Oldest English Book About Cheese Made Public for First Time

A ample instrumentality of food successful past times. Credit: Clara Peeters / Public domain

The oldest known English publication astir food has been made nationalist for the archetypal time. Researchers astatine the University of Leeds person digitized the 16th-century manuscript, offering a uncommon look into however food was made and understood successful Tudor England.

Written by manus astir 1580, the 112-page publication had remained hidden for centuries. It surfaced astatine auction successful 2023, wherever the University of Leeds acquired it with assistance from a foundation that supports room collections. Today, it is portion of the university’s Cultural Collections and is disposable to work online.

A elaborate usher to food and health

The manuscript, titled “A pamflyt compiled of Cheese, contayninge the differences, nature, qualities, and goodnes, of the same,” explains the antithetic types of cheese, their qualities, and beliefs astir however they affected health. Some descriptions whitethorn astonishment oregon adjacent unsettle modern readers.

A squad of Tudor past experts astatine Kentwell Hall cautiously transcribed the archetypal substance to marque it easier for radical contiguous to understand. Their version appears alongside a integer scan of the aged pages, keeping the manuscript’s archetypal handwriting visible.

A unsocial humanities resource

Food historiographer Peter Brears said the publication highlights England’s agelong contented of cheesemaking. “I’ve ne'er seen thing similar it,” helium said. “It’s astir apt the archetypal broad world survey of a azygous foodstuff to beryllium written successful the English language.”

Brears explained that though food was portion of diets since past times, fewer written records from the Tudor epoch described however it was made oregon used.

The introductory leafage of the pamflyt compiled of cheese. Credit: University of Leeds Cultural Collections

Dr. Alex Bamji, a past prof astatine the University of Leeds, said the book’s neat handwriting stood out. She described it arsenic a large enactment that combines aged cognition with the writer’s ain experience.

People successful Tudor England, she explained, believed food played an important relation successful some preventing and treating illness, and adjacent mean radical understood this deeply.

Cheese and the body

One transition advises readers to deliberation astir their ain assemblage benignant and the quality of the food earlier eating it – a reflection of aboriginal ideas astir nutrient sensitivity, agelong earlier presumption similar “dairy intolerant” existed. The publication besides suggests eating food astatine the extremity of a repast to assistance digestion, a signifier inactive communal today.

Other parts of the manuscript incorporate antithetic claims. One warns that dog’s beverage could origin aboriginal childbirth, portion different mentions that food could beryllium made from camel, donkey, and equine beverage successful immoderate parts of the world.

Modern transcription from a 16th-century re-enactor

Ruth Bramley, a humanities re-enactor astatine Kentwell Hall, worked connected the transcription. Although her main enactment involves spinning and weaving, her acquisition speechmaking aged documents helped her tackle the project.

Her colleague, Tamsin Bacchus, praised the author’s method of checking with section farmers erstwhile scholars disagreed, showing spot successful real-world knowledge. Bacchus besides highlighted debates implicit whether food could beryllium eaten connected spiritual fasting days. One suggested utilizing food guts alternatively of carnal rennet to marque cheese.

The final pages see a unusual communicative from the ancient Greek doc Galen, who treated achy joints by rubbing them with spoiled food and bacon fat. Dr. Bamji believes readers successful the Tudor play apt recovered the communicative amusing and unusual alternatively than helpful.

A publication with almighty owners, but an chartless writer

The book’s writer remains unknown, but notes wrong suggest it erstwhile belonged to almighty Tudor families. Names specified arsenic Clement Fisher, Walter Bayley, and Edward Willoughby link the publication to the ellipse of the Dudley family, cardinal figures astatine the royal court.

Brears believes determination is overmuch much to larn from the manuscript. He hopes aboriginal researchers volition survey its handwriting, language, and section references to uncover its afloat history.