Journal of Food Science and Engineering 9 (2019) 255-265 D doi: 10.17265/2159-5828/2019.07.001 DAVID PUBLISHING How to Ensure Food Supply to the Population of the Medieval Village of Loulé (1384-1488) Luísa Fernanda Guerreiro Martins Interdisciplinary History, Cultures and Societies Centre of the University of Évora (UID/HIS/00057/2013; POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007702), Largo do Marquês de Marialva, n.º 8, Apartado 94, Évora 7000-809, Portugal Abstract: Located in the centre of the Algarve, in the South of Portugal, the ancient village of Loulé has its origins in a Muslim medieval medina (8th Century). After the Christian Conquest of the South and namely of the Loulé territory in 1249, the Christian Administration, based on the city councils meetings, composed of good men, will have to reconcile the social and religious dynamics of the populations who stayed in the territory, formed by Jews, Muslims and Christians. Besides this social, cultural and religious scenario, local administration will also assure the management of production, distribution and sale of food needed to ensure the survival and the settlement of the populations in the territory. Part of that distribution included cereals, olive oil, wine, meat and fish, all of them representing the Mediterranean food basis of the populations from the South of the Iberian Peninsula. It is about this daily concern with food distribution and consumption, in a religious and culturally tripartite society that we intend to present this article, focusing the analysis on three types of food: cereals (“bread”), meat and fish. We intend to demonstrate how the medieval council of Loulé managed the production of the food and how the population was fed, using the Councillor Minutes of the Loulé City Council in the medieval Christian period. Since the documentation allows us to propose an interpretation for the consecrated trilogy of bread, olive oil and wine, we choose to underline three fundamental areas of the economy of the Algarve region: cattle raising and the supply of meat to the populations, the shortage of cereals with which the “bread” supply was ensured and the commercialization of fish. The provision of meat, cereals and fish ensured that the population was well fed, but the most interesting is that, the way the food distribution was made, allows us to understand the capacity to accept a tripartite society between “Christians”, “Moors” and “Jews”. Key words: Mediterranean food, medieval city, religious scenario, food production, distribution. 1. Loulé: The Advantage of the Geographic the Al-Gharb, the village of Loulé integrated the Location1 group of the most important settlements of the Algarve, privileged by the geographic centrality of the The archaeological excavations done inside the Municipality and the village itself, spreading from the historic area of Loulé have proved its Islamic origin, mountains to the coast. in spite of the finding of remains from Roman origin This geographic situation was also favourable to the in neighbouring villages. It is thought that the village circulation and the gathering of people and goods was grown around good sources of water and good towards the urban centre, where the economical and farmland. These conditions have allowed human social dynamics allowed the village to compete with settlement, with the gradual development of urban cities, such as Faro and Tavira. It is therefore areas inside the wall. understandable that Loulé was the only urban area of After the Christian Conquest of the South territory, the Algarve to receive a free fair charter, granted by Corresponding author: 1Luísa Fernanda Guerreiro Martins, the king Dinis on the 28th of July 1291. PhD; Member of Cidehus-University of Évora(UID/HIS/00057/2013;POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007702); After the Christian Conquest of the Southern Collaborator of DIAITA-University of Coimbra; Senior Portuguese territory in 1249, by the king Afonso III, Technician at the Loulé City Council; History of Food, Local History and History of Portuguese Presence in Africa. with crusaders campaign of the knights of the Order of 256 How to Ensure Food Supply to the Population of the Medieval Village of Loulé (1384-1488) Santiago, the administration and local governance 15th centuries, was likely the daily food supply to the stood in the hands of a few Christians, with the populations, so that they would not suffer from hunger. “Moors” and the “Jews” still living in the village, but This reality was transversal to the European in well-defined spaces, the “Moorish quarter” and the populations, from the North to the South, integrating “Jewish quarter”, respectively. here the fear of famine revealed in the years of The co-existence of the three religious communities 1384-1385 in the Portuguese territory. concentrated in the small area of the medieval village, The