Eatin' in Roman Britain

The Britanni were a farming society rich with cattle, sheep, and dogs. The crops raisd were mostly barley and wheat, which Romans referred to as 'corn.' The Britanni also had a wide variety of seafood the Romans enjoyed during their visit. In fact, oysters from Camulodunum/Colchester were so loved they were exported back to Rome. The Britanni also had plenty of wild boar to hunt and to send back to the games in Rome. Nature provided the rest of the Britanni diet as wild berries and roots. 

That is until the Romans came.

Over the nearly five hundred years Rome ruled in Britannia, the Romans improved not only the agriculture of this territory, put in roads, and a healthy means to taxation, etc., they brought new foods to this island as well as other regions of the Empire.

New varieties of vegetables: cabbage, onion, leek, shallots, carrots, endive, globe artichoke, cucumber, asparagus, parsnip, turnip, radish and celery.

New fruits: grape, medlar mulberry damson plum, cherry, and apples (not crabapples though.)

New nuts: walnut and chestnuts

New herbs: parsley, borage, chervil, coriander, dill, fennel, mint, thyme, garlic, rosemary, sage, savory, sweet marjoram, ginger, pepper and cinnamon bay, basil.

New animals: chickens, pheasants, peacocks guinea fowl, and some say the fallow deer.

The Romans imported dates, almonds, olives, olive oil wine, pinecones and garum (a fishy sauce for dipping food)And dormice. Yep, these little critters were fattened up and stuffed with minced meat and cooked.  They weren’t small as the British field mice, but much larger. And they still remain I'm sure alive and well in Britain.


Romans also introduced the idea of keeping birds in a columbaria or a place to raise birds for dinners.

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Along with all these entrees they entertained the Britanni with ideas of fancy sauces to dip morsels into, smother with or marinate. And since Romans always enjoyed a good show, they shared ideas of presentation as stuffing a wild boar with small living birds that few out when carved open. Anyone else recall the ditty:

Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye,
Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened the birds began to sing,
Oh wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?

The Romans also started the game park idea for the red roe and fallow deer as well as for rabbits/hare gardens thus to keep plenty available for dinners as well as for the fine sport of hunting. I believe the various British kings enjoyed many such parks over history. And many authors have used this to enhance plot lines of their stories and books.  

So Rome certainly has left a legacy in so many ways...even today.

Oh and don't forget...wine. Of course!!!

"Because in Amalfi you live by your heart....not by Rome's laws."

for more  about  Vows of Revenge

visit www.jfridgley.com

. Coming 2012 at Amazon.com

A List Of Regency Servants

Upper Servants: 

Upper servants were referred to by their last names, were paid more than lower servants, and dressed in regular clothes. In large households, upper servants usually ate in their own room, separate from the lower servants who ate in the 'servants hall'. 

Steward - managed the estate.

Butler - answered the door, delivered messages, tended the candles, wine cellar, and the silver. Butlers supervised the footmen and were also in charge of the serving of food and beverages.

Housekeeper -  supervised the maids, purchased provisions for the house and was the go between between the mistress of the house and the cook.

Cook - separate from the usual staff.  Cooks were paid more than other servants and male cooks earned more than female cooks.  In large households specialty cooks were often employed to help the head cook/chef. 

Valet - tended to the Master of the house (his clothing, cravats, etc.) Did not mingle with other servants.  Valets often traveled with their master.

Lady's Maid - tended to the Lady of the House (styled her hair, cared for her clothing and jewelry.)  Often they were given the Lady's cast off clothing to keep as their own or to sell.  

Governess - separate from the usual rank of servants.  Governesses cared for the children. They did not associate with the lower household servants.

The Lower Servants:

Lower servants: were referred to by their first names, dressed in livery and paid low wages, some as low as 6 pounds a year. 

Footmen - waited at the table, served tea, did whatever was needed inside the house. They accompanied the ladies of the house on shopping trips to carry the goods purchased.

