People Ate What They Could
Meat was not readily available, especially for the peasants. However, the rich were not particular about what kind of meat they would eat, since it was all difficult to get ahold of. According to records from the time, the wealthy would dine on “starlings, vultures, gulls, herons, cormorants, swans, cranes, peacocks, capons, chickens, dogfish, porpoises, seals, whale, haddock, hedgehogs, cod, salmon, sardines, lamprey eels, crayfish, and oysters.”
“Umble Pie” Was A Christmas Dinner Staple
Just like today, Christmas dinner was an important meal, and back then people would eat a variety of birds. Wealthy people ate woodcock, goose, and swan. Common folk would eat geese, but they would typically spend an entire day’s wages to pay for it. Everyone would also eat “umble pie” which was made of deer entrails.