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12 Items at a Feast of Henry VIII
How stuff works ^

Posted on 04/20/2023 3:27:44 PM PDT by DallasBiff

Henry VIII, who ruled England from 1509 until his death in 1547, was known for his voracious appetite. Portraits of Henry show a man almost as wide as he was tall. When he wasn't marrying, divorcing, or beheading his wives (he was on his sixth marriage when he died at age 58), this medieval ruler dined like a glutton.

He enjoyed banquets so much that he extended the kitchen of Hampton Court Palace to fill 55 rooms. The 200 members of the kitchen staff provided meals of up to 14 courses for the 600 people in the king's court. Here are some dishes served at a typical feast.

1. Spit-Roasted Meat

Spit-roasted meat -- usually a pig or boar -- was eaten at every meal. It was an expression of extreme wealth because only the rich could afford fresh meat year-round; only the very rich could afford to roast it, since this required much more fuel than boiling; and only the super wealthy could pay a "spit boy" to turn the spit all day. In a typical year, the royal kitchen served 1,240 oxen, 8,200 sheep, 2,330 deer, 760 calves, 1,870 pigs, and 53 wild boar. That's more than 14,000 large animals, meaning each member of the court was consuming about 23 animals every year.

2. Grilled Beavers' Tails

These tasty morsels were particularly popular on Fridays, when according to Christian tradition, it was forbidden to eat meat. Rather conveniently, medieval people classified beavers as fish.

3. Whale Meat

Another popular dish for Fridays, whale meat was fairly common and cheap, due to the plentiful supply of whales in the North Sea, each of which could feed hundreds of people. It was typically served boiled or very well roasted.

4. Whole Roasted Peacock

(Excerpt) Read more at recipes.howstuffworks.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Food; History
KEYWORDS: britain; dietandcuisine; donatedonaldtrump; donatefreerepublic; donatetrump; england; food; godsgravesglyphs; henry8; henryviii; history; renaissance; royalfamily
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To: DallasBiff

Apparently grilled beaver tail is still a thing. Very fatty, and prized by mountain men back in the day.


21 posted on 04/20/2023 6:47:43 PM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: DallasBiff

Where did you read that, if I may ask?


22 posted on 04/20/2023 6:53:19 PM PDT by Jean2
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To: EvilCapitalist

Me, in London at a generic pub.


23 posted on 04/20/2023 6:59:30 PM PDT by Lee Enfield (I work retail. A lady asked me where she could find a white trash bag. I said "she's at home".)
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To: nickcarraway
I'm a BIG fan of marzipan, but that isn't originally a Brit foodstuff.

It's not being "squeamish", it's knowing what I'd rather not try to eat. We all have our own preferences.

24 posted on 04/20/2023 8:19:11 PM PDT by nopardons
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To: DallasBiff

Jeez...how many beavers had to die to feed 600 people?


25 posted on 04/20/2023 8:36:52 PM PDT by LizzieD
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To: DallasBiff

Its good to be King.


26 posted on 04/20/2023 9:01:37 PM PDT by Bull Snipe
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Mark


27 posted on 04/20/2023 9:44:40 PM PDT by Bigg Red (Trump will be sworn in under a shower of confetti made from the tattered remains of the Rat Party.)
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...

28 posted on 04/21/2023 7:50:37 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: Responsibility2nd

I prefer beaver be served raw.

L


29 posted on 04/21/2023 7:54:59 AM PDT by Lurker ( Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is.)
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To: vladimir998

+1


30 posted on 04/21/2023 8:08:00 AM PDT by MotorCityBuck (Keep the change, you filthy animal! )
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To: SunkenCiv

medieval people classified beavers as fish......................we still do...............


31 posted on 04/21/2023 8:18:24 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: SunkenCiv

58?....;I’m surprised he lived that long.................


32 posted on 04/21/2023 8:22:38 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Karoo
I eat ox tail broth 3 x wk....great nourishment and boy is it good.

Best ox tail soup I ever had was at a Benedictine monastery.

33 posted on 04/21/2023 8:43:48 AM PDT by COBOL2Java (Gun laws empower criminals. Guns empower the people.)
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To: Red Badger
It's good to be King.

34 posted on 04/21/2023 8:44:02 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: Lurker
I prefer beaver be served raw.

Best served at 98.6°F or slightly higher.

35 posted on 04/21/2023 10:56:09 AM PDT by Max in Utah (A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within.)
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To: SunkenCiv

I don’t like marzipan-and the black pudding doesn’t sound appetizing-but I’d choose any of those banquet items over a fast food burger, KFC, mac-and-cheese, etc-at least the banquet food is organic, unprocessed and fresh-just add some steamed veggies and/or a salad and I’ll be there...

I like cookbooks, and have several-one was a present from my mom-”Cooking Through the Ages”-it has recipes back to the time of the Roman Empire-like honeyed dormice-gah! Some of the food prep instructions are interesting, too-like take chickens and ram them together, hew them to gobbets, etc...


36 posted on 04/21/2023 12:16:28 PM PDT by Texan5 ("You've got to saddle up your boys, you've got to draw a hard line"...)
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To: MotorCityBuck

Yes and weve become so much more civilized. We only disembowel preborn babies now. Thanks for the history lesson.


37 posted on 04/21/2023 3:35:43 PM PDT by KierkegaardMAN (I never engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed man.)
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To: MotorCityBuck

Yes and weve become so much more civilized. We only disembowel preborn babies now. Thanks for the history lesson.


38 posted on 04/21/2023 3:35:46 PM PDT by KierkegaardMAN (I never engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed man.)
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To: MotorCityBuck

Yes and weve become so much more civilized. We only disembowel preborn babies now. Thanks for the history lesson.


39 posted on 04/21/2023 3:35:46 PM PDT by KierkegaardMAN (I never engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed man.)
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To: Responsibility2nd

40 posted on 04/21/2023 3:48:57 PM PDT by Bratch
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