Chambermaids - tended to the bedrooms. The chambermaids were the highest of the lower female servants.

Housemaids - Followed the chambermaids in rank, cleaned the house from top to bottom.

Scullery maids - lowest of the lower female servants.  Worked in the kitchen and pantry, washed the dishes and pots. Also cleaned up after the servants meals.

References:  The Jane Austen Handbook by Margaret C. Sullivan, All Things Austen by Kristen Olsen, The Regency Companion by S Laudermilk and T L Hamlin, Georgette Heyer's Regency World by Jennifer Kloester 

 THE PROTECTORATE
by Angelique Armae

Regency Vampire Romance
Available:  Kindle or Print

Amazon.com

BN.com

The Norman Conquest and the Welsh Language by Anna Markland

FREE JUNE 13/14

"The Winds of the Heavens" is FREE on Amazon for two days only, June 13 and 14. Set in Wales in the aftermath of the Norman invasion, it tells the story of twin Welsh patriots, Rhun and Rhydderch. They face a dilemma—both have fallen in love with the same woman. They’ve always shared everything, but can they share a woman?

"Passion in the Blood" (from The Montbryce Legacy Series) is also FREE for the same two days.

Check out the list of FREE kindle books available at Summer Sizzle Free Partay. 

Here is an article about the effect of the Norman invasion on the Welsh language.

The Francophone Normans conquered Wales by a process of raids and colonisation over two centuries. It was their English-speaking followers who brought their language to everyday Welsh life.

The Battle of Hastings in 1066 was the decisive event in the conquest of Saxon England. Within a year, the Normans were building a castle at Chepstow and had begun their piecemeal conquest of Wales, a process which took well over 200 years.

Chepstow

The conquest started with a series of devastating raids which by the end of the 11th century had affected almost every part of the country. Native rulers were either killed or sought refuge in Ireland. In December 1282, the last native Prince of Wales, Llewellyn the Last, died at the hands of Edward I's forces.

Near this place was killed Llywelyn our last leader

The Welsh had not experienced anything like it since the Roman invasion. This time the invaders brought with them two languages: French and English. The Norman leaders spoke French; indeed the Welsh chroniclers of the period write not of fighting the English but of fighting the French. French words absorbed by Welsh at the time are evidence of the new powers: barwn (baron) and gwarant (warrant).

However, it was the Normans' English-speaking followers who colonised the conquered lands and brought their language to Wales. One well-known example is south Pembrokeshire, long known as Little England Beyond Wales.

The Chronicle of the Princes (Brut y Tywysogyon) states a colony was established in 1105 when Henry I allowed a number of Flemings from modern-day Belgium to settle in the area around Haverfordwest. They were later joined by English settlers—the Flemish and English languages were similar at the time.

ALSO FREE on June 13 & 14 ONLY

This led to the extinction of Welsh in the area, and a legacy of aggression towards the language which has only softened in recent times. However, the invasions also caused a rallying of a Welsh identity and culture under threat. This is the background for The Winds of the Heavens.

A Glance at Prostitution Throughout the Ages

This month, I'm at Coffee Time Romance for their Reader's Retreat, talking about my erotic Scottish Medieval A Knight of Passion.

Lady Riana Ellis will risk the fires of Hell for those she loves. Can she let a man do the same for her?

As whore for the Duchess of Arundel, Lady Riana Ellis keeps her sister safe from the duke’s lascivious desires. But the duchess now demands that Riana murder the man already sent to her bed.

Sir Bryant Cullen determines to have the duchess’ whore. Her land is a prize, but it’s her secrets he wants. Once he knows what she knows, he will control one of the most powerful houses in Scotland. And she will be his.

 As you can see, my heroine in A Knight of Passion is a whore. Not unlike many women over the ages who have sold their bodies, Lady Riana Ellis is not a willing participant in what is called the world's oldest profession. But she is a woman of her time, so is a pragmatist. Riana is doing what must be done. In her case, she has been left completely without any rights. But that wasn't always the case.

