Food culture after 1066
950 years after William of Normandy landed on English soil in one of Britain's landmark historic moments, Cardiff University researchers are aiming to discover what impact the invasion had on diet, cooking habits and health. The Dietary Impact of the Norman Conquest will examine human and animal remains and pottery from preand post-Conquest Oxford to tell the story of the impact of 14 October 1066, better known as the Battle of Hastings. Specialists from the Universities of Sheffield and Bristol are collaborating on - Profound socio-political change in England is clear following the Norman Conquest. Sensitive to socio-political changes, diet can indicate cultural preference, economics and identity. Previous archaeological and historical research has shown that elite taste changed quickly with the arrival of French cuisine. More pork, chicken and venison was consumed, but the impact on the wider population remains unclear. This new study aims to reveal: how the diet of ordinary people changed how cooking habits altered the wider impact of the Norman Conquest on the physical health of a specific population Specialists in medieval artefacts, Saxo-Norman archaeology, funerary archaeology and bioarchaeology will use a multi-scalar approach to investigate one city in depth, focusing on Oxford as a cultural cross-roads between north and south in the early medieval period.
