I am glad to announce that the complete translation of the Benedictiones ad Mensas can now be downloaded from this blog. I think these Latin snippets from the eleventh century are quite enjoyable and may be useful in the living history community well beyond their value as culinary sources.
The Benedictiones ad Mensas were produced by Ekkehart IV of St Gall, most likely initially written during his tenure as head of the Mainz cathedral school between 1022 and 1031, but expanded and revised until his death in St Gall in 1057. They are a collection of blessings to be spoken over food. Written in short rhyming couplets in Latin, they are unusual in their attention to the diversity of foods and preparations. This is not a serious work of theology or medicine, but an intellectual diversion, playful verse meant to show off a broad vocabulary and facility with Latin. That is what makes them very valuable – they give us a glimpse of the mental horizon of a senior cleric of the 11th century at the table.