Legumes during the Byzantine Empire
Φασίολος από μικρογραφία χειρογράφου, Διοσκουρίδης, "Περί ύλης ιατρικής", Νεάπολη, Εθνική Βιβλιοθήκη, κωδ. gr. 1, φ. 68 (70) και 166.J. Koder, 2005. "Η καθημερινή διατροφή στο Βυζάντιο με βάση τις πηγές", εικ. 8, σελ. 25. Στο Δ. Παπανικόλα-Μπακιρτζή (επιμ. έκδ.), Βυζαντινών Διατροφή και Μαγειρείαι. Αθήνα: Ταμείο Αρχαιολογικών Πόρων και Απαλλοτριώσεων.
Legumes from plants belonging to the family Leguminosae.
Name - Origin
Όσπρια, καρποί των φυτών που ανήκουν στην οικογένεια των Leguminosae. The legumes known to Cypriots during the Byzantine Empire were the borad beans, the lentils, the beans, the peas, the chickpeas and the Cyprus vetch (Motsias 1998, p. 87).
Many of the legumes were eaten either dry or cooked. During fasting, many people (especially the monks) would eat the broad beans by simply washing them, they were called "wet grains" (Koukoules 1952, p. 97). Fava, or 'fávata', was made from dry broad beans, which were boiled until they had melted (or they were ground using a hand mill) and served with oil. The Byzantine physician Ioannis Aktouarios (late 13th c.) is reported to have detested this dish, describing it as a 'xeiriston edesma' (the worst dish) (Motsias 1998, p. 87).
Functional and symbolic role
In his work "Περί ενεργειών και παθών του ψυχικού κόσμου" (on the energies and sufferings of the psychic world), the physician Ioannis Aktouarios refers to the harmful effects of the frequent consumption of legumes such as fava or beans, which was also known as "priskokilis" (bloating) (Koukoules 1952, p. 98, Motsias 1998, p. 87).
Additional information and bibliography
Apart from broad beans and fava (Cyprus vetch), some other popular legumes in the Byzantium were the beans (fasoúlin), lentils (fakós), chickpeas (révinthi), and loupinaria. In fact, boiled loupinaria and boiled lentils were such favourite dishes that they were even sold in the streets, with no oil or salt (Koukoules 1952, 98-99).
J. Koder, 2005. "Η καθημερινή διατροφή στο Βυζάντιο με βάση τις πηγές", p. 17-30. In D. Papanikola-Bakirtzi (ed., publ), Βυζαντινών Διατροφή και Μαγειρείαι. Archaeological Resources and Expropriation Fund.
F. Koukoules, 1952. Βυζαντινών Βίος και Πολιτισμός. Vol. E'. Athens.
Χ. Motsias, 1998. Τι έτρωγαν οι Βυζαντινοί. Athens: Kaktos Publications.
Athanassios Vionis