The Medieval Origins of Pizza
While the pizza we know today with tomato sauce is relatively modern, pizza has its origins in the Middle Ages. The earliest use of the word pizza is in 997, from a contract with a bishop to rent a water mill and the lands around it. The contract says that on every Christmas and Easter, the tenant must give twelve pizze to the bishop.[1]
From Tractatus de herbis, France 1458
This 10th-century reference doesn’t give us a recipe, but we can find more information in a later source. Platina’s De Honesta Voluptate et Valetudine,[2] which was written in the 15th century, tells us more about Medieval pizza. He says “There are some who place the little birds in the bread dough with fresh cheese and the fat collected from the [previously roasted] birds; and they bake them together [the author intends “this dough”] in the oven.”[3]
The modern pizza with tomato sauce didn’t gain popularity until the 19th century.[4] Prior to the 16th century, tomatoes were not available in Europe. Tomatoes were originally native to the Americas,[5] and even after the discovery of the New World it took some time for them to catch on. This is thought to be because tomato plants are a member of the Nightshade family, so they were thought to be poisonous.
Work Cited
References for information in text-
Caldwell, Zelda. “Catholic origins of pizza.” Aleteia, 28 June 2017, https://aleteia.org/2017/06/28/the-medieval-and-catholic-origins-of-your-pizza/.
“Introduction To Medieval Recipes.” BigOven, https://www.bigoven.com/recipe/introduction-to-medieval-recipes/100745.
“Medieval Pizza – The Origin of Pizza – Historical Italian Cooking.” Historical Italian Cooking, https://historicalitaliancooking.home.blog/english/recipes/medieval-pizza/.
“The Origin of Pizza: Is it Authentic Italian Food?” Spizzico Italian Kitchen, 24 March 2020, http://spizzicorestaurant.com/the-origin-of-pizza/.
“The Tomato Had To Go Abroad To Make Good.” Aggie Horticulture, https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/publications/vegetabletravelers/tomato.html.
Original manuscripts for images used here-
Tractatus de Herbis, 1458-
