місяці тому +1

    You have instilled in me a need and want to cook food that I never knew I needed. Thank you for your content and ideas. I have learned much and cooked even more because of you. So, just a humble thank you!

  • @writerinrwanda
    @writerinrwanda 8 місяців тому +40

    Home brewing has recently been banned for the most part in Rwanda, but before then people would brew at home and put a banana leaf over the door to show that they were selling. Usually beer made from banana, sorghum, or honey and served in a calibash. Potent stuff. The nuns in Nyamirambo used to brew a banana beer so strong that you had to take your own plastic bottle and they would never sell you more than 1ltr, which was plenty. Looked like muddy river water and trampled like an elephant.

    • @CrizzyEyes
      @CrizzyEyes 8 місяців тому +5

      Banana beer sounds amazing, I'd love to try it.

    • @writerinrwanda
      @writerinrwanda 8 місяців тому +5

      ​@@CrizzyEyesIt's kind of an acquired taste. Take alka seltzer 😄 They have a version in a can called Akarusho, but it's not so good. Bit overpowering.

  • @himssendol6512
    @himssendol6512 6 місяців тому +255

    When i was in middle school my mom had surgery and was hospitalised for 3 months. My dad had a continuous soup/ stew going in a mid size pot the whole time. The soup would slowly change due to the different meat and vege he'd add every couple other day. After dinner when the pot is cooled enough it would go in the fridge til the next evening. Me and my brother ate surprisingly well during those months. 🤷‍♂️

    • @dcmhsotaeh
      @dcmhsotaeh 5 місяців тому +1

      No online ordering ?

    • @intercommerce
      @intercommerce 5 місяців тому

      5ŕŕ4⁴555544444455543aa⁵tģýŕàfRrzn

    • @oxlip
      @oxlip 5 місяців тому +17

      @@dcmhsotaeh how long ago do you think this was haha

    • @darienb1127
      @darienb1127 4 місяці тому +7

      That sounds awesome, honestly. But I know for a fact I would get sick of it after like a month.

    • @fainitesbarley2245
      @fainitesbarley2245 4 місяці тому +3

      Yeah my mother had a ‘stockpot’ and everything went in it

  • @Nexiusify
    @Nexiusify 8 місяців тому +34

    Lol the pic of Maxwell Sheffield was just perfectly Primed. I'm such a 'The Nanny' Fan.

  • @JustJobeMY
    @JustJobeMY Місяць тому +6

    3:59 i heard it as 'LOL'

  • @amogus694
    @amogus694 6 місяців тому +110

    Verjuice is still used widely in Syrian cuisine (probably other middle eastern cuisines as well ) from salad dressing to cooking everything has verjuice in it. people always have multiple bottles of verjuice in the attic ready to be used.

  • @davidcenteau-depina6192
    @davidcenteau-depina6192 8 місяців тому +34

    Max is excellent at making unappetizing food sound great and my 10 month old granddaughter loves his voice. She just veggies out on the couch with me and watches the video.

  • @JacobafJelling
    @JacobafJelling 7 місяців тому +193

    “Smite” lovely.
    Good to hear some old ‘rare’ words. Brings about joy to me

    • @kennyleung9909
      @kennyleung9909 6 місяців тому

      Smite the "kid." 😄

    • @hangedups2608
      @hangedups2608 5 місяців тому

      WAS YOU ABOUT THEN ?

    • @MikeFowlerguitars
      @MikeFowlerguitars 5 місяців тому +1

      Perchance we should hear it again.

    • @Notaripoffbruh
      @Notaripoffbruh 5 місяців тому +1

      @@MikeFowlerguitarsI would definitely hark to that idea

    • @morobrany
      @morobrany 5 місяців тому +1

      Yes, and a wonderful irregular verb: smite, smote, smitten. (Not a regular verb, so not "smited" for the past tense.)

  • @fred-yy6jd
    @fred-yy6jd 2 місяці тому +1

    I love your videos. This video was really interesting especially the part about how taverns had pots that cooked food perpetually.

