4 ms·

How the Tudors Invented Breakfast

40 points by Thevet 12y ago

cafard 12y ago
Then how does breakfast appear in The Odyssey?
- graeme 12y ago
  It's not a good idea to judge articles by their headlines. Typically, the headlines aren't written by the author. The article itself says that breakfast became a more regular occurrence due to longer, fixed workdays. Some people ate breakfast before then, it just wasn't a set routine the way lunch and dinner were.
  - azernik 12y ago
    In fact, says my quick text search, the string "Tudor" does not show up once after the headline.
    - dghf 12y ago
      But the thrust of the article is that in England eating breakfast became the norm during the 16th century, a period almost coterminous with the rule of the Tudors (Henry VII took the throne in 1485; Elizabeth I died in 1603).
  - brusch64 12y ago
    My grandparents were farmers - and they've always had breakfast. They had to get up early to milk the cows. I don't know their exact morning routine, but they had breakfast before or after milking the cows in the morning (I would say before milking the cows). I think breakfast works pretty well for a farmer's livestyle. So I wonder, if this is really the big exception. And there was always a break in the morning (at 9 o'clock) from a "second breakfast" - or a small lunch break.
barrkel 12y ago
Few of us in the 21st century would dream of embarking upon our days on an empty stomach In my circles, I'd estimate only a narrow minority have a breakfast beyond caffeine. I certainly don't eat before noon. PS: more evidence, after I searched to investigate: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7593760/Two-thirds-of-Britons-do-not-eat-breakfast.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7593760/Two-thirds-of... Men skip their morning meal the most, with 74 per cent admitting lunch is their first meal of the day.
- ashark 12y ago
  Between feeling very slightly queasy for the first thirty minutes or so after I wake up, and not wanting toothpaste flavor in my mouth within half an hour on either side of when I eat, I almost never eat breakfast. Been that way as long as I can remember. Didn't realize I might be in the majority.
  - ThrustVectoring 12y ago
    The toothpaste flavor is from sodium lauryl sulfate, and is completely gone if you use SLS-free toothpaste.
    - Retra 12y ago
      Why would anybody do that!? That's like taking the chocolate out of a chocolate chip cookie!
      - malandrew 12y ago
        SLS is an irritant and can exacerbate mouth ulcers. For example, if you bite the inside of your cheek or if you bite your tongue, it will heal faster with an SLS-free toothpaste. SLS-free toothpastes are also much milder in minty-ness. I switched to SLS-free (Squigle) about a year ago and couldn't be happier.
        davidgl 12y ago
rokhayakebe 12y ago
My first thought was "does this have anything to do with the invention of street lights and the time people could now get to working?"
emjaygee 12y ago
Yes, but Tolkien invented Second Breakfast. No comparison.
- dllthomas 12y ago
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_breakfast http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_breakfast "It is traditional in Bavaria, in Poland, and in Hungary. In Bavaria or Poland, special dishes are made exclusively to be eaten during second breakfast."
  - Surio 12y ago
    IIRC, Czechs (and Slovaks too, perhaps) have something called "svacina" which fits this definition of a second breakfast. There are other places in the world too that have this custom: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffin
    - psykovsky 12y ago
      In Portugal it's called "bucha".
arjn 12y ago
---- excerpt ---- Aragorn: Gentlemen, we do not stop 'til nightfall. Pippin: What about breakfast? Aragorn: You've already had it. Pippin: We've had one, yes. What about second breakfast? [Aragorn turns and walks off in disgust] Merry: I don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip. Pippin: What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he? Merry: I wouldn't count on it. ---------------- :-)
vl 12y ago
>[16th century] The main meal, dinner, was held at about 10.30 or 11 in the morning, and supper about five hours later. Hmm, I wonder what was the typical time for dinner in the 19th century? I.e. when Mr Bingley was invited "to dine" with Bennets, at what time he was expected to show up?

40 points by Thevet 12y ago

cafard 12y ago

Then how does breakfast appear in The Odyssey?

graeme 12y ago
It's not a good idea to judge articles by their headlines. Typically, the headlines aren't written by the author. The article itself says that breakfast became a more regular occurrence due to longer, fixed workdays. Some people ate breakfast before then, it just wasn't a set routine the way lunch and dinner were.
- azernik 12y ago
  In fact, says my quick text search, the string "Tudor" does not show up once after the headline.
  - dghf 12y ago
    But the thrust of the article is that in England eating breakfast became the norm during the 16th century, a period almost coterminous with the rule of the Tudors (Henry VII took the throne in 1485; Elizabeth I died in 1603).
- brusch64 12y ago
  My grandparents were farmers - and they've always had breakfast. They had to get up early to milk the cows. I don't know their exact morning routine, but they had breakfast before or after milking the cows in the morning (I would say before milking the cows). I think breakfast works pretty well for a farmer's livestyle. So I wonder, if this is really the big exception. And there was always a break in the morning (at 9 o'clock) from a "second breakfast" - or a small lunch break.

barrkel 12y ago

Few of us in the 21st century would dream of embarking upon our days on an empty stomach In my circles, I'd estimate only a narrow minority have a breakfast beyond caffeine. I certainly don't eat before noon. PS: more evidence, after I searched to investigate: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7593760/Two-thirds-of-Britons-do-not-eat-breakfast.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7593760/Two-thirds-of... Men skip their morning meal the most, with 74 per cent admitting lunch is their first meal of the day.

ashark 12y ago
Between feeling very slightly queasy for the first thirty minutes or so after I wake up, and not wanting toothpaste flavor in my mouth within half an hour on either side of when I eat, I almost never eat breakfast. Been that way as long as I can remember. Didn't realize I might be in the majority.
- ThrustVectoring 12y ago
  The toothpaste flavor is from sodium lauryl sulfate, and is completely gone if you use SLS-free toothpaste.
  - Retra 12y ago
    Why would anybody do that!? That's like taking the chocolate out of a chocolate chip cookie!
    - malandrew 12y ago
      SLS is an irritant and can exacerbate mouth ulcers. For example, if you bite the inside of your cheek or if you bite your tongue, it will heal faster with an SLS-free toothpaste. SLS-free toothpastes are also much milder in minty-ness. I switched to SLS-free (Squigle) about a year ago and couldn't be happier.
      - davidgl 12y ago

rokhayakebe 12y ago

My first thought was "does this have anything to do with the invention of street lights and the time people could now get to working?"

emjaygee 12y ago

Yes, but Tolkien invented Second Breakfast. No comparison.

dllthomas 12y ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_breakfast http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_breakfast "It is traditional in Bavaria, in Poland, and in Hungary. In Bavaria or Poland, special dishes are made exclusively to be eaten during second breakfast."
- Surio 12y ago
  IIRC, Czechs (and Slovaks too, perhaps) have something called "svacina" which fits this definition of a second breakfast. There are other places in the world too that have this custom: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffin
  - psykovsky 12y ago
    In Portugal it's called "bucha".

arjn 12y ago

---- excerpt ---- Aragorn: Gentlemen, we do not stop 'til nightfall. Pippin: What about breakfast? Aragorn: You've already had it. Pippin: We've had one, yes. What about second breakfast? [Aragorn turns and walks off in disgust] Merry: I don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip. Pippin: What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he? Merry: I wouldn't count on it. ---------------- :-)

vl 12y ago

>[16th century] The main meal, dinner, was held at about 10.30 or 11 in the morning, and supper about five hours later. Hmm, I wonder what was the typical time for dinner in the 19th century? I.e. when Mr Bingley was invited "to dine" with Bennets, at what time he was expected to show up?