As far back as ancient Babylon prostitutes were recognized as having rights.

The Code of Hammurabi includes provisions to protect the inheritance rights of prostitutes, the only category of women (except for widows) who had no male providers:

If a "devoted woman" or a prostitute to whom her father has given a dowry and a deed therefor ... then her father die, then her brothers shall hold her field and garden, and give her corn, oil, and milk according to her portion ...

If a "sister of a god," or a prostitute, receive a gift from her father, and a deed in which it has been explicitly stated that she may dispose of it as she pleases ... then she may leave her property to whomsoever she pleases.

A rather practical view, if you ask me.

Moving forward in time...

Greek literature refers to three classes of prostitutes: pornai, or slave prostitutes; freeborn street prostitutes; and hetaera, educated prostitute-entertainers who enjoyed a level of social influence that was denied to nearly all non-prostitute women. Pornai and street prostitutes, appealing to a male clientele, could be either female or male. Hetaera were always female.

According to tradition, Solon established government-supported brothels in high-traffic urban areas of Greece--brothels staffed with inexpensive pornai that all men, regardless of income level, could afford to hire. Prostitution would remain legal throughout the Greek and Roman periods, though later, Christian Roman emperors strongly discouraged it. 

Don't you just bet they did?

AD 590 (ca) Reccared Bans Prostitution. The newly-converted Reccared I, Visigoth King of Spain, banned prostitution as part of an effort to bring his country into alignment with Christian ideology. There was no punishment for men who hired or exploited prostitutes, but women found guilty of selling sexual favors were whipped 300 times and exiled, which in many cases would have been tantamount to a death sentence. 

1161: King Henry II regulates, but doesn't ban prostitution. By the medieval era, prostitution was accepted as a fact of life in major cities. King Henry II discouraged but permitted it, though he mandated that prostitutes must be single and ordered weekly inspections of London's infamous brothels to ensure that other laws were not being broken.

 

1358: Italy Embraces prostitution.  The Great Council of Venice declared prostitution to be "absolutely indispensable to the world" in 1358, and government-funded brothels were established in major Italian cities throughout the 14th and 15th centuries.

Interestingly enough, William W. Sanger in The History of Prostitution: Its Extent, Causes and Effects Throughout the World includes in his history of prostitution the relationship between ladies of the Middle Ages and their knights gallant: 

It is difficult to ascertain the precise character of the relations which existed between the Troubadours and the mistresses who whose service they devoted themselves, and who were frequently married women... It is hardly credible that the lovers of ardent admirers was immaculate Platonism... The lords of these times were proud of the protestations of regard offered to their ladies, and rewarded the Troubadours with rich and valuable presents.

1586: Pope Sixtus V Mandates Death Penalty for Prostitution. Penalties for prostitution--ranging from maiming to execution--were technically in place in many European states, but generally went unenforced. The newly-elected Pope Sixtus V grew frustrated and decided on a more direct approach, ordering that all women who participate in prostitution should be put to death. There is no evidence that his order was actually carried out on any large scale by Catholic nations of the period.

Although Sixtus reigned for only five years, this was not his only claim to fame. He is also noted as the first Pope to declare that abortion is homicide regardless of the stage of pregnancy; before he became Pope, the church taught that fetuses did not become human persons until quickening (about 20 weeks).

1802: France Establishes Bureau of Morals. Following the French Revolution, the government replaced the traditional bans on prostitution with a new Bureau of Morals (Bureau des Moeurs)--first in Paris, and then throughout the country. The new agency was essentially a police force responsible for monitoring houses of prostitution in order to ensure that they complied with the law, and did not become centers of criminal activity (as has historically been the tendency with respect to brothels). The agency operated continuously for over a century before it was abolished.

1932: Forced Prostitution in Japan. "The women cried out," Japanese WWII veteran Yasuji Kaneko would later recall, "but it didn't matter to us whether the women lived or died. We were the emperor's soldiers. Whether in military brothels or in the villages, we raped without reluctance."