  • @davidhogg8952
    @davidhogg8952 7 місяців тому +16

    I'm in England. I found your description of the various levels of hostelries fascinating. My house was built, far more recently, in 1865. It was originally a beer house. This was far more down market than, say, a pub. This was a place that brewed beer and served it cheaply to the locals. The beer was stored in the cellar (I still have the cellar) and bought up in jugs to fill the glasses of the customers. Amazingly, even today, many of these traditions continue with small micro-breweries producing beer and serving simple local foods. Here in Stoke on Trent our local stew is called "lobby" a variation of lobscouse from Wales, made from shin beef and root vegetables and not far off from what would have been served in Medieval times.

  • @DreadSwine
    @DreadSwine 7 місяців тому +105

    Made this dish for my family this Sunday and it was so good. Super unique but amazing! I'll never financially recover from buying the saffron though

    • @chillinwosbornesm9281
      @chillinwosbornesm9281 7 місяців тому +6

      The saffron 😂😂😂

    • @DrCarlBooze
      @DrCarlBooze 6 місяців тому

      Grow your own

    • @mattburgess5697
      @mattburgess5697 6 місяців тому +10

      Buy in bulk and save. You know, buy the jumbo 3 gram packet.

    • @Hakken1
      @Hakken1 6 місяців тому +2

      I was thinking the same watching this. Apparently they just threw saffron around back then like a common herb.

    • @mmyr8ado.360
      @mmyr8ado.360 6 місяців тому

      Either you bought the really good stuff from Syria or you got swindled by the double digits. Hope it's good.

  • @AlbertBuckinghamEllison
    @AlbertBuckinghamEllison 7 місяців тому +34

    Cornish Mead is incredible - Comes in various flavors (peach, blackberry etc.). There are a few meaderies left that are still kept in the traditional fashion. Staff all dress in period attire, they are effectively taverns with dim, cozy lighting and wooden pews with oak tables serving simple food like this with a modern twist. There are about 3 good ones left in England with two in Penzance that the locals keep on the down-low.

    • @DrSabrinaRojek
      @DrSabrinaRojek 7 місяців тому +2

      Sounds amazing. Creating this as a full time community in NC. With similar tavern feel...stew 9 days old... Healings and life is natural. Do wish we could invite SOME orcs and whatnot...for a little spice

  • @niek024
    @niek024 7 днів тому +2

    At 15:44 , that's a portrait of the medieval German singer-songwriter Oswald von Wolkenstein. I don't think he died of that specific misadventure.

  • @bradyvelvet9432
    @bradyvelvet9432 7 місяців тому +26

    You’ve done it now Max.
    You’ve just become the Tavern Keeper NpC in my next dnd game!

  • @SchleeSchlee
    @SchleeSchlee 8 місяців тому +293

    I'm on board for bringing the word "smite" back into popular usage 😂 thanks for another great video, Max!!

    • @TastingHistory
      @TastingHistory  8 місяців тому +44

      😂 let’s make it happen

    • @ChuJungyin
      @ChuJungyin 8 місяців тому +6

      Did someone say "smite"? ⚔️🛡
      ua-cam.com/video/Ch5vWBPCrl0/v-deo.html

    • @rosameryrojas-delcerro1059
      @rosameryrojas-delcerro1059 8 місяців тому +16

      So a papercut is now a paper-smite?? Talk about a hypochondriacs dream injury.

    • @RonJohn63
      @RonJohn63 8 місяців тому +1

      @@rosameryrojas-delcerro1059 I'm not sure that "smite" does double duty as a noun and verb.

    • @beashemmad.sayson545
      @beashemmad.sayson545 8 місяців тому

      @@rosameryrojas-delcerro1059what’s a hypochondriac

  • @oafik4939
    @oafik4939 5 місяців тому +71

    I did enjoy the bit of digression on the origin of the word eggs, I thought that was perfectly in theme with the video and think that actually was a very welcome addition. I came here to learn, and learn I did.

    • @garethbaus5471
      @garethbaus5471 2 місяці тому

      Apparently egg comes from old Norse.

