Joanna Bencheva

CHANGES IN THE DIET OF BALKAN POPULATION
DURING THE MIDDLE AGES
Assist. Prof Joanna Bencheva, PhD
Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski“
Abstract: The article discusses the changes in the nutrition of the
Balkan population during the Middle Ages that were influenced by the
adoption of Christianity as the leading religion in the region, the Migration
period and other culinary traditions like the Arab and Persian cuisine.
The changes brought by Christianity include the introduction of fasting
days, with prohibition of consumption of meat and dairy products, and of
impure food, defined on the basis of hygienic and ethical restrictions. The
humility preached by Christianity in all spheres of everyday life and the
representation of gluttony as one of the seven deadly sins also influenced
the changes in the nutrition of the population in the region concerned. The
introduction of new culinary practices and new foods in the daily menu are
also discussed in the article.
Keywords: Balkans, food, Middle Ages, dietary habits

Let’s eat in Mediaeval Sofia -
The paper will analyse different types of sources, both written and archaeological, that provide information about food and nutrition in Sofia through middle ages. Questions such as what was served on the table of the local population, what were their favourite dishes, how was the meal prepared and what was the opinion of foreigners about the food in Sofia will be answered. This will be done after analysing a wide variety of evidence for the period concerned.

LET’S EAT IN THE BALKANS ON THE WAY TO  HOLY LAND (Abstract) The present article examines the reports on food in the Balkans made by pilgrims on their way to or back from the Holy Land. The research is focused on reports of pilgrims originating from Western Europe as well as the Russian territories from the period between 11th and 15th century. Among those pilgrims are the Englishman William Wеy, the Germans Arnold von Harff, Felix Fabri, Johannes Schiltberger, Bernhard von Breydenbach, Ludolph von Suchem, the Burgundian Bertrandon de la
Broquière, the two Spaniards Pero Tafur and Ruy Gonzales de Clavijo, the Italians Pietro Casola, Bernardo Michelozzi, the Irishman Symon Semeonis, the Russians Danilo, Antonius of Novgorod, Zosim and others. The article traces out their routes through the Balkans and the food possibilities that they discovered in Dalmatia, Constantinople, Peloponnese or the interior of the Peninsula. It gives answers to the following questions: what preparations did the pilgrims make before their journey to the Holy Land; which food they preferred and was most likely to satisfy their needs – the meal in taverns, monasteries, on the ship, on the ruler’s table or the self-prepared food; was there any difference between their food in different parts of the Balkans; which were their favourite meals; were there any differences between the food preferences of the Western European and the Russian pilgrims. Some travellers compiled dictionaries to facilitate their communication with the local people and to assure easier procurement of food and shelter. The article analyses the words in different languages referring to food included in the dictionaries; this gives an idea about the differences between the tastes of the Balkan population – Slavs, Greeks, Albanians, Turks.

DAILY AND FESTIVE DINNER TABLE IN THE BALKAN MIDDLE AGES

Food is an important part of everyday life. It is part of the weekday routine and, most importantly, of holidays. What was served on the table of the various social groups (rulers, soldiers, monks and ordinary people) during weekdays and holidays, what were the preferred dishes and most popular products in the different regions of the Balkan Peninsula in the 10th-15th century? All these questions will be answered in the paper after analysing a wide variety of sources on the period concerned.

What were the reasons for a journey to begin, which were the major traveller's routes through the Balkans, how was the expedition equipped, was there a difference of how the different social groups travelled? All these questions will be analysed and answered in my paper using the available Byzantine and Slavic sources for the period concerned.

The article studies and analyses document, literary and archaeological sources related to the economic development of the Upper Struma region during the 12th – 14th century. Although our sources for the economic development of towns and villages in the Upper Struma region are limited we can conclude that agriculture and stockbreeding were the main branches of the economy in the area concerned as in other regions of the Balkans. Other important economic activities in the region were trade, coal and iron ore mining and the use of healing springs