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seventeenthcenturywasaveryexpensivecommodity.Sugarwastreatedasaspiceor
condimentsinceitalterstheflavouroffoodasdoesanyotherspice.Thebestknown
andinfluentialbookdealingwithsugar,itsproduction,andconsumption,aswellas
theroleithasplayedinsocietiesisSweetnessandPowerbySidneyW.Mintz,78
abookwithaverybroadscope.InthefirstchapterofhisbookMintzintroducesthe
“carbohydratecore”principle,basedontheideathatagivenfoodcanusuallybe
classifiedeitherasanutritiouscarbohydratecorefoodthatsustainsapopulaceoras
oneofthemultiplealternativesupplementarytastefoodstoprovideavarietyoftastes.
Muchoftheworkiscautioustheorisingaboutconsumptionpatternsinthelight
ofthecarbohydratecoreprincipleandtheapparentchangesinsocialperceptionsof
sugar.Inthechapteronconsumption,Mintzdiscussesthehistoricalawarenessand
consumptionofsugarbytheBritish,beginningwiththeearliestmentionofit,around
AD1100,uptomoderntimes.Sugarhadbeenalsoknownforitsmedicinalproper-
tiesand“longbeforemostnorthEuropeanscametoknowofit,sugarwasconsumed
…asamedicineandspiceintheeasternMediterranean,inEgypt,andacrossNorth
Africa.”79ItcametobeprizedamongtheaffluentofwesternEuropefromthetimes
ofCrusadesonwards.SweetnessandPowerinvestigatesthephysical,historical,so-
cial,andeconomicaspectsofsugarthroughoutBritishculture.
Theaimofthepresentworkistocharacterisefoodpurchase,storageandconsump-
tioninhouseholdsoftheEnglishnobilitasmajorandnobilitasminorinthelate
MiddleAgesandearlymodernperiod.Asstatedearlier,noworkwhichundertakes
anin-depthanalysisofthenoblehouseholdinthefifteenthandsixteenthcenturies,
focusingonfoodanddietandtakingintoconsiderationtheimpactofthehumoral
theoryonanEnglishman'sdiet,hasbeenwrittensofar.Thebroadselectionof
documentsthatsurvivefromthefifteenthcenturyonwardsmakessecondaryhistori-
calworkeasierandmoreaccurate.Whatisimportantisthefactthatmanyofthese
documentsaremorecompletethantheaccountsfromearlierperiods.Imadeuseof
awiderangeofprimarymaterialsincludinghouseholdaccountsofvariouskinds,
inventories,ordinancesandotherhouseholddocumentsaswellasrecipescollectedin
manuscriptsandcookerybooks,mostlypublishedintheperiodunderconsideration.
Forthisstudysevenhouseholdaccountsystemswereanalysed,fromdifferenttimes
aswellas,fromdifferentlevelsofsociety,fromgreatlords,suchasRobertDudley,
EarlofLeicester,tolessernobles,suchasSirEdwardDon,andtheirfamilies.
Appendix1includesaselectionofthehouseholdaccountbooksthatwereusedto
performtheanalysisoffoodsprovisionedandconsumedbynoblehouseholdsinthe
periodunderconsideration.Thehouseholdsdifferinsize,therankoftheirmaster,
78
S.W.Mintz,SweetnessandPower:ThePlaceofSugarinModernHistory(NewYork,
1985).
79
Ibid.,p.80.
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