IMEMS-Blackfriars Medieval Lectures and Lunch

Medieval Food and Culture

The Blackfriars / Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies bi-annual series of talks and themed lunches.

Food Culture After the Baltic Crusade

14 MAY 2022


On Saturday 14 May 2022, Blackfriars will host, in partnership with Durham University’s IMEMS, the 19th Public lecture on Food Culture After the Baltic Crusade.

We are delighted to welcome Aleks Pluskowski, Department of Archaeology, University of Reading and the talk will draw on a range of archaeological, paleoenvironmental and historical data to explore the food culture of medieval Prussia and Livonia, where the use of native plants and animal stock was combined with luxury foodstuffs imported through the Hanseatic trading network.

The talk will be complemented by a carefully selected menu, emulating some of the foods and flavours of the eastern Baltic following the pivotal events of the crusades.

WHERE: Blackfriars Banquet Hall 
TIMES: 11am for 11.30am start
Cost: £35.00 (student discount – please inquire via Blackfriars)


The Blackfriars / Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies lectures and lunch series has been running since 2012. Every May and November we gather at Blackfriars for a talk and a suitably-themed lunch. Talks range from local interest and the history of the priory, to etiquette across medieval society, literary depictions of Viking feasting, the curious links between dining and bathing, the science of food and taste, and what peasants, hermits, and religious societies ate. Lunches offer the opportunity for the Eat Medieval team to explore new dishes with the chefs and new interpretations of the recipes. Cutting-edge research for public consumption! 

‘Really changed my perceptions of what and how food was eaten in the past.’

Coming to these lectures has made a big difference to my understanding of the Middle Ages: great to hear the experts and have some fun too.’

‘Sampling new recipes while learning about the past is a brilliant way to spend a Saturday lunchtime.’

Feedback from regular attendees

Previous Talks and Speakers

Eric CambridgeReconstructing Medieval Blackfriars
Giles E. M. Gasper & Andy HookEat Medieval: Heritage and Hospitality, Medieval and Modern
Fiona WhelanDid manners maketh the medieval man? Etiquette at the twelfth-century dining table
Debby BanhamThe Early English Bread Project: the Making and Meaning of Bread in Early Medieval England
Adrian GreenBlackfriars and the Newcastle Craft Guilds
Giles E. M. Gasper The Science of Food in the Middle Ages: Taste, Pleasure and the Senses
Christian LiddyCommon Rights and Natural Resources: the 1217 Charter of the Forest in Historical Perspective
Daniel NewmanFood of the Arabian Nights: An Introduction to Medieval Arab Cuisine
Elizabeth ArchibaldDining and Bathing for Health
Iona McCleeryThe Healthy Medieval Diet
Eleanor BarracloughA Feast of Trolls: Feeding, Fighting and Fornicating with the Trolls of Nordic Folklore
Peter BrearsEttiquette in the Middle Ages
Andrew JotischkyA Hermit’s Cookbook: Monks, Food and Fasting in the Middle Ages
John ClayHorses for Courses: Food and Faith in Early Medieval Times
Chris WoolgarCooking and the Peasantry Ate in Late Medieval England
Michael PrestwichCastles and their Food
Giles E. M. GasperEggs Benedict, Monks and their Food

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