Spanning the years from 400 C.E. to 1066, this work examines post-Roman Britain until the time of the Norman Conquest. Its use of "Anglo-Saxon" refers more to an era than a single ethnic group, as author Emma Kay is interested in the influences of not only of these two groups but Viking, Danish, Frankish and other people who arrived. Kay was a general historian and museum staffer before turning her hand to food history and her approach is direct and systematic. Her chapters address different sorts of food (soups, sauces & oils, breads, relishes & dairy, etc.) and show wide acquaintance with other scholarship describing the period, even when she may disagree with it. Kay's sources include literary and general historical works of the period, records from the households of 8th-century kings, analysis from archaeological digs, all amply documented in the book's bibliography. There are recipes, some translated from original sources and others developed for use in contemporary kitchens. A thorough introduction. Paperback. Line art.
