The Impact of Christianization on Identity-Marking Foods in the Medieval North: Between Pagan Survivals, New Dietary Restrictions, and Magic Practice

• Published in: Food and History
• Main Author: MARASCHI A
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: -; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11585/859211; https://doi.org/10.1484/J.FOOD.5.121083

Before the conversion to Christianity, identity was expressed through food in a different way in the Scandinavian area than in southern Christian lands. The present study highlights specific aspects of the consequences of this conversion in Iceland and Norway (c. 1000-1400A.D.) with regards to food and identity: among these, Christian prohibitions on eating horsemeat, the need to import wine and wheat bread for the eucharistic liturgy, the issue of replacement breads and drinks for the administration of the eucharist, the ban on meat on fasting days, and the role of wheat bread in magic and medical practice.