  • @darksidemachining
    @darksidemachining 2 місяці тому

    Splendid video. In Yosemite National Park back in the ‘60s and ‘70s a whole bunch of us would rock climb nearly year round. A number of us were from overseas to climb the world famous granite rock faces of the valley. The rules back then for camping were extremely lax and we were allowed to camp with no restrictions. Our main base camp was called Camp 4 and the foreign climbers introduced Potage to help feed those who had barely any money. A massive soup pot of Potage was set on constantly burning coals and kept at a simmer 24/7. Many climbers (crag rats) brought vegetables and meat to throw in the pot and kept it topped off. After a day of climbing we would bring a bowl and help ourselves at no cost. It was wonderfully delicious and filling.

  • @artinaam
    @artinaam 7 місяців тому +129

    I'm lucky enough to be the brewmaster at the oldest restaurant/inn in Poland (and probably in continental Europe as well) - Piwnica Świdnicka (Świdnicka Cellar / Schweidnitzer Keller in German) in Wrocław. Originally it started as an alehouse and no food was served there (people even used to come with their own snacks which they bought at the market square) and then became a full scale restaurant in the late 18th century. Last year the place celebrated its 750th birthday and all of the bricks definitely date back to the Middle Ages - the inn is located in the gothic cellars of the city hall. If you ever find yourselves in Wrocław, then feel free to come for a beer and some local food! :)

    • @kavalogue
      @kavalogue 7 місяців тому +12

      It blows my mind that there's such prestige and history to the restaurant/inn you work at. 750 years. And then on the other side of Europe there's Sean's bar that's just been existing since the 12th century some 1000 and something years old. Do you honestly think the people who started these establishments thought they'd exist that long? Absolutely crazy

    • @ronbork684
      @ronbork684 6 місяців тому +1

      Thank you Max for this very interesting and enjoyable video.
      What interesting stories, delicious foods, and joyous times will be had when all these past generations return in the resurrection that Christ Jesus foretold, and William Tyndale championed above the immortal soul Doctrine supported by Sir Thomas More. John 5:28,29

    • @luxborealis
      @luxborealis Місяць тому

      @@kavalogue Is Sean still running it?

  • @twiggledy5547
    @twiggledy5547 8 місяців тому +47

    Funny thing regarding the Alehouses. They still exist, in a form, in the eastern part of Bavaria in Germany. They are called "Zoigl", which is a Bavarian bastardization of the High German "Zeichen" meaning 'sign'. Named after that sign you mentioned being posted on the door of a house serving homemade beer. They are proper businesses now, usually opening up once or twice a month. They brew their own beer or otherwise sell small batch beers from local brewers. They offer simple, traditional meals and the décor is, as a rule, cozy. Lots of farm tools, paintings of pastoral scenes and so on. People sit wherever space is, regardless if you know the person next to you or not. If you are ever East of Nuremburg or North of Regensburg, ask a local if one is open nearby. It's an experience for sure!

    • @matthewblackwelder6487
      @matthewblackwelder6487 8 місяців тому

      Are they open year round or just seasonally? (I saw a lot of comments about the Besenwirtschaft which seemed seasonal, did I understand right?)

    • @twiggledy5547
      @twiggledy5547 8 місяців тому +2

      @@matthewblackwelder6487 Year round mostly. Each Zoigl usually publishes their own calender with opening times.

    • @aivylotus4583
      @aivylotus4583 8 місяців тому +1

      @@matthewblackwelder6487 If it is a true "Besen" (without a traditional gastronomic license) they are required by law to open for no more than four months per year, usually split into two (early spring and late fall). Opening a third time is also prohibited.

    • @aethelred9781
      @aethelred9781 4 місяці тому

      Why aren't they open every day or at least a great deal more often? What are they doing there the rest of the time while they're closed that takes up so much time that they can only open once or twice a month? I've never heard of someone operating a business that rarely ever opens, they'd go right out of business. It's pointless to even have a business if it only serves its intended purpose a couple times a month.

    • @freigeist77
      @freigeist77 Місяць тому +1

      @@aethelred9781 Simply, because they are family winemakers, most of them as a family driven part time job. most of them have a regularly daily job too. in the early days, you did sit in their private livingroom. today it is more like a cosy wooden small restaurant in their winemaker property.

  • @Vulcanerd
    @Vulcanerd 8 місяців тому +55

    Today, on Tasting History with Max Miller, Max shows you exactly how to make A Modest Proposal stew with children! Thanks Max!

