Description |
x, 275 pages : illustrations, map ; 25 cm |
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 |
Summary |
"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 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."--BOOK JACKET |
Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-258) and index |
Subject |
Spices -- History -- To 1500.
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Spice trade -- Social aspects -- History -- To 1500.
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Food habits -- History -- To 1500.
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Trade routes -- History -- To 1500.
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SUBJECT |
Europe http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85045631 -- Territorial expansion http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2001009116 -- History -- To 1500.
http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2002006121
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LC no. |
2007036412 |
ISBN |
9780300111996 alkaline paper |
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0300111991 alkaline paper |
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