Eating Habits and Food of the Monks of Palestine in the 5th – 6th c.

Abstract

The article is concerned with the eating habits of the monks of Palestine in the 5th-6th centuries. It has been based on and draws from a number of contemporary sources. The staple in themonks’ daily diet was bread, which would be usually eaten with salt. It was made in bakeries that were, along with the church, the most important buildings within the precincts of each monastery, several times during a year and then dried. In addition to the bread, the staple items of foodincluded vegetables (cooked or fresh), most oen grown in or near the monastery precincts, orpossibly also provided by the faithful. The monasteries, both lauras and coenobitic establishments, had their own vegetable gardens, but the monks would also eat various wild plants. They would drink water, wine, as well as the eukration (a mixture of water and herbs).