Out of the East : spices and the medieval imagination / Paul Freedman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Freedman, Paul, 1949- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Spice trade--Social aspects--History--To 1500.

Spice trade.

Trade routes--History--To 1500.

Trade routes.

Food habits--History--To 1500.

Food habits.

Spices--History--To 1500.

Spices.

Europe--Territorial expansion--History--To 1500.

Europe.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (285 pages) : illustrations, maps

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven, Connecticut : Yale University Press, [2008]

Summary:

How medieval Europe's infatuation with expensive, fragrant, exotic spices led to an era of colonial expansion and discovery: "A consummate delight." --Marion Nestle, James Beard Award-winning author of Unsavory Truth The demand for spices in medieval Europe was extravagant--and was reflected in the pursuit of fashion, the formation of taste, and the growth of luxury trade. It inspired geographical and commercial exploration, as traders pursued such common spices as pepper and cinnamon and rarer aromatic products, including ambergris and musk. Ultimately, the spice quest led to imperial missions that were to change world history. This engaging book explores the demand for spices: Why were they so popular, and why so expensive? Paul Freedman surveys the history, geography, economics, and culinary tastes of the Middle Ages to uncover the surprisingly varied ways that spices were put to use--in elaborate medieval cuisine, in the treatment of disease, for the promotion of well-being, and to perfume important ceremonies of the Church. Spices became symbols of beauty, affluence, taste, and grace, Freedman shows, and their expense and fragrance drove the engines of commerce and conquest at the dawn of the modern era. "A magnificent, very well written, and often entertaining book that is also a major contribution to European economic and social history, and indeed one with a truly global perspective." -- American Historical Review

Contents:

Spices and medieval cuisine

Medicine : spices as drugs

The odors of paradise

Trade and prices

Scarcity, abundance, and profit

"That damned pepper" : spices and moral danger

Searching for the realms of spices

Finding the realms of spices : Portugal and Spain.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [245]-258) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-300-21131-7

OCLC:

882258596