Olive Oil Culture History X - Medieval Period
16-04-2025
12:22
Photograph; Ottoman period soap stamp, with flag symbol, end of 19th century, 6 cm.
It is widely believed that olive oil was not given as much importance in medieval Europe as it was in ancient times. This idea may originate from the German saint Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1178), who wrote books on healthy nutrition and healthy living. The nun, who is also known as the first female European physician, did not like the taste of olive oil and recommended it as a medicine rather than a food in her writings. At that time, olives were not cultivated in Northern Europe, the little-known olive oil could not replace animal fats in the kitchen as a food, and the quality of the olive oil sent to the north was probably poor. It is thought that the use of olive oil decreased even in Italian kitchens during the Middle Ages, and animal fats began to be used more frequently in the kitchen. Especially Christians belonging to the lower classes preferred to use animal fats in their kitchens. It is debatable how much this habit was related to the Christian faith, and it is thought that it did not change throughout the Middle Ages.
In terms of religious orders and symbolic meanings, Christian peoples generally used olive oil only in rituals, while Jewish peoples continued to use it in their kitchens. There are records that show that in 15th century Spain, the Holy Inquisition interpreted the consumption of olive oil in the homes of families who had separated from Judaism and converted to Catholicism as evidence of secret Jewish belief.
In those times when Islamic thought was on the rise, Muslim alchemists would describe soap as we understand it today. How olive oil and other plant-based oils were used in its production and the stages of soap production would be correctly described. Soap production began in the Middle Eastern cities of Palastin (Nablus), Kufa and Basra in the 7th century. The recipes used in the production of their soaps, some of which were solid and some were liquid, have continued to be used almost unchanged to this day. Arab soap makers enriched the production culture by adding perfumes and colorants to their soaps.
Archaeological excavations in the Middle East have revealed the remains of soapworks dating back to the 9th century. It has been shown that soaps containing potash (salts rich in potassium) and water were produced using a mixture of olive oil and ash obtained by burning the sea bean plant.
With the rise of Andalusian culture, soap production - now in the sense of a craft - became widespread in the Mediterranean coastal cities of Venice, Genoa and Marseille, and soap production using olive oil as raw material began to rise.
A recipe for soap making in the sense we understand it today - more detailed than the one previously documented by Muslim alchemists - was documented in the book "Mappae Clavicula" in the 12th century. It describes how craftsmen used soap in the process of washing fabrics and as a soldering material; solder is obtained by mixing soap, copper and a dye called 'Calcothar'. Apparently, it is not that easy to find soap produced with this recipe, olive oil is used in its production.
The high-quality, white, and pleasantly scented soaps that Venetian soapmakers produced with olive oil would become a product exported to many places, including Southern Germany, Western Mediterranean ports, the Muslim Levant, and Anatolia. The leadership of Venetian soapmakers in the Mediterranean market lasted for about 600 years, but the situation was later reversed with the increase in production in Marseille.
The olive oils produced in the Aegean islands were allocated to meet the olive oil demand of Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, which was, in the words of Prof. Dr. Robert Mantran, a "stomach city." It was forbidden to sell olive oil produced in the geography close to the city to foreign countries, probably as a measure to meet the city's needs, but it is known that export permission was given to French merchants in Ağriboz from time to time to meet the needs of the developing soap industry in Marseille.
Soap production became widespread on the Anatolian coasts, where olive trees were abundantly grown. The Ottoman Empire inherited and continued the rich olive culture heritage of North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean, Western Anatolia and the Aegean islands that came under Ottoman rule. As a business line that came from the Eastern Roman Empire, production was carried out in large and small soap factories in various parts of the empire.
Until gas lamps came into use, olive oil continued to be used as a lighting fuel in oil canisters made of various materials ranging from earth to underground. Museums contain a large number of exquisitely crafted glass lamps, first manufactured in medieval Syria, but soon to be successfully imitated in workshops on the island of Murano in Venice. It is known that the Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, who was assassinated in 1579, ordered nine hundred lamps - today known as Sokollu Kandili - for the mosques he had built in Venice, and even sent model drawings so that the manufacturers could understand what kind of lamp he was designing.
Olive oil production practices during the Middle Ages, except for Leonardo da Vinci's sketch of an olive press
It is widely believed that olive oil was not given as much importance in medieval Europe as it was in ancient times. This idea may originate from the German saint Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1178), who wrote books on healthy nutrition and healthy living. The nun, who is also known as the first female European physician, did not like the taste of olive oil and recommended it as a medicine rather than a food in her writings. At that time, olives were not cultivated in Northern Europe, the little-known olive oil could not replace animal fats in the kitchen as a food, and the quality of the olive oil sent to the north was probably poor. It is thought that the use of olive oil decreased even in Italian kitchens during the Middle Ages, and animal fats began to be used more frequently in the kitchen. Especially Christians belonging to the lower classes preferred to use animal fats in their kitchens. It is debatable how much this habit was related to the Christian faith, and it is thought that it did not change throughout the Middle Ages.
