Diet in the English province convents of the Franciscan Order (13th – 16th centuries)

Abstract

The article considers Franciscan diet in the convents of medieval England. The analysis of hagiographic literature, rules and constitutions of the Franciscan Order, along with the sources of the royal Chancery, makes it possible to understand the friars’ diet and the role of food in shaping views on the ideal evangelical poverty. The author highlights the issue of including meat in the Franciscan diet. Meat abstention was intrinsic to the life of humility and poverty. At the same time, according to the Rule of the Order, St. Francis and the friars were to live largely on alms, and they could thus eat and drink whatever is placed before them. Living on alms or just an occasion to get food from somewhere was one of the most important distinguishing marks of the early Franciscan movement. However, as the Order grew, food began to be supplied to the Franciscan convents not only through alms, but also through the economic activity of the friars. The extensive economic production in the convents of the Order is represented in the inventories of the Franciscan houses, which were compiled at their Dissolution in the 16th century. According to the inventories, the Franciscans did not engage in livestock breeding for meat production. Probably it was due to the location of the convents in the urban space and the unresolved issue of including meat in the diet of the friars.