A Hermit's Cookbook - by Andrew Jotischky (Hardcover)

About the Book

How did medieval hermits survive on their self-denying diet? What did they eat, and how did unethical monks get around the rules?

Book Synopsis

How did medieval hermits survive on their self-denying diet? What did they eat, and how did unethical monks get around the rules? The Egyptian hermit Onuphrios was said to have lived entirely on dates, and perhaps the most famous of all hermits, John the Baptist, on locusts and wild honey. Was it really possible to sustain life on so little food?

The history of monasticism is defined by the fierce and passionate abandonment of the ordinary comforts of life, the most striking being food and drink. A Hermit's Cookbook opens with stories and pen portraits of the Desert Fathers of early Christianity and their followers who were ascetic solitaries, hermits and pillar-dwellers. It proceeds to explore how the ideals of the desert fathers were revived in both the Byzantine and western traditions, looking at the cultivation of food in monasteries, eating and cooking, and why hunting animals was rejected by any self-respecting hermit. Full of rich anecdotes, and including recipes for basic monk's stew and bread soup -- and many others -- this is a fascinating story of hermits, monks, food and fasting in the Middle Ages.

Review Quotes

By supplementing his material from monastic sources with contemporary secular ones, and by discussing the virtues and culinary properties of plants still used today, the author opens up a world of monastic cuisine to explore and enjoy.

Extract Featured

This is a sparkling book, hugely informative about monasticism in general and hermits in particular with the addition of some surprisingly appetising recipes. Mortification and nettles turn out to be only one part of the story of how hermits battled with the devil; hospitality and humility were equally important as was a good knowledge of bread-making and a sound digestion. Tree bark is probably not to everyone's taste.

About the Author

Andrew Jotischky is Professor of Medieval History at Lancaster University, UK. He has published widely on aspects of medieval religious history; his principal publications include Crusading and the Crusader States (2004), and The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Bible Lands, with Caroline Hull (2009).