Medieval Food & Feasts · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Medieval Food and Feasts

History · Medieval Times · ages 5-7
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. What is pottage?

    • A sweet cake
    • A thick vegetable soup
    • A type of bread

  2. What did most medieval people eat every day?

    • Bread and pottage
    • Pizza and pasta
    • Rice and sushi

  3. Medieval people used forks to eat their food.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. Why did medieval people often drink ale instead of water?

    • Ale was safer to drink than water
    • Ale was sweeter than water
    • There was no water in castles

  5. Which best describes a feast in the great hall?

    • The same bread and pottage as always
    • A quiet meal eaten alone
    • Many rich dishes for lots of guests

  6. What might happen to food scraps during a medieval feast?

    • They were saved for breakfast
    • They were thrown on the floor for dogs
    • They were thrown out the window

  7. Sharing a cup with someone at a feast was seen as rude in medieval times.

    Circle one:   True   False

  8. Mia says a peasant's everyday dinner was just as grand as a feast. What is wrong with what Mia said?

    • Feasts only happened in summer
    • Peasants never ate dinner
    • Feasts had far more food than everyday meals
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Medieval Food and Feasts W1-mt_2NKzPeLzIm-s1

  1. A thick vegetable soup · Pottage was a thick soup made from vegetables, eaten almost every day.
  2. Bread and pottage · Bread and a vegetable soup called pottage were the everyday meal.
  3. False · Forks were not used yet. People ate with their hands instead.
  4. Ale was safer to drink than water · Water could make people sick, so ale was often the safer choice.
  5. Many rich dishes for lots of guests · Feasts had many rich foods and were shared with many guests, unlike everyday meals.
  6. They were thrown on the floor for dogs · Throwing scraps on the floor for the dogs was normal table manners back then.
  7. False · Sharing cups was normal and polite then, even though it seems strange to us now.
  8. Feasts had far more food than everyday meals · Everyday meals were simple bread and pottage. Feasts had much more food and many guests.
Worksheet · LightMySky