Councillor Minutes of the Loulé City Council, with the possibility of extending to the wider the most ancient in Portugal (1384), reveal to us the Municipality, helped to understand the reasons behind instructions from the Master of Avis, who became the concerns with food production, management and king D. João I after the dynastic crisis of 1383-1385, distribution. In addition, there are other interesting sent to all the villages and the cities in order that the elements to the daily life of the medieval populations, populations ensured the maintenance of the military mainly concerning precautions regarding tax fortifications, as well as the stock of essential goods to avoidance, illegality and prevalent daily food typology prevent their shortage in case of a Spanish invasion of the people of Loulé in the 1300’s. and siege. The documents reveal to us that it was ordered to the inhabitants of the village of Loulé that 2. Meat they stack inside the wall all the “chamiça” (type of In a territory where there was not yet a solid wood) needed to make the existents ovens within the knight-based hierarchy, the social groups arranged to wall to work: “[…] Outrossi outorgaram que todos os be represented at the council meetings which took que teei os fornos rendados dentro da vila que o traga place at the Council Chamber, the square or the main cada hum duzentos carregos de chamiça […]”3 as well churchyard. There, the interests of the population as cereals, wine and other goods: “Item could be defended in front of an organized outrosiacordarom que todos os que teeipam e vinhos e administration, headed by the Mayor (representative mantimentos nos arravaldes e nos termos que os of the central government with military power) and by tragam logo a cerca da vila […]”4, in addition to the the independent inspector (who surveyed the salt, essential to feed and goods preservation: “[…] implementation of justice, councillor election and que faça logo viir todo sal que sta nas sainhas5 acerca other officers, the supply and production of goods, da dicta vila per guisa que se inmigos veerem que o rents and manpower)2. It would be like that in Loulé nom achem hi. […]”6. as in the rest of the Municipalities of the Algarve, But if this framework presents itself in a where the craftsmen ensured the goods needed for risk-of-a-war period, how would the daily life be in domestic and foreign trade, while the rest of the the medieval village of Loulé in times of peace? populations sought to supply food to the village inhabitants, through farming and cattle raising. 3 Councillor Minute of the Loulé City Council, 14th and 15th In the context of this social, political and centuries, Separata da Revista Al-‘Ulyã, No. 7, Loulé, Loulé administrative framework, we note that one of the City Council, 1999/2000, Council Meeting of 09.01.1385-06.02.1385, p. 27. main concerns of the men responsible for the 4 Council Meeting Minute of the 09.01.1385-06.02.1385, p. management of the Municipalities in the 14th and the 28. 5 Small tanks which kept the salt, brought from the coast, from Ludo region. 2 Maria Helena Cruz Coelho; Joaquim Romero Magalhães, 6 Councillor Minutes of the Loulé City Council, 14th and 15th 2008, O Poder Concelhio: das origens às cortes constituintes, centuries, Separata da Revista Al-‘Ulyã, No. 7, Loulé, Loulé Notas de História Social, Coimbra, CEFA-Centro de Estudos e City Council, 1999/2000, Council Meeting of 09.01.1385, p. Formação Autárquica, 2ª edição revista, pp. 23-34. 28. How to Ensure Food Supply to the Population of the Medieval Village of Loulé (1384-1488) 257 The interpretation of these Councillor Minutes raisers and butchers were obliged to supply meat to clearly showed the existence of a strong social and the village, from Easter Sunday of that year to the political dynamic in the medieval village. Minutes Shrove Tuesday of the year after, as in the case of the resulted from councillor meetings, where the main butchers Airas Fernandes and Vasco Rouco: subjects of discussion was, recurrently, the goods “Como os carneceiros am a servir. […] Airas supply to the populations. Fernandes e Vasco Rouco carneceiros e preitarom In fact, the information is inexistent regarding com eles como ouvesem de talhar a carne per esta eventual prescriptions or complete descriptions about guisa a vaca a três soldos e o carneiro a quatro soldos the families’ food. Some will be disappointed if they e a cabra e cabrom a II soldos IIII dinheiros e a ovelha are expecting a description about how or what people pello foro da vaca […] E os dictos carneceiros would eat in a meal. This analysed documentation diserom que eles talhariom desde dia de Pascoa ata only enables us to assemble what had to be ensured, as Entrudo […] emquanto hum for a comprar o outro production, not only for supply and sale inside the talhe e sirva o concelho […].”8 village walls, but also for outside commerce.