In the Renaissance era, weddings were a huge affair. Much preparation were put into these weddings and they were very detailed and took much planning. There were laws related to marriage, marriage customs, music, clothing attire, food; and many more aspects to a Renaissance wedding.
During the Renaissance marriage laws began to emerge. In 1076, the Council of Westminster decreed that no man should give his daughter or any female relative to anyone with the blessing of a priest. in the future councils would also decree that marriage shouldn't be secret but rather held in the open. Also in the sixteenth century, the Council of Trent decreed that a priest was mandatory to preform the betrothal ceremony. Another law was that separation of marriage was tolerated, however there was no such thing as a legal divorce.
One of the marriage customs during the Renaissance era was that on an average the grooms were about 14 years older than their brides. It was very rare that a noble women wasn't married before they were in their mid-twenties. More than seventy five percent were married before they reached the age of 19.
Another one of the marriage customs during the Renaissance is that the weddings were often held at the bride's home or if the couples belonged to the nobility they would have their weddings in medieval castles. However during the later Middle Ages, the weddings most likely took place in a chapel.
A few of the other Renaissance marriage traditions that are still followed to this day are: throwing rice, tiered cakes, flowers, garters, and gave the reasoning behind the saying, "Something old, something blue". The tradition of throwing rice dates back to the Renaissance era; it symbolizes the luck for the couple and fertility. The idea of having a tiered cake also dates back to the Renaissance era. The guests would brings mini cakes and stack them on top of each other, and if the bride and groom could kiss over the top of them without knocking them down then they would be blessed with good luck. many women of this era wore a wreath of flowers on their heads; this also symbolized good luck and fertility. The throwing of the garter also dates back to the Renaissance era. The famous saying something old, something blue", also dated back to the Renaissance era. At that time the most popular color for a wedding dress was blue because it symbolized purity, and if a bride didn't have a blue dress then she would carry something blue. Even in today's weddings, people still follow this Renaissance era tradition.
Overall the Renaissance marriage ceremonies were dependent upon the social class of the bride and groom. Marriages were often arranged, mainly based on inheritance and property rights and not for love. Contracts were drawn up describing the rights of the bride and groom.
In the Renaissance weddings music were another aspect. Music was played throughout many different part of the wedding. The instruments of this era were broken into five major categories: winds, plucked strings, bowed strings, keyboard, and percussion. A few of the instruments in the winds category are: flutes, brass, cornet, uncapped double reeds, and capped double reeds. and few of the plucked strings were the gut-strung and metal or wire strung. A few of the keyboards of this era were the organ, clavichord, and harpsichord. The percussion of this era consisted of drums and metallophoes.
The clothing attire for weddings during the Renaissance era were usually elegant dresses that were form fitting with some bead work. They often had a very graceful and beautiful tone to them. They were sometimes long and often gold added to them. They also often had long sleeves with some type of ruffles on them.
A major past of a Renaissance wedding was the food. During the Renaissance era food was a major deal to peoples lives, so of course it was a even bigger deal for weddings during this time period. Huge feasts would be held to celebrate a wedding. This took place whether the bride and groom were peasants of came from a family of nobility. A few of the popular food of the time were: chickens, game hens, meat pies, cheeses, herbed vegetables, quail, goose, roasted boar, fish, roasted peacock, mutton, cheeses, nuts, fresh fruit, oysters, cabbage, tarts, custards, rice, and wine.
During the wedding, the guests would drink water, ale, beer, mead, milk, and wine. Fruit juices were created at this time, but the majority of it was fermented to create wine. In this era, wine was thought to nourish the body, restore health, help digestion, help clarify ideas, open the arteries and help procreation.
During weddings at this time, the table etiquette was that the squired learned and did every aspect from the carving of whatever type of meat they had to the correct placement and order of dished on the table.
During the Renaissance era, weddings were a huge affair. They often had much preparation related tohem and had many different parts to them. Overall they were magnificent events and some of the traditions still are used today. The Renaissance was an amazing era, and one way this is shown is through their weddings.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Renaissance Food
Renaissance food was very reflective of the era itself. The dishes that were prepared during this era were prepared to please both the eye and stomach. Some of the many food that the people of the renaissance cooked were: soups, roasts, salads, cheese, pastas, pastries, and many side dishes. This shows that during the renaissance era the people cared about food very much.
The history behind the early renaissance food is largely related to the leftovers of the Middle Ages. However, there was a transition when the Americas were discovered in 1492 by Christopher Columbus. Soon new foods were migrated into the Renaissance kitchens. Some of the crops that were new to the Renaissance people were the potato and corn. These foods revolutionized Renaissance farming.
During the Renaissance era, feast were popular for special occasions; such as weddings, or around the holidays. Some of the foods that were often part of these feast were soups, roasts, salads, cheese, pastas, pastries, and side dishes. These feasts often included several courses and many desserts.
The soups were often very rich and were often several were served at the same time. The soups were cooked to please both the stomach and the eye. To do so they often made the soups with many colors, sweetened it with sugar, and sprinkles it with pomegranate seeds and aromatic herbs. They soups of this time were thought of to be “sweets”. One of the descriptions given by Taillevent, head cook of Charles VII, described a soup that mainly consisted of bread, sugar, white wine, yolk of egg, and rosewater. This shows that the soups of this time period were often very sweet.
