A history book
INTRODUCTION
The woman, now known only as Julian of Norwich, was born in late 1342 and died around 1412. In May 1373, when Julian was thirty-one, she became so ill that a priest was called to administer extreme unction.
As he lay on what he believed to be his deathbed, he had a series of intense mystical revelations, which he called "manifestations". Shortly after this experience, he recovered from his illness. During Julian's time as a commoner, perhaps a wife and mother, she would likely have eaten and prepared the recipes included in this book, all of which are taken from 14th-century cookbooks.
Imprisoned for God
At some point in her life, however, Julian became an anchorite, engaged in a life of prayer and meditation while confined to a celi adjoining a church. – and by then his eating style would have changed significantly. The life of an anchorite was governed by a "rule", a written structure that prevented excesses and abuses. Julian would likely have followed the Ancrene Rule, written in the early 13th century, which provided detailed instructions for the life of an anchorite detailed instructions for the life of a handmaid. Consequently, he would wear simple clothes and eat simple meals, living in a small room.
As a rule, he would always eat twice a day between Easter and the day of the Holy Cross (September 14), while in the rest of the year he would eat only one meal a day.
This one meal would probably have been soup, stew, or perhaps cabbage soup—an ordinary, simple dish.
Handmaids – women who chose to be servants of God – were an accepted part of society in medieval life, with a function somewhat similar to what a counselor or psychologist might have today.
Though they chose a seclusion until their death, these women continued to be active in their communities.
Nobility and commoners alike, rich and poor, would look to Julian's window, seeking his advice and guidance.
His lodgings would have had three windows: one looking onto the church, through which he could hear mass and receive communion; a second that opened onto the outside world, allowing people to talk to her and listen to her advice; and a third opening onto an adjoining room, where a servant lived. Unlike Julian, the servant could come and go, entering Julian's suite to bring food, cook and clean, so that Julian's time could be devoted to his life.
Julian could devote all his time to prayer and spiritual advice.
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A cookbook
Julian's world
Julian's era was a time of turmoil and crisis. Plague swept through England three times during Julian's lifetime. At least half of Norwich's population was affected by it; the clergy and undertakers could not keep up with the corpses. Meanwhile, other diseases killed livestock and crop failures.
In 1381, when Julian was thirty-nine, the people became so desperate that they rose in revolt, sacking churches and monasteries. Throughout Julian's lifetime, England was at war with France in what is now known as the Hundred Years War.
The taste of divine love
Yet in the midst of all this turbulent uncertainty, Giuliano continued to believe unshakably that "everything will be fine, everything will be fine, and all sorts of things will be fine."
His words of comfort speak to us today through the ages. In our times of anxiety and crisis, she assures us that God's love can never be dulled or stifled.
Although Julian was very concerned with the spiritual world, he believed that it was strongly rooted in this world: the world of food and taste, of ordinary life and everyday actions, is the world of food and taste.
His book goes well with the recipes, because he writes again and again about the nourishment that God gives us and his divine love.
Joy and love are the two words that sum up his spirituality.
The testimony left to us by Julian is a real treatise on medieval cuisine. A showcase on the raw materials and processes of that period, in some respects still little known, where even the conservation of raw materials was not a simple or consolidated technique.
An example of a recipe.
The mead
“”A very pleasant drink is made from apples…”.
Julian of Norwich
- Slice and core 6 apples for every liter of water. (Do not peel).
- Add some rosemary and lemon zest.
- Boil the water and the apples for an hour, being careful not to let them stick or burn.
- Add sugar or honey to taste.
- Bottle and put the pepper.
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