Archive for October, 2014

It’s finally sweater weather! As we pull our sweaters and coats out from storage, we can’t help but wonder: how did people in the medieval era keep warm? We’ve all seen living conditions in movies and in previous Pearson’s Renaissance Shoppe blog posts and articles, and it really doesn’t seem like there was much of a barrier between medieval people and the blistering cold winter.  

The folks at the BBC did some of the hard work for us. Recently, they ran an article about what medieval people, specifically Robin Hood, might have done to stay warm during winter. The first defense against the cold was wool. Most of their clothing was made out of wool, with an extra next-to-body layer of linen. These materials were often layered to add to their effectiveness. Unfortunately, especially for someone like Robin Hood, perspiration limited the effectiveness of these materials. Medieval people had to remove layers until they cooled down (and dried off).

Medieval folks had winter accessories, albeit slightly different from ours. Their wool coats often came with a hood that would cover their coifs – a type of tight-fitting cap. They also wore gloves, but they were slightly different from the gloves we wear today. These gloves featured two fingers and a thumb, almost like today’s mittens.

As the weather continues to get colder, we all cling to specific drinks to keep us warm. Some prefer hot apple cider while others swear by hot chocolate with whipped cream on top. At Pearson’s Renaissance Shoppe, we are avowed coffee drinkers. We love a piping hot cup of Joe to start off these cold mornings and enjoy a toasty cup after dinner. Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine a world without coffee! Unfortunately, for those living in the medieval period, a coffee-less world would be their fate.

So, when did coffee finally make it to Europe? Well, according to National Geographic, the beginning of coffee is the stuff of legend. According to the legend, an Ethiopian goatherd named Kaldi took note of a strange red berry his goats were eating. These red berries turned out to be coffee beans. After sampling some of the red berries himself, he noticed what would become the world’s first coffee buzz!

Coffee became a food and wine staple in Africa, and soon it spread to Arabia and Muslim countries. The first recorded instance of roasted coffee beans brewed into a warm drink happened around 1000 A.D. This beverage grew in popularity and eventually made its way to Europe in the 17^th century. That’s right: Europe had to wait more than 800 years for their coffee! We can’t even stand the drive-through at Starbucks!