In terms of religious orders and symbolic meanings, Christian peoples generally used olive oil only in rituals, while Jewish peoples continued to use it in their kitchens. There are records that show that in 15th century Spain, the Holy Inquisition interpreted the consumption of olive oil in the homes of families who had separated from Judaism and converted to Catholicism as evidence of secret Jewish belief.
In those times when Islamic thought was on the rise, Muslim alchemists would describe soap as we understand it today. How olive oil and other plant-based oils were used in its production and the stages of soap production would be correctly described. Soap production began in the Middle Eastern cities of Palastin (Nablus), Kufa and Basra in the 7th century. The recipes used in the production of their soaps, some of which were solid and some were liquid, have continued to be used almost unchanged to this day. Arab soap makers enriched the production culture by adding perfumes and colorants to their soaps.
Archaeological excavations in the Middle East have revealed the remains of soapworks dating back to the 9th century. It has been shown that soaps containing potash (salts rich in potassium) and water were produced using a mixture of olive oil and ash obtained by burning the sea bean plant.
With the rise of Andalusian culture, soap production - now in the sense of a craft - became widespread in the Mediterranean coastal cities of Venice, Genoa and Marseille, and soap production using olive oil as raw material began to rise.
A recipe for soap making in the sense we understand it today - more detailed than the one previously documented by Muslim alchemists - was documented in the book "Mappae Clavicula" in the 12th century. It describes how craftsmen used soap in the process of washing fabrics and as a soldering material; solder is obtained by mixing soap, copper and a dye called 'Calcothar'. Apparently, it is not that easy to find soap produced with this recipe, olive oil is used in its production.
The high-quality, white, and pleasantly scented soaps that Venetian soapmakers produced with olive oil would become a product exported to many places, including Southern Germany, Western Mediterranean ports, the Muslim Levant, and Anatolia. The leadership of Venetian soapmakers in the Mediterranean market lasted for about 600 years, but the situation was later reversed with the increase in production in Marseille.
The olive oils produced in the Aegean islands were allocated to meet the olive oil demand of Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, which was, in the words of Prof. Dr. Robert Mantran, a "stomach city." It was forbidden to sell olive oil produced in the geography close to the city to foreign countries, probably as a measure to meet the city's needs, but it is known that export permission was given to French merchants in Ağriboz from time to time to meet the needs of the developing soap industry in Marseille.
Soap production became widespread on the Anatolian coasts, where olive trees were abundantly grown. The Ottoman Empire inherited and continued the rich olive culture heritage of North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean, Western Anatolia and the Aegean islands that came under Ottoman rule. As a business line that came from the Eastern Roman Empire, production was carried out in large and small soap factories in various parts of the empire.
Until gas lamps came into use, olive oil continued to be used as a lighting fuel in oil canisters made of various materials ranging from earth to underground. Museums contain a large number of exquisitely crafted glass lamps, first manufactured in medieval Syria, but soon to be successfully imitated in workshops on the island of Murano in Venice. It is known that the Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, who was assassinated in 1579, ordered nine hundred lamps - today known as Sokollu Kandili - for the mosques he had built in Venice, and even sent model drawings so that the manufacturers could understand what kind of lamp he was designing.
Olive oil production practices during the Middle Ages, except for Leonardo da Vinci's sketch of an olive press
No data were found to suggest that significant progress had been made.
Compiled by: Uğur Saraçoğlu, Physician, Olive and Olive Oil Producer (ugisaracoglu@yahoo.com.tr)
Source:
1. https://acikerisim.fsm.edu.tr/xmlui/handle/11352/3025 .
Compiled by: Uğur Saraçoğlu, Physician, Olive and Olive Oil Producer (ugisaracoglu@yahoo.com.tr)
Source:
1. https://acikerisim.fsm.edu.tr/xmlui/handle/11352/3025 .
2. The Journey of Olive in the Mediterranean; Conference Proceedings, Dr. Alp Yücel Kaya, Ertekin Akpınar, 2016.
3. Historical Development of Olive Oil Production Techniques and Comparison with Each Other, Taner Gülal, Master's Thesis, Uludağ University, Institute of Science, Department of Food Engineering, 2015.
4. Soap Works in Türkiye; Müge Çiftyürek, PhD Thesis, Department of Art History, Art History PhD Program, Pamukkale University, Institute of Social Sciences, 2021.
9. Sending Olive Oil to Istanbul, Prof. Dr. Zeki Arıkan, Ege University Emeritus Faculty Member, Olive's Journey in the Mediterranean, Conference Proceedings, 2016.