Spices

In February 1576, Giles Wiggers of Antwerp set out on a voyage from Lisbon to Calais with a cargo of sugar and spices. En route, while most of the crew was sleeping, eight of the company ‘fell upon’ the rest, killing six. The master surrendered and was forced to bring his ship into the bay of Rosscarbery, in West Cork. Coming into the bay, he was greeted by Bishop Cornelius Brenner, who agreed to bring the ship safely ashore to Glandore Haven, with the help of local fishermen, in return for 30 ducats. This was to be paid with 60lb of spices, in lieu of money. Trusting the kindly bishop, the master asked for help in dispossessing the murderous mariners and reclaiming his ship and cargo. The bishop in turn promised him ‘great friendship’ and ‘took him to his house’. Once there, however, the bishop held him hostage for four days, releasing him only when he agreed to pay a ransom of 732lb of spices: 200lb each of nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper and 132lb of cloves. How the bishop disposed of his extorted spices is unfortunately unknown, but it is clear from this and other evidence that there was a market for such luxury foodstuffs in sixteenth-century Ireland.

Paul Freedman has recently examined the complex significance of spices in medieval culture and society. Among the reasons fuelling the medieval ‘infatuation’ with exotic spices was a fashion for spicy food and heavy-perfumed sauces, along with a deeply ingrained perception of their medicinal properties. Above all, however, their high price and mysterious origins meant that they were prized by the affluent as symbols of ‘material comfort and social prominence’. Over the course of the early modern period, the demand for spices waned. Rich but blander food became fashionable; new exotic goods such as sugar, tea and chocolate became available and eclipsed spices in popularity; and ideas about health and food evolved. In the sixteenth century, even as new trade routes increased the supply of spices, the fierce demand of the earlier period had probably already passed, but spices remained popular in cooking and were still essential on the shopping lists of the affluent consumer.

A large range of exotic spices were imported into Ireland throughout this period (see Table 8.1 and Figure 8.1).