  • @cathifeyer-longfellow3084
    @cathifeyer-longfellow3084 2 місяці тому +1

    Was so happy to find you I've been doing Ren Fairs for 40 years an I love Mead n Dragons Breath n the stew in bread bowls is so entertaining thank you peace and love to the world

  • @jmjlori
    @jmjlori 7 місяців тому +17

    As a tutor for reading and a lover of English/language in general, I so appreciate your story of William Caxton! I have saved it to share when we are questioning origins of words!

  • @LittleMissBob
    @LittleMissBob 7 місяців тому +17

    Nottingham has at least two pubs that argue about being the oldest in the city. The Olde Trip To Jerusalem is attached to the sandstone caves under the castle (of which only the walls are still Norman, everything else is very Ship Of Theseus), which were a brew house for the castle from the medieval period onward. The Salutation Inn has unusually large caves beneath it that have been dated back to 9th century as a saxon farm.
    The caves under Nottingham are generally just pretty neat in general! They're all man-made, with references to their existence from 893 AD onwards. They've hosted the only medieval underground tannery in the UK, were used as cellars for many pubs/taverns/alehouses/whathaveyou, housing for the poor until that got banned in 1800s, and the later as air raid shelters during WW2.
    They almost filled all the caves with concrete to build a shopping centre in the 60s. Thankfully there was a huge outcry against it!

    • @lordeden2732
      @lordeden2732 7 місяців тому

      The Adam and Eve Tavern in the Medevil city of Norwich predates the trip to Jerusalem.
      Bult to serve the stone masons and labourers working on Norwich Cathedral.
      Built as a Monks brew house.

  • @amygodward4472
    @amygodward4472 7 місяців тому +126

    For a few years I lived off grid in the woods in rural France. In the winter, I had the stove going at a slow constant and on it I would have a large dutch oven with a potage i would have going for months with herbs I found around (marjolaine, thyme, bay leaf, juniper berry), with turnips, carrots, onions, garlic and wheat grains. A glass of red wine and hunted venison added a few days later and I inadvertently made the most delicious dish I have ever tasted in my life. I was so so poor at this point in my life, but I have never eaten better!

    • @Defx10
      @Defx10 7 місяців тому +4

      You should make a youtube channel telling about this period in your life. It would be fascinating!

    • @paigey-poo4235
      @paigey-poo4235 7 місяців тому +1

      Mmmmmm that sounds so good next time I get my hands on some venison I’ll have to try to recreate it . I would see if my cousins have any I can barter for

    • @capoman1
      @capoman1 7 місяців тому

      God bless you. And God bless the unique experiences we all have to share.

    • @Imperial_Lizardgirl
      @Imperial_Lizardgirl 7 місяців тому +1

      ​@@Defx10 I agree with whole of what's left of my mending heart.

    • @jenx5870
      @jenx5870 7 місяців тому +1

      Minus the venison, it sounds good. I can't eat deer meat - too gamey. I could probably try that with beef, though. I add marjoram and thyme to my beef stew and soups. This recipe sounds similar. I would love to live in the middle of nowhere again. Just not off the grid. My son would have fits without his Internet and video games.

  • @axehead45
    @axehead45 25 днів тому +1

    I honestly would have loved to visit one of these back in the day. Mostly because it just sounds so friendly and homey

  • @Lostboy811
    @Lostboy811 8 місяців тому +27

    Modern History does a great job in explaining the differences between taverns and Inns and pubs.

  • @GiselleMF
    @GiselleMF 8 місяців тому +141

    The last time I was this early I got out of Florence right before the Plague lockdown, then spent several weeks out in the countryside with nine of my closest friends, swapping stories.

    • @TastingHistory
      @TastingHistory  8 місяців тому +69

      Sounds delightful! Tell Boccaccio I say sup.

    • @GiselleMF
      @GiselleMF 8 місяців тому +30

      @@TastingHistory **wipes away a tear** I'm so happy someone got the reference!

    • @joanhoffman3702
      @joanhoffman3702 8 місяців тому +1

      Wait until you learn how to put the devil into hell! It’s a real knee slapper! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

    • @renmcqueen
      @renmcqueen 8 місяців тому +3

      @@GiselleMFmy favorite book!!

