Alimentation and Accommodation during (Literary) Journeys in the Middle Ages and in Early Modern Times

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Mittelalter-Studien (IZMS), Univ. Salzburg

Organizer Name

Siegrid Schmidt

Organizer Affiliation

Univ. Salzburg

Presider Name

Ingrid Bennewitz

Presider Affiliation

Otto-Friedrich-Univ. Bamberg

Paper Title 1

Where Am I Resting My Tired Physique after They Knocked Me off the Horse Three Times?

Presenter 1 Name

Klaus Schmidt

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Univ. Salzburg/Bowling Green State Univ.

Paper Title 2

"The Taste of Travel": Allimmentation in Middle High German Literature

Presenter 2 Name

Katharina Zeppezauer-Wachauer

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Univ. Salzburg

Paper Title 3

Spending Money for Guests and Travelers: Account Books as Source and What They Can Tell Us

Presenter 3 Name

Elisabeth Gruber

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Mittelalter-Studien (IZMS), Univ. Salzburg

Paper Title 4

Travelling Fools in Sebastian Brant's Ship of Fools

Presenter 4 Name

Siegrid Schmidt

Start Date

10-5-2018 7:30 PM

Session Location

Bernhard 210

Description

Alimentation and Accommodation during (literary) Journeys in the Middle Ages and in Early Modern Times

In the last years a lot of research was done in the fields of food, dressing and feasting in the middle ages and in its (Middle-)English, (Old-)French and (Middle high-)German literature . Moreover medieval travelling in its divers appearance (journeys of merchants, pilgrims, scientists, craftsmen i.e.) is an important topic for historical research and for studies in different medieval literatures. During those professional and religious travelling the everyday changing place of accommodation and alimentation were connected with great and different logistic problems.

The papers of this session should present and discuss historical or literary examples of travellers of any kind who are looking for their daily food and their bed for the night. There can be found a great number of solutions. Of course that is only on the surface of the literary of historical text. Similar to the research of cloth and food, where beyond the material presence of a fine meal and a nice, valuable dress its metaphorical meanings are discussed, the talks of this session should enlighten the symbolical potential of food and places to stay, as they are described in the different texts.

For instance in the historical view of research there are some sources for the possibilities to get food and rest for pilgrims on their way from nowadays’ Germany to Italy, to Rome from the 14th up to 17th century. Those possibilities of the pilgrims differ from those of the young noble men who established a own tradition or travelling, the so called “Cavalir’s Reisen”. The difference is marked partly by the social class, who is on the road but also by the reason of the journey. Accommodation and alimentation during a pilgrimage have to fit to the ideas of sin and penance which were the reason and the aim of such a religious journey. The young noble men looked for more comfortable possibilities to prove the financial and cultural abilities.

A great number of medieval literary texts (German, English, French, Latin…) tell about knights, ladies and priests e.a. who are on their way from one place to the other because of very different reasons. The knights ride for a great battle or for aventiure (Iwein, King Arthur and his knights, Tristan, Parzival) . The epics and romances pick up the question of food and rest. The sort of meal and of mobile house, (mostly) various tents reflect the situation of the travelling men, either a comfortable place with excellent food on journey just for fun or only simple bread and vegetables for Parzival on his wandering to the Castle of the Grail. In some sort of medieval short story Der arme Heinrich the protagonist wants to find the best medical doctor in France or in Italy. That are far distances but the necessity of recreating by food and sleeping is not mentioned – that is not the focus of interest. Also Gregorius goes by ship and horse and foot to foreign cities and places but the points of rest are mentioned seldom.

Focussing the different cultural discourses in the texts it may be asked which of everyday life topics as dress and meal and housing can be of evidence for the metaphoric impacts or for the narrative structure of a text, not only a literary one but also a historic or a social one in an extensive understanding of “text”.

Siegrid Schmidt

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May 10th, 7:30 PM

Alimentation and Accommodation during (Literary) Journeys in the Middle Ages and in Early Modern Times

Bernhard 210

Alimentation and Accommodation during (literary) Journeys in the Middle Ages and in Early Modern Times

In the last years a lot of research was done in the fields of food, dressing and feasting in the middle ages and in its (Middle-)English, (Old-)French and (Middle high-)German literature . Moreover medieval travelling in its divers appearance (journeys of merchants, pilgrims, scientists, craftsmen i.e.) is an important topic for historical research and for studies in different medieval literatures. During those professional and religious travelling the everyday changing place of accommodation and alimentation were connected with great and different logistic problems.

The papers of this session should present and discuss historical or literary examples of travellers of any kind who are looking for their daily food and their bed for the night. There can be found a great number of solutions. Of course that is only on the surface of the literary of historical text. Similar to the research of cloth and food, where beyond the material presence of a fine meal and a nice, valuable dress its metaphorical meanings are discussed, the talks of this session should enlighten the symbolical potential of food and places to stay, as they are described in the different texts.

For instance in the historical view of research there are some sources for the possibilities to get food and rest for pilgrims on their way from nowadays’ Germany to Italy, to Rome from the 14th up to 17th century. Those possibilities of the pilgrims differ from those of the young noble men who established a own tradition or travelling, the so called “Cavalir’s Reisen”. The difference is marked partly by the social class, who is on the road but also by the reason of the journey. Accommodation and alimentation during a pilgrimage have to fit to the ideas of sin and penance which were the reason and the aim of such a religious journey. The young noble men looked for more comfortable possibilities to prove the financial and cultural abilities.

A great number of medieval literary texts (German, English, French, Latin…) tell about knights, ladies and priests e.a. who are on their way from one place to the other because of very different reasons. The knights ride for a great battle or for aventiure (Iwein, King Arthur and his knights, Tristan, Parzival) . The epics and romances pick up the question of food and rest. The sort of meal and of mobile house, (mostly) various tents reflect the situation of the travelling men, either a comfortable place with excellent food on journey just for fun or only simple bread and vegetables for Parzival on his wandering to the Castle of the Grail. In some sort of medieval short story Der arme Heinrich the protagonist wants to find the best medical doctor in France or in Italy. That are far distances but the necessity of recreating by food and sleeping is not mentioned – that is not the focus of interest. Also Gregorius goes by ship and horse and foot to foreign cities and places but the points of rest are mentioned seldom.

Focussing the different cultural discourses in the texts it may be asked which of everyday life topics as dress and meal and housing can be of evidence for the metaphoric impacts or for the narrative structure of a text, not only a literary one but also a historic or a social one in an extensive understanding of “text”.

Siegrid Schmidt