During World War II, the Japanese government abducted between 80,000 and 300,000 women and girls from Japanese-occupied territories and forced them to serve in "comfort battalions," militarized brothels that were created to serve Japanese soldiers. To this day, the Japanese government has denied responsibility and refused to issue an official apology or pay restitution.

1956: India Almost Bans Sex Trafficking

Although the Immoral Traffic Suppression Act (SITA) theoretically banned commercialized sex trade in 1956, Indian anti-prostitution laws are generally enforced, and have traditionally been enforced, as public order statutes. As long as prostitution is restricted to certain areas, it is generally tolerated.

Subsequently, India is home today to Asia's largest red-light district--Mumbai's infamous Kamathipura, which originated as a massive brothel for British occupiers and shifted to a local clientele following Indian independence.

  1971: Nevada Permits Brothels

Nevada is not the most liberal region of the United States--that would be Berkeley, California, which regularly rejects legalization of prostitution by an overwhelming margin--but it is among the most libertarian. State politicians have consistently held the position that they personally oppose legalized prostitution, but do not believe that it should be banned at the state level. Subsequently, some counties ban brothels and some allow them to operate legally.

1999: Sweden Takes a Feminist Approach

Although anti-prostitution laws have historically focused on the arrest and punishment of prostitutes themselves, the Swedish government attempted a new approach in 1999. Classifying prostitution as a form of violence against women, Sweden offered a general amnesty to prostitutes and initiated new programs designed to help them transition into other lines of work.

But the new legislation did not decriminalize prostitution as such--while it became legal under the Swedish model to sell sex, it remained illegal to buy sex or to pander prostitutes. Evidence of the new system's efficacy is inconclusive, but early indications suggest that it may be working.

 

2007: South Africa Confronts Sex Trafficking

A semi-industrialized nation with a growing economy surrounded by poorer nations, South Africa is a natural haven for international sex traffickers eager to export their prey from poorer nations. And to make matters worse, South Africa has a serious domestic prostitution problem of its own--in a nation where an estimated 25 percent of prostitutes are children.

But the South African government is cracking down. Criminal Law Amendment Act 32 of 2007 targets human trafficking, and a team of legal scholars has been commissioned by the government to draft new regulations governing prostitution. South Africa's legislative successes and failures will create templates that can be used in other nations.

Prostitution has a long and complicated history. Not much has changed on that score. Prostitution remains a complex issue. Whatever one's viewpoint on the subject, prostitution has been with us since the beginning of time.

If you're interested in participating in the Reader's Retreat at Coffee Time Romance this month, I'm giving away one copy of A Knight of Passion. The rules are easy. Leave a comment to be in the drawing. The winner can pop over to Coffee Time Romance a bit throughout June to visit a bit. Good luck!

WWW.TARAHSCOTT.COM

The Life of a Laundress by Jennifer Jakes

DOWN AND DIRTY: THE LIFE OF A LAUNDRESS

Oh, I know what you’re thinking. Naughty, naughty. *insert Tsk here* And while I will touch upon some of the “horizontal” work a Laundress could do to earn a little extra money, the main part of this post deals with the long hours of the world’s other oldest profession: Scrubbing clothes.

As a Civil War Re-enactor, I chose the Army Laundress as my portrayal. When I found this historical photo of a woman, her husband and three children, I focused on recreating her look and the look of her camp for mine. (My husband is a Corp. in a small artillery unit and two our daughters re-enact with us.) So I wanted to share some of the information I discovered while researching this Army occupation. Yep, you read that right. The Army Laundress was employed by the Union Army. (The Confederate Army quite possibly did the same, but my research was for the Union.) All info from: Civil War Times, Aug. 1999 - including historic photo - and Laundry Handbook by Virginia Mescher

*Appointed by the captain of the company, the first thing he assigned the laundress was her letter of good character. She was the only woman granted official status in the army camp. All others – including officers’ wives – were considered Camp Followers.

