Gem From The Archive

Amanda Williams of Warwickshire County Record Office shares an artefact that gives an unusual insight into life at the top of medieval society

Household account book, 1431–1432

The further back in time we go, the harder it is to find information about our ancestors’ dayto-day lives, including what they ate. But one document held by Warwickshire County Record Office provides a fascinating glimpse of day-today dining at Rouen Castle in Normandy during some of the most turbulent events of the 15th century, as archivist Amanda Williams explains.

Can You Describe The Document?

The account book records the expenses, in volume form, of the provisioning of Rouen Castle while Richard Beauchamp’s household and his guests were in occupation, and the entries date from 1431 to March 1432.

Contained within a flexible but hardened and shiny parchment cover are pages covered in spidery writing, in Latin with English words included (you might be able to spot the word “strawberries” in the image). Recorded by date are foodstuffs brought into the castle and listed under headings such as “Pantry”, “Kitchen”, “Butlery”, “Wardrobe”, “Poultry” and “Stables”. The pantry includes items such as cheese, bread, strawberries and herbs, and under the “Kitchen” heading we see all of the meat provision, so sheep, ox, deer carcasses, bacon and white fat.

The range and amount of poultry give an indication of just how many people were being provided for, and include quite a variety – from geese and chickens to pigeons, quails and herons, as well as other produce such as eggs and cream (we know that this was to go with the strawberries, because “strawberries and cream” is written at one point).

The household also ate piglets, lamb, kids and rabbits. Aside from herbs and onions, it is difficult to spot a vegetable, and this probably reflects the typical diet of the upper echelons of medieval society pretty well.

Under the heading

“Butlery” come gallons of wine and beer, and if “Wardrobe” at first seems a little strange, then it is less so when we see items such as candles and wax listed. “Stables” are just that, and we gain an idea of the amounts of oats and hay being brought in to provision the number of horses stabled there at any one time.

Sometimes the name of the buyer or supplier is included against the item listed, and invariably the amount paid comes last. However, also included are lists of names of the people coming to dine at the castle, who we believe were listed as they entered the dining hall. Some are not named and are instead just listed as “ladies in waiting”, “esquires” or “pages”.

Overseeing the accounting and heading the list of diners is Margaret, eldest daughter of Richard Beauchamp and wife to John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury.

Why Did You Choose The Account Book?

I have a deep interest in medieval history and literature. While overseeing the feeding of a castle perhaps wasn’t the usual experience of everyday life, I find myself poring over what everyone was eating, because it is these details that bring you closer to the experiences of people of the time.

However, there are other factors that draw me to this record. There is so much more to this document than immediately meets the eye, and women, such as Margaret perhaps, have been underestimated for the roles that they played during the Middle Ages.

In addition, the Beauchamp family were ensconced at Rouen Castle during the Hundred Years’ War, primarily because Richard was Captain of Calais and commanding a garrison there. He was one of the foremost men of England at the time, which was why he was in the process of conveying Henry VI to Paris so that he could be crowned King of France at NotreDame on 16 December 1431 at the age of 10, in response to the coronation of Charles VII of France at Rheims

Cathedral on 17 July 1429. Margaret was playing hostess to the king and his entourage during a time of turmoil.

And then we add one of the most famous events of medieval history. Held prisoner within the castle walls, but never mentioned in the accounts, was Joan of Arc. Captive and under constant surveillance, she was probably not overly far from the diners, among them those who were responsible for her trial and execution. Listed in the records are Pierre Cauchon, the Bishop of Beauvais and chief judge at her trial, and John II of Luxembourg, commander of the Burgundian forces, who is said to have sold Joan to the English. I often wonder whether Margaret and her ladies would have tried to gain a glimpse of Joan.

What Other Documents Are In Your Collections?

Warwickshire County Record Office holds the Warwick Castle Collection, full of records relating to its earls, but the account book is actually in the Warwick Borough Collection, and is the only document of its kind within its muniments. The document might have ended up in this collection because borough and earls were closely linked when it came to the running of the town; perhaps an official of the borough came across the account book, and added it to the borough muniments? The truth is we’re unlikely to ever know. But the borough collection is an interesting one, containing medieval borough charters, and a wealth of information following on from the aftermath of the Great Fire of Warwick in 1694. The borough acted in a number of capacities, from a manorial court leet to a local board of health and borough quarter session, so the records hold a huge amount of information for anyone interested in the history of Warwick. The account book though is of national and perhaps even international interest.

‘Held prisoner within the castle walls, but never mentioned in the accounts, was Joan of Arc’