Diet in the monastery of Sainte-Croix de Poitiers at the time of Radegonde (second half of the 6th century AD)

Isabelle Réal (1, 2)

1 TRACES - Travaux et recherches archéologiques sur les cultures, les espaces et les sociétés
2 FRAMESPA - France, Amériques, Espagne,Sociétés, Pouvoirs, Acteurs

Food is a central theme of the monastic life: symbolically, because it participates in asceticism, but also on the material level because it is necessary to feed the community. On one hand, the monastic ideal highlights the privations and on the other hand the home management worries to supply the monastery. The sources about the monastery Sainte-Croix de Poitiers in the second half of the 6th century report this dichotomy. The norm prescribes the fast - especially reported by Saint Radegonde's Vitae and the rule of Caesarius of Arles - and the diet practices are evocated in Fortunatus's poems, Gregory of Tours’s stories and in the letter of the abbess Caesaria. If we cross-check sources, we perceive behind this ideal of abstinence, the diet of a rich community, constituted by noble ladies who are used to diverse foods, and who do not want to risk food shortage, even during famine.

Mots clés: Monasticism; Gender & Society; Monastery of the Holy Cross; Middle Ages

Mots clés: Haut Moyen Age; Sainte-Croix de Poitiers; Alimentation monastique; Moniales

Domaines: Histoire; Religions

Isabelle Réal. Diet in the monastery of Sainte-Croix de Poitiers at the time of Radegonde (second half of the 6th century AD). International Medieval Congress 2016 "Food, feast and Famine", Jul 2016, Leeds, United Kingdom. ⟨halshs-02147015⟩