*She was usually married to or related to one of the lower ranking soldiers. Her tent was set apart from the men – and if she was married to a soldier, he normally stayed with her on Suds Row.

*While most laundresses seemed respectable enough, there were a few who made “lots of money nature’s way. One of them had a bill today against a soldier for forty dollars.” –  Quote from a private, 2^nd Minnesota Infantry. (Wow! That’s a lot of scrubbing up and down on. . .  something! Bet it wasn’t his socks. *wink* ) Such improper behavior was grounds for dismissal UNLESS the company captain chose to look the other way.

*One such “energetic” washer woman could make upwards of $40 per month. A true laundress who actually washed clothing, made about $7- $12. per month. Combined with her husband’s pay of about $13 per month, the couple could earn a good amount for that day.

*The washer woman received a tent, daily rations of food and services of the surgeon. (These must have been the perks of the job. Unless you were the woman who made……..nevermind.)

Laundry was not a one day event for women of this time. It could take up to three days to complete all the steps. Here they are in order:

Mending – Yes, dirty clothes

Sorting

Stain Removal

Soaking – Which would mean this and all of the above steps would be done on (example) Monday and left overnight to soak.

Washing(read Scrubbing) and/or Boiling – 1 wash, 1 boil, 1 rinse meant at least 50 gallons of water. (Hope they camped near a creek.)

Rinsing – 3 rinses were customary (think of wringing each piece – esp. those wool uniforms – by hand! Yes, some laundresses did have wringer (a clothes squeezer), but most outside of hospital workers did not.)

Bluing – This was used for whites. Bluing does not bleach the clothes, but once added to the final rinse, gave the illusion of “white”.

Bleaching –If the Bluing did not make the white items as white as desired, they could either be laid in the sun to sun-bleach or a chemical bleach could be used. A common chemical used was Ammonia. The most common source of ammonia was STALE URINE! (Bet those clothes smelled nice and freshly laundered. Not!)

Starching – Starch helped keep dirt from being ground into the material. Remember, these men or women did not change clothes daily. Sometimes, not even weekly.

Drying – Hopefully the laundress had a place to string a clothes line. Otherwise, clothes would be spread on the ground or on top of shrubs. (This ended Day 2 of washing.)

Sprinkling – After the clothes were dry, the starched items were sprinkled with water, rolled up and allowed to absorb the water so they were damp. This softened the starch and made clothes easier to iron.

Ironing – Flat or Sad irons (sad meant heavy) and it took 1 ½ hrs to heat a 6 pound iron. Laundresses kept several “irons in the fire” as she couldn’t wait 1 ½ each time an iron cooled. (I suspect this is where the saying too many irons in the fire came from.) They didn’t really put the iron in the fire though as that would have meant streaking soot over clean clothes so they used upside down frying pans set on the fire grate. I suppose the women might have brought their own Trivit from home. Anyway, ironing costs a soldier about 3 cents per shirt.

Airing – This was an important step as the clothes were still damp after ironing and they were folded damp, they would crease and if the weather was warm, mildew.

Folding – Even women doing laundry at home folded as most “poor to middle class” didn’t have closets.

 OK, I could go on and on with interesting facts but for now……….Go kiss your washing machine and dryer!

***

Find out more about Jennifer and her books at her website

Real Historical Figures in Fiction

First of all, I must say, I cannot believe it is June already! Where did this year go??? As I get older it seems that the years fly by faster and faster... What about you?

Secondly, I must share with you my new cover! THE HIGHLANDER'S REWARD is the first The Stolen Bride Series (6 books planned)--Scottish romance, family saga. I am so excited to introduce you to Magnus and Arbella. This book will release on July 15th as an ebook (Amazon, B&N, I-Books, Sony, Kobo, Smashwords), and then I will make it available in print in the late Fall. So tell me, what do you think of the cover???