    • @kathleenhensley5951
      @kathleenhensley5951 8 місяців тому +2

      Lovely time, that, but sorrowful too.

  • @spartanhawk7637
    @spartanhawk7637 8 місяців тому +43

    First, totally making this my character's favorite tavern meal in my Pathfinder group. Character runs his own tavern and I've had it be a running theme that I try to keep it extremely historically accurate.
    Also hearing you say "smite the meat" made me imagine you cutting a haunch of lamb using a scottish claymore.

  • @Dante010176
    @Dante010176 Місяць тому +2

    This is unbelievably interesting! 'Eyren' reminds me of the German word 'Eier,' meaning 'eggs.' Naturally, the south of England is closer to Germany than the north, which might explain some linguistic similarities. For example, in German-speaking regions, there's a difference in the word for 'tomato': in southern areas, it's 'Paradeiser,' while in northern regions, it's 'Tomate.' This could be due to regional influences and proximity.

  • @cinedelasestrellas
    @cinedelasestrellas 7 місяців тому +52

    At 2:00, in the illustration you can see that the cauldron is hanging from a device that looks a bit like a saw. That is called a “cremaillere” and it is used to adjust the height of the pot over the fire. There’s a fancy French restaurant called “La Cremaillere” not too far from my home.

    • @lewlavabra6811
      @lewlavabra6811 7 місяців тому +10

      very true ! and actually in modern french we still use the expression "hanging the crémaillère" when someone just moved into a new place and invites their friends&family to celebrate their moving-in
      i believe it's because back in the old days, the crémaillère was an essential tool in any house, which you had to install before anyone moved in, so that they would be able to make food and heat up water
      so basically, "crémaillère hanging / pendaison de crémaillère" is the direct french translation of "housewarming party" :)

    • @vargasmartin7143
      @vargasmartin7143 7 місяців тому +2

      In spanish, zippers are called "cremalleras". Thats probably were it came from.
      Well in my country they call it "cierre" but in most they call it cremallera 😃

    • @a.m.7165
      @a.m.7165 7 місяців тому +4

      To step it up a notch in English or "Einen Zahn zulegen" in German comes from this too, both meaning to do something faster, although to get your stew to cook faster, you'd had to step it DOWN a notch😅

  • @fuzexi
    @fuzexi 7 місяців тому +70

    I used to live in Southwark, and although the Tabard disappeared in he 1800’s, the square where it was is still there, and the George Inn, which shared the square is still there, and is the last galleried coaching inn in London, I believe. I have never been there because I don’t drink, but it’s there for all those interested and passing by.

    • @ericadams3428
      @ericadams3428 7 місяців тому +2

      Yes, its still there and well worth a visit

    • @gregeaston5270
      @gregeaston5270 7 місяців тому +2

      I used to live on Tabard square and I think the Inn referred is still there, a really good pub called the Royal Oak although no longer a coaching inn. (Could be wrong). Yes the George is still there and great

  • @thenoeticskeptic5819
    @thenoeticskeptic5819 6 місяців тому +61

    The lievito madre (mother dough), a fermented mixture of flour and water containing microorganisms like wild yeast and lactobacilli, is the starter for Sourdough bread. Each time the dough is made, a piece is taken aside for use in the next batch. Some San Francisco, California bakeries have been using mother dough since the mid-1800s.

    • @BobUikder-ig4uq
      @BobUikder-ig4uq 3 місяці тому +1

      Not quite. Pasta madre is a type of stiff sourdough, maintained at low hydration, usually 40-50% water. It is widely used in Italy, and mainly known to leaven egg and dairy laden enriched doughs like pandoro and panettone. If you want to make pannetone, you have to use pasta madre. If you want to make sourdough, you just need sourdough starter, which is much more simple to make vs pasta madre. most sourdough starters are 70-80 percent hydration, and a lot of the ones being sold saying they’re from the 1800’s or older are just dried and powdered sourdough starter (which is 80 hydration). Sourdough starter and pasta madre aren’t the same thing, very few people are making sourdough using pasta madre.