As I hope most members now know, I'm doing some talks relating to the law for the Chrons Official Podcast. As well as legal matters which we need to be aware of when we're writing (eg copyright), I'll also be looking at topics with legal ramifications which we can explore in our stories. Since for many of these I'll be referring to relevant laws in past centuries, it occurred to me a thread here giving very brief summaries and/or links might be of interest to the historically-minded amongst us.
The first of these history-linked talks went out in Episode 2 last week and deals with food and the law: Chronscast Season 1 Episode 2 - Klara And The Sun with Jo Zebedee
Some of the points I touch on:
Some links which may be of interest:
https://www.engr.psu.edu/mtah/articles/pdf/bread_assizes.pdf – transcripts of some medieval documents about bread with commentary and explanation
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26654178?read-now=1&seq=4#page_scan_tab_contents – a paper on the history of the adulteration of food (it’s necessary to register with jstor to see the whole article, but I think it’s free to do so)
The Bakers Company - History – the history of the Worshipful Company of Bakers and its Court of Halimote
Tudor dining: a guide to food and status in the 16th century – a general article about Tudor food
History of Food Law: The 19th Century | Artisan Food Law – the site deals with food law generally, including a time line, but this page gives detail of the horrific adulterants in Victorian Britain
The fight against food adulteration – a science-based article about Accum and later campaigners
Food Fraud History - Alimenti – a brief note on the humbug case and some modern scandals
The first of these history-linked talks went out in Episode 2 last week and deals with food and the law: Chronscast Season 1 Episode 2 - Klara And The Sun with Jo Zebedee
Some of the points I touch on:
- sumptuary laws existed for food as well as clothing – laws regulating excess/expense emerged in medieval Europe eg in 1517 to maintain nuances of rank in England when restrictions were imposed on the number of dishes at a meal
- there’s a long history of consumer protection (or, rather perhaps, protection of markets and trade) eg the Babylonian death penalty for watering down beer
- the English legislated with Bread Assizes from the C13th, initially fixing the price of bread, then later also the quality
- medieval guilds ensured quality control among their members eg the Bakers’ Guild ordained penalties for malpractice such as short weight
- ale-tasters of the C15th were among the first English food inspectors
- expensive spices were frequently adulterated and/or counterfeited eg saffron, leading to harsh penalties on the continent, eg offenders buried alive with their fraudulent products
- the 1724 Adulteration of Tea and Coffee Act started the slow process of true consumer protection in Britain
- in 1820 Frederick Accum wrote a treatise on the types of adulteration and how to detect them
- countless Victorian food stuffs were adulterated eg strychnine in rum and beer, leading to deaths, eg in 1858 after humbugs were adulterated with arsenic
Some links which may be of interest:
https://www.engr.psu.edu/mtah/articles/pdf/bread_assizes.pdf – transcripts of some medieval documents about bread with commentary and explanation
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26654178?read-now=1&seq=4#page_scan_tab_contents – a paper on the history of the adulteration of food (it’s necessary to register with jstor to see the whole article, but I think it’s free to do so)
The Bakers Company - History – the history of the Worshipful Company of Bakers and its Court of Halimote
Tudor dining: a guide to food and status in the 16th century – a general article about Tudor food
History of Food Law: The 19th Century | Artisan Food Law – the site deals with food law generally, including a time line, but this page gives detail of the horrific adulterants in Victorian Britain
The fight against food adulteration – a science-based article about Accum and later campaigners
Food Fraud History - Alimenti – a brief note on the humbug case and some modern scandals