(This cover was made especially for me by my dear friend 

and partner in crime, Kim Killion at Hot Damn Designs!)

Now, that I've distracted you with my beautiful cover *g*, let us get back to the topic I chose to write about today: using real historical figures in fiction.

I LOVE to put real historical figures in fiction. It adds a sense of believability and credibility to your story. It also gives readers a sense of the time and what was truly happening. In THE STOLEN BRIDE SERIES, which takes place in the late 13th century, William Wallace makes appearances in each book. I have always found his story to be fascinating as well as that of the fight for Scottish independence from Longshanks aka the English King. His desire to weed the Scots out of their own country was just astounding. Naturally, using this time period as my back drop, my characters will also have to endure what the Scots of that time had to endure.

When adding real figures into your books, it is important to study up on them. For this series, I had to learn about the different battles obviously, but also what William Wallace was like. Even though he only makes brief appearances, I wanted those appearances to be as authentic as possible. He was an impressive man, not only in his intelligence and military strategy but physically. A documentary I watched claimed he was about 6'6 and muscular...so dreamy...but alas, he is not my hero. Magnus Sutherland from THE HIGHLANDER'S REWARD will hopefully have you all sighing. 

If a reader (such as myself) knows something about the historical figure you use and it doesn't ring true, they will be disappointed. What is the best way to do research on a historical figure? I do several things: books, internet, documentaries. I like to have at least 2 sources saying the same thing. Documentaries are my favorite resource for research and you'll find that on YouTube there are TONS of documentaries from the History Channel.

Well, back to writing!

Cheers,

Eliza

Eliza Knight is the award-winning, multi-published author of sizzling historical romance and erotic romance. Visit her at her Website, her historical blog History Undressed, her reader blog For the Love of Books, Twitter: @ElizaKnight or Facebook. 

Witches!

In my book, Whistle Down the Wind, the story begins when the heroine, Catlin, is accused by the local witch hunter of practicing witchcraft. In the year 1664, this was a real possibility. And even though Catlin does have magical powers, it wasn't necessary to be able to harness the wind or command fire like the Glyndwr sisters of my series to be charged with witchcraft.

The following evidence would be enough to bring a woman to court on a charge of practicing witchcraft.

• Having a notorious reputation as a witch
• Cursing someone who later experiences some kind of misfortune
• Witnesses observing malice on the part of the accused witch, followed by misfortune on the part of the victim
• Being related by blood or friendship to a proven witch
• The victim recovering after the accused witch is scratched or her property burned
• Failure of the accused witch to sink when immersed in water, (this is called "swimming" the witch). Death proves the accused witch is innocent
• A confession of practicing witchcraft
• Deathbed accusation by the victim naming the witch as the cause of illness
• An un-natural mark on the body, (Devil's Mark), caused by demons or a familiar
• Two witnesses who claim to have seen the accused witch make a pact with Satan or entertain her familiars
• Being an "outsider" such as a widow, mid-wife, "cunning woman" or bearing some type of disfigurement or birth mark

In order to prove the accused guilty, mostly women -- although some men were also tried for practicing witchcraft, torture was used to elicit confessions. Although English law technically forbade the use of torture in witch trials, many means were employed to gain a confession.

The accused were beaten, starved, held in cells with no comforts, deprived of sleep and walked around until their feet blistered. Thumb screws were used to crush bones in hands along with leg screws. "Pricking" was used when a witch had a suspected "Devil's Mark" that consisted of a pointed dagger pushed into the mark because it was believed a witch couldn't feel pain on that spot.

"Strappado" was a particularly heinous torture, when the hands were bound then attached to a rope strung over a pulley that was affixed to the ceiling. The accused witch was hoisted up, then dropped suddenly. This often resulted in broken bones.

An investigation of witchcraft was generally a death sentence, so it will come as no surprise that my character, Catlin, is willing to bargain with the hero to escape from the gaol, (jail). What happens next?

I guess you'll have to read the book to find out!