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Tag: food and drink

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  • Woodcut of man in kitchen

    Leprosy and diet in medieval Normandy

    06/10/2017

    The first seminar in the 2017–18 History of Pre-Modern Medicine seminar series takes place on Tuesday 10 October. Speaker: Dr Elma Brenner (Wellcome Collection), ‘Leprosy and diet in medieval Normandy’ Food and drink were key markers of status in medieval… Continue reading

  • Anatomical engraving 1679.

    History of Pre-Modern Medicine seminar series, 2017–18

    24/09/2017

    The History of Pre-Modern Medicine seminar series returns this autumn. The 2017–18 series – organised by a group of historians of medicine based at London universities and hosted by the Wellcome Library – will commence with four seminars in the… Continue reading

  • Midwinter warmers

    23/12/2016

    As the nights draw in, what better way to banish winter chills than with a warming drink. In the last of her Christmas blog posts, Mary-Anne Boermanns offers something from our historical recipe manuscripts that will see you through the… Continue reading

  • Last minute plum pudding

    21/12/2016

    Looking to bring something a little out of the ordinary to the Christmas table this year? Mary-Anne Boermans sought inspiration from our historical recipe manuscripts. Here’s her adaptation of a traditional plum pudding recipe: When we think of sweet, festive… Continue reading

  • Savoury mince pies

    19/12/2016

    Looking to bring something a little out of the ordinary to the Christmas table this year? Mary-Anne Boermans sought inspiration from some traditional recipes in our historical recipe manuscripts. Here’s her take on the original mince pies: Mince Pies have… Continue reading

  • How to survive the dog-days of summer

    10/08/2016

    Are you wilting under the heliacal rising of Sirius, Orion’s best friend, otherwise known as the ‘dog-days of summer‘?  Whether or not you have modern air conditioning (or servants to fan your heated brow), history provides us with a number of examples… Continue reading

  • Campaigning cookbooks for vegetarians

    19/05/2016

    Take a look at the published books in our collection classified under the subject Vegetarian Diet and you might be surprised. A substantial number were published in the second half of the 19th century. The first vegetarian society in the… Continue reading

  • Barberries, saffron and almond milk: the flavours of 2015 … and 1662

    19/12/2015

    Holly Story from the Library’s media team has been delving in to one of our many historical recipe books. Here’s what she discovered from the point of view of a curious cook rather than an historian or archivist. In the… Continue reading

  • St Elizabeth feeding sick man.

    A history of health? Integrating food and drink into the history of medieval medicine

    07/10/2015

    The first seminar in the 2015–16 History of Pre-Modern Medicine seminar series takes place on Tuesday 13th October. Speaker: Dr Iona McCleery (University of Leeds) A history of health? Integrating food and drink into the history of medieval medicine Abstract: The… Continue reading

  • Spotlight: pass the port, Dr Jenner

    10/08/2015

    When Edward Jenner, the vaccination pioneer, died in 1823, he left over 800 books among his personal effects. They are listed in an inventory preserved in the Wellcome Library (MS 3028). They include, unsurprisingly, a large number of works on… Continue reading