What they ate : food and foodways in Mdina and beyond - from Roman times to the Middle Ages

Abstract

This book looks at food and foodways with special focus on Malta. It looks at the Roman, Arabic and Medieval periods in the life of the Maltese Islands. Furthermore it takes Mdina as its departing point as it was the main urban settlement; the other inhabited areas were no more than villages and hamlets. The only other two places that had some socio-political prominence and significance were the Borgo and the Rabat cittadella of Gozo. Yet Mdina remained the city of Malta and the place where the political, religious and social elites lived. It was thus the leader of an otherwise rural population. It was a forward looking and enterprising city when all the casals were conservative and circumscribed. It was from Mdina that the island of Malta was administered through the Universitas which set rules, regulations and directions.