Royal Chicken Dinners

Cambridge University researchers analysed more than 2,000 Anglo-Saxon skeletons in England .... 

Anglo-Saxon Meals Pretty Vegan

 .... all from the 5th to 11th Centuries (Saxon England before 1066), to determine their diets by analysing chemical signatures of the peoples diets preserved in the bones.

They found that before the arrival of the Vikings, Anglo-Saxon kings were mostly vegetarian, along with the rest of the population. In fact the elites ate no more meat than any other social groups in their society.

They had cross-referenced the chemical signatures, with the evidence for social status such as grave goods, body position and grave orientation, and found no correlation between social status and high protein diets.

The surprise of this was that food lists from kings such as King Ine of Wessex, had suggested that all meals were comprised of a modest amount of bread, a huge amount of meat, and a decent but not excessive quantity of ale, and no mention of vegetables ... although it was assumed that they were served as side dish accompaniment.

However it now appears that these lists were for specific feasts, such as the King visiting a district, or Christmas feasts etc, and were not the normal royal daily diet, which were more likely to be bread, mixed vegetable broth (pottage), and weak beer/ale (because water was unsafe to drink), for both the rich and poor alike. With some game meat and cheese thrown in as the seasons and availability allowed.

Even the occasional feasts with large amounts of meat, were democratic, in that their size suggests that up to 300 people would have been fed, meaning that local farmers and landowners etc must have attended them as well. The researchers said that "You could compare it to a modern presidential campaign dinner in the US. This was a crucial form of political engagement." ... so political chicken dinners are nothing new. In fact vote getting or political favour garnering via our appetites, is as old a politicians practise as it gets.

Swilling The Planters With Bumbo ...

For instance, in 1758, George Washington bribed voters by spending £50 pounds (£9,562.50 $12,277.77 in today's money) — on 160 gallons of liquor, in order to gain a seat in the Virginia House of Burgesses. This was known as "Swilling the planters with bumbo."

 In 1948 in the US, the tradition of food/drink bribing was ended when a law was passed deeming it illegal to reward people for votes using food, booze, or "any such expenditure" that could violate the electoral process.

In fact the practice of "wining and dining" for votes can be traced back as far as ancient Rome and Greece. The Roman saying about Emperors ruling by providing 'Bread and Circuses' confirms the clear link .... In antiquity, one way to advertise common values with the people, was to eat with them. 

The Emperor Caracalla was said to grind his own grain for bread, to make barley cakes that he cooked himself, and to enjoy being called a fellow soldier by his troops. His message was 'Look! I eat barley cakes just like you!' was aimed at the Legions, at a time when they increasingly determined who became and remained emperor