ABSTRACT
The Iberian kingdoms from the thirteenth century onwards were part of a feudal Europe that had been born in previous centuries, in which bread had become the “universal food,” acting as a symbol for the whole of Western European civilization that saw these carbohydrates as the main staple of food for most of its individuals. The sale of both products, meat and fish, was also originally a feudal monopoly, exploited by the monarchs or rather ceded by them to third parties in the case of large cities. The quantities of food on the tables of the palaces remained enormous, as in High Middle Ages, but in late medieval times it was more about showing off than devouring, so that the visual character of the food was clearly reaffirmed in this era.
