Tea at Trianon: Vegetarianism in the English Civil War

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Vegetarianism in the English Civil War

From Lord Grey:

In the English Civil War, vegetarianism helped reinforce the religious arguments for which some of the protagonists fought. Refraining from meat was not just a question of taste - for many it was a question of faith.

The diet of early modern England was sparing when it came to consumption of flesh. For the majority of people, meat was an expensive rarity. But recent research has revealed that even the poorer members of 17th century society ate considerable amounts of meat, and those involved in heavy labour, such as agricultural workers, may have consumed between one and two pounds of flesh a day (Hailwood, 2013). Given this revelation, it is all the more remarkable that there were those among the lower classes who maintained a meat-free diet, not out of necessity but for reasons of morality.

Going 'veggie' was a regular occurrence for those who lived in London during the Civil War, when the last Wednesday of each month was observed as a public fast and eating meat was prohibited. The Bible taught that after Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden they were condemned to live by their own labour: “In the sweate of thy face thou shalt eat bread” (Genesis, 3:18-19), and reverting to a meat-free diet was a reminder to the London citizens of their innate sinfulness. Parliament's stipulation of these monthly fasts was both an act of humility and an acknowledgement of Christ's ultimate salvation, bringing the London population closer to God. (Read more.)