On the monks table: the Cistercian food and eating culture in medieval Denmark

The Cistercians arose as a spiritual reform of the European monasticism around 1100 AD. A group of French monks wanted to change the monastic life and return to the Rule of Saint Benedict. The Cistercians were known for their severity and harshness in all matters of Monastic life, including their daily consumption of food.
The monks were supposed to refrain from gluttony. Food was considered as fuel for the body and not to be consumed with pleasure. Meat from four-legged animals was prohibited; since meat was regarded as too stimulate the carnal desire, so abstinence from meat-eating was an important tool to curb the sexual drive.
This study describes the Cistercians in Denmark and their relationship towards food based on an interdisciplinary approach using historical, archaeological, archaeobotanical and bioarchaeological sources. The aim is to identify the diet of the Danish Cistercians and to investigate if it is possible to detect changes in the Cistercian food intake through time.