An important part of the Renaissance meal were the roasts. The most common type of roast was the sirloin of beef. The way in which they cooked the roast were to first boil the meats and then the roasts was cooked with orange juices and rosewater, and covered with sugar and many spices. The roast was then cooked. The roast of this time were very complex in the sense that there was many ingredients that were put into the recipe to ensure a good tasting roast.
The people of this time period accepted the custom of serving the salads after the roast. However, the salads were never brought to the table in its natural state. The salads were similar to the salads of today in the sense that it consisted of raw herbs and had some sort of dressing. However, the salads of this time also included several other mixtures, such as: cooked vegetables, and the crests, livers, or brains of poultry. Near the salads in the order of the courses in a dinner were often eggs prepared in various ways.
Another aspect of a Renaissance feast and diet would include cheese. These cheese came from many places in France. They also ate cheese from Europe.
The Renaissance in a sense is Italian in the first place. Therefore it would not be Renaissance food without a variety of pastas. Some of these pastas included: semolina, vermicelli, and macaroni. They were called Italian food because they originated from Italy in France. The pastas were first introduced the Renaissance after the expedition of Charles VIII into Italy, and the conquest of Naples.
Pastries were another aspect of the Renaissance food. They were often a sweet and savory pastry. These included different sorts of tarts and meat pies. Ancient pastries received the name of tarte, from the Latin tortsa, a large hunch of bread. This name, however, was afterwards exclusively used for hot pies.
Side-dishes were also part of the food in the Renaissance period. They mainly consisted of: a variety of pastas, covered pastry, Bourconnaise pastry, double-faced pastry, pear pastry, and apple pastry, and white pastry with elder flowers, rice, roses or chestnuts.
During this era many seasonings were used to season the food,. Some of these seasonings include: rejoice, herbs, and flowers. When the rejoice was mixed with vinegar it formed the basis for many of the sauces. The spices were often added to add flavor to the dishes.
Overall to the people of the Renaissance cared about food greatly and created great feast. They created works of art that were carefully prepared to please both the eyes and the stomach.
The history behind the early renaissance food is largely related to the leftovers of the Middle Ages. However, there was a transition when the Americas were discovered in 1492 by Christopher Columbus. Soon new foods were migrated into the Renaissance kitchens. Some of the crops that were new to the Renaissance people were the potato and corn. These foods revolutionized Renaissance farming.
During the Renaissance era, feast were popular for special occasions; such as weddings, or around the holidays. Some of the foods that were often part of these feast were soups, roasts, salads, cheese, pastas, pastries, and side dishes. These feasts often included several courses and many desserts.
The soups were often very rich and were often several were served at the same time. The soups were cooked to please both the stomach and the eye. To do so they often made the soups with many colors, sweetened it with sugar, and sprinkles it with pomegranate seeds and aromatic herbs. They soups of this time were thought of to be “sweets”. One of the descriptions given by Taillevent, head cook of Charles VII, described a soup that mainly consisted of bread, sugar, white wine, yolk of egg, and rosewater. This shows that the soups of this time period were often very sweet.
An important part of the Renaissance meal were the roasts. The most common type of roast was the sirloin of beef. The way in which they cooked the roast were to first boil the meats and then the roasts was cooked with orange juices and rosewater, and covered with sugar and many spices. The roast was then cooked. The roast of this time were very complex in the sense that there was many ingredients that were put into the recipe to ensure a good tasting roast.
The people of this time period accepted the custom of serving the salads after the roast. However, the salads were never brought to the table in its natural state. The salads were similar to the salads of today in the sense that it consisted of raw herbs and had some sort of dressing. However, the salads of this time also included several other mixtures, such as: cooked vegetables, and the crests, livers, or brains of poultry. Near the salads in the order of the courses in a dinner were often eggs prepared in various ways.
Another aspect of a Renaissance feast and diet would include cheese. These cheese came from many places in France. They also ate cheese from Europe.
The Renaissance in a sense is Italian in the first place. Therefore it would not be Renaissance food without a variety of pastas. Some of these pastas included: semolina, vermicelli, and macaroni. They were called Italian food because they originated from Italy in France. The pastas were first introduced the Renaissance after the expedition of Charles VIII into Italy, and the conquest of Naples.
Pastries were another aspect of the Renaissance food. They were often a sweet and savory pastry. These included different sorts of tarts and meat pies. Ancient pastries received the name of tarte, from the Latin tortsa, a large hunch of bread. This name, however, was afterwards exclusively used for hot pies.
Side-dishes were also part of the food in the Renaissance period. They mainly consisted of: a variety of pastas, covered pastry, Bourconnaise pastry, double-faced pastry, pear pastry, and apple pastry, and white pastry with elder flowers, rice, roses or chestnuts.
During this era many seasonings were used to season the food,. Some of these seasonings include: rejoice, herbs, and flowers. When the rejoice was mixed with vinegar it formed the basis for many of the sauces. The spices were often added to add flavor to the dishes.
Overall to the people of the Renaissance cared about food greatly and created great feast. They created works of art that were carefully prepared to please both the eyes and the stomach.
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