Spice is a kind of fragrant and spicy plant, which grows mostly in tropical and subtropical areas at low latitudes, such as Amomum tsaoko, cardamom, star anise, pepper, ginger and so on. Under the influence of western Europe's overseas expansion, feudal dictatorship, religious politicization and human slavery in the Middle Ages, the charm of spices is the ultimate temptation for western Europeans.
Spices are imported from the East through long-distance trade. Western Europeans' obsession with spices reflects the application of spices, colonial expansion, higher prices than gold, and even the fuse of war.
For medieval Europeans, spices were mysterious. They are not only a symbol of status and wealth, but also a good medicine to eliminate epidemics. They are also the torch of religious spiritual activities, representing desire, arrogance, adventure, glitz and so on. From realistic value to spiritual satisfaction, the meaning and culture of spices are extremely important symbols for western Europeans.
"The Most Desirable Exotic Luxury" —— Spice mania in Western European upper class
1. Religion and War: Scarcity under the Background of Medieval History
During the period from the 5th century A.D. to the mid-5th century A.D. 65438+A.D., most western European countries were feudal and autocratic by the ruling class, and sometimes even church politics intervened, that is, the integration of politics and religion.
The extravagant life of the upper class makes them tired of ordinary jewelry, gold and silver. The mental depression brought by the concept of religious abstinence and the coercive pressure of the church force people to pursue new things to fill the vacancy in their hearts.
The appearance of spices is the best window. As a new and peculiar product, spices give people different senses and experiences. Pepper and cloves stimulate taste buds, but also stimulate depressed spirit and humanity.
In the Middle Ages, the papacy was very strict, which basically monopolized and controlled the education and culture in Western Europe. Most of the religious schools studied by the nobles in the upper class serve theology, which seriously restricts people's thinking, while spices such as cinnamon, saffron, balsam and myrrh prevail in religious holy places.
Their scarcity and preciousness, as well as the wonderful facial nerve stimulation and aromatic enlightenment effect, make them favored by the Pope and clergy and serve religious organizations from now on.
The medieval society in western Europe was dark. Colonial wars and exploitation, the destruction of farmland, the prevalence of serfdom, extreme labor and leasing made the lower classes feel at a loss, determined to rise up against the oppression of those churches and nobles, and carried out overseas trade wars and spice plunder by launching peasant wars and peasant movements.
In addition, Catholicism and Christianity have gradually evolved from the tools of feudal tradition into an inseparable part with secular feudal lords. They maintained the secular autocracy in western Europe, influenced the secular feudal lords and political society, and made spices a precious thing that was deified.
2. "The darling of Western European elites": the status and social laws of spices
Spices only appear on the dining tables of western European aristocrats, and can only be seen in the medical and health care field that can be enjoyed by nobles with wealth and status and businessmen with capital accumulation. The preciousness of spices in the middle ages made it a means for nobles to show off their wealth in the upper class.
At that time, the price of spices was higher than that of gold. It usually appears in social ceremonies and grand occasions or banquets. It is a symbol of political power and aristocratic status.
In feudal society, kings, nobles, knights and other authorities who formed the ruling group enjoyed many privileges and directly monopolized the right to use and exchange spices. Spice is a passport for nobles and churches. Its mysterious and irreplaceable religious significance and spiritual value make it a symbol of status and nobility.
Oriental and tropical spices are extremely precious and rare treasures for western Europeans living in high latitudes and cold temperate regions. Usually only church rulers and noble knights have spices, but ordinary people are not qualified.
Gradually, the consumers of spices decreased to only a small part of the ruling class. High prices make spices synonymous with wealth and aristocratic status, and become a luxury consumption prevailing in aristocratic religious circles.
Price is better than gold: the value of spices in long-distance trade
Spice trade came to western Europe from two routes: land and sea, through the Red Sea, the Mediterranean and the Middle East, or through the Indian Ocean, bypassing the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Such long-distance trade makes oriental spices extremely scarce and precious in the commercial system of western Europe.
On the one hand, the local climate and environment in Europe make it unsuitable for the cultivation of spices such as cloves, cardamom and fennel. On the other hand, the Ottoman Turkish Empire blocked the land Mediterranean checkpoint, making it extremely difficult for caravans to trade in Western Europe, making the price of spices even rarer and more precious.
From the late classical era to the late Middle Ages, the population of Western Europe decreased day by day, and once there were foreign invasions, anti-urbanization and population migration. The scarcity of spices led to the brutal plunder of aristocrats and churches in western Europe, and the high price and extravagant purchasing power led to the wanton exploitation of domestic monarchs and popes and the continuous outbreak of peasant wars and uprisings.
However, the long-distance trade of spices, the monopoly of trade routes and the territorial issue of sea power have intensified the expansion war, aggression and plunder of other foreign countries and western Europe. In addition, the Black Death, plague, famine and insect plague, civil strife, intensified social, class and ethnic contradictions, wars and so on spread all over the western European continent. Spice can be that the diet structure and eating habits of Europeans who prefer meat products have made a qualitative leap and improvement.
In addition to using cinnamon and coriander to remove the fishy smell of meat and prolong the shelf life of food, spices also have the functions of medical treatment, antisepsis and epidemic prevention, and have a good curative effect on treating diseases such as earache, muscle joint pain, expectoration, aphtha and fatigue.
In addition, in the middle ages, spices were of great value in resisting colds and bacteria. During the epidemic of the Black Death, spices became more precious and extravagant. Plague and trade made cardamom, cumin and pepper appear on merchant ships in western Europe as medicines and commodities.
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The diet and medicinal value of spice itself fascinates western Europeans who can't be self-sufficient, and the high profits and wealth brought by spice make European businessmen wave after wave. The mysterious color and spiritual and political significance endowed by religion and aristocratic class make the status of spice reach the commanding heights.
Of course, trade wars triggered by spices and overseas colonial expansion with India and Indonesia are also everywhere. The opening of the eastern route and overseas missionary activities, as well as the redemption of luxury goods and the accumulation of capital between nobles and people, led to high taxes and labor exploitation for farmers, which plunged the medieval western European society into darkness.