This episode is supported by Blinkist, an app that takes
all of the need to know information from thousands of nonfiction books
and condenses them down into just 15 minutes.
Go to Blinkist.comscishow for a 7-day free trial
and 25% off a premium membership.
[♪ INTRO]
The Early Medieval Age is known as a time when powerful rulers and lowly
peasants lived drastically different lives, especially when it came to food.
A common impression is that royal figures like King Arthur
indulged in lavish meals all the time, even as the rest of the population
struggled to survive off cereal crops and vegetables.
And that’s partly because historical documents show that farmers did pay their
rulers with huge quantities of luxury foods like beef, ale, cheese, and fish.
But research into the diets of the Medieval Brits
from around the 5th to 11th centuries suggests
that royal diets may not actually have been so extravagant after all.
And if that’s the case, the members of different social classes
may not have lived as differently as we once believed.
Now, studying the diets of people who have been dead
for a millennium or more is not an easy thing to do.
Soft body parts decay quickly, so clues in things like people’s weight
or the health of their organs don't last long.
But the authors of a 2022 study managed to get some crucial dietary information
by examining ancient people’s bones.
In the study, a team of researchers examined over 2,000 skeletons from a
wide range of English gravesites dating back to the Early Medieval Age.
Based on how they were buried and what sort of items accompanied the body,
the researchers knew what social class they had belonged to.
And they expected that bodies from rich and poor social classes would have
some noticeable differences, stemming from differences in diet.
For instance, bones can hold accumulations of waste caused by gout,
a type of arthritis that’s associated with heavy consumption of meat and alcohol.
And these accumulations can be visible on skeletons.
Both of these clues could help point to a lavish diet, since only the rich
could afford enough meat and alcohol to develop these conditions.
But to their surprise, the researchers didn’t really see
any of the telltale signs, suggesting that wealthy people
didn’t have any of the health issues associated with lavish diets.
Already, this was a clue that their diets
may not have been as extravagant as expected.
But one other line of evidence really helped seal the deal:
the skeletons’ bone chemistry.
Since the elements of a person’s diet get incorporated into their tissues,
a person’s bone tissue can hold information about what they ate long after they die.
And since bones grow so slowly, the chemical makeup of someone’s bones
offers a glimpse of their average diet over decades.
In particular, plants and meat contain different quantities of certain isotopes,
or versions of an element with a different number of neutrons.
So, for example, regular nitrogen has 14 particles in its nucleus:
seven protons and seven neutrons, which it’s why it’s also known as nitrogen-14.
But sometimes it acquires an extra neutron,
and this version of it is known as the isotope nitrogen-15.
Nitrogen-15 tends to get more concentrated as you move up the food chain.
So carnivores typically have higher ratios of nitrogen-15 than plants or herbivores.
Likewise, people who eat a lot of meat and other animal-based protein, like eggs,
have a higher ratio of nitrogen-15 in their bones than people with plant-based diets.
So, in addition to analyzing the bones for signs of conditions like gout,
the researchers also measured the amounts of these isotopes
in the skeletons in their study.
And again, they didn’t find any difference between the skeletons of the rich
and the poor. All evidence suggested that royalty and peasants basically ate alike.
The isotope ratios also seemed to point to a diet based primarily on grains
and vegetables, with maybe a little bit of fresh eggs or dairy.
In other words, forget the lore about gluttonous rulers
regularly stuffing themselves with meat and ale.
Most Medieval Brits were basically vegetarian.
That said, people did occasionally eat these luxury foods.
But one final piece of evidence strongly suggests
that they were saved for special occasions.
A historical document listing the food 10 households paid their local ruler
in yearly taxes contains a huge amount of food.
Even if people ate over 4,000 calories per meal,
it would be enough to feed 300 people!
And since refrigeration didn't exist, the preservation techniques of the time wouldn’t
allow a single royal household to store and eat it over the course of the year.
Which checks out, because the evidence in their bones already showed
they weren’t regularly eating meat-heavy meals.
Instead, the study authors suggest the portions represented in those tax lists
were for a single, community-wide feast,
when farmers and nobles gathered for a special occasion.
This incredible scientific detective work shows how scientists
can piece together a diet hundreds of years after the fact
and use it to learn about the structure of a society.
And as a result, we now know that the popular image of a heavily stratified
Medieval Age is largely myth.
Even when nobles and peasants weren’t rubbing elbows, on most days,
everyone was still pretty equal when it came down to what they ate.
And if you’re into learning about what Medieval times were really like,
there’s plenty for you to explore and enjoy on Blinkist.
Blinkist is an app that takes the best insights and need-to-know information
from over 5,000 nonfiction books and podcasts and condenses them down
into just 15 minutes of reading or listening.
They have a selection of books related to Medieval history,
like “Powers and Thrones” by Dan Jones.
This book provides a comprehensive history of the Middle Ages
through climate change, technological innovations, political leaders, and more.
The Middle Ages might be done and gone, but now’s the time to learn about them.
Right now, Blinkist has a special offer just for SciShow viewers.
Go to Blinkist.com/scishow to get unlimited access for 1 week to try it out.
You’ll also get 25% off if you want the premium membership.
You can start your free 7-day trial by clicking the link in the description.
Thank you to Blinkist for supporting this SciShow video and thank you for watching!
[♪ OUTRO]