Show Notes
The Roman Army was powered by cheese. It fuelled its soldiers through war and occupation and, as Rome’s armies swept through western Europe, altered how an entire continent produced and consumed cheese.
“It is a remarkable circumstance that the barbarous nations, which subsist on milk for so long, have been for so many ages either ignorant of the merits of cheese, or else have completely disregarded it.” So wrote the Roman historian Pliny. In doing so, he highlights that cheese was a key foodstuff for the Romans.
Rome’s conquests were powered by cheese, with every Roman soldier received a daily ration of it. In fact, the Roman army’s reliance on cheese was so great that it would reshape the agricultural and culinary map of western Europe. This was particularly true in Britain, where the legacy of the Romans means that even today there are more sheep per square mile in northern Britain than anywhere else in Europe.
Guest Thomas Ntinas is a food historian and host of the Delicious Legacy podcast, a podcast in which he explores both tastes both modern and ancient.
Cats present None.
Useful links Thom on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedeliciouslegacy The Delicious Legacy Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4AeiOjVa9rf99xOM0U3Fmg
Recommended Cheeses Pecorino Romano - The closest cheese to that consumed by Legionaries Manchego - Close to the cheese Legionaries would have eaten in Spain Gouda - A good example of a cheese, influenced by the Legionary colony legacy in northern Europe Cheshire Cheese - The myth! Not a Roman-era cheese, but likely not dissimilar to what would have been eaten in Roman Britain Feta - A good example of goats cheese, as would have been common particularly in Greece Comte, Stilton and Roquefort - The kind of cheeses western Europeans would have eaten, pre-Rome’s arrival
Do you like our podcast? Then please leave us a review, it helps us a lot!
Host: Gareth Edwards More about Gareth Edwards: https://battleguide.co.uk/untitled-history#host
To comment and ask questions, please join our community: https://untitled-history.com/supporters Use our code: Rabbit and get one month free as a Captain, or join as a free member.
Support via Paypal: http://battleguide.co.uk/untitled-paypal Merchandise and Shop: https://untitled-history.com/collections/all
Our WW1 Podcast: @NSQPod Our WW2 Podcast: @BSOWPod Battle Guide YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BattleGuideVT
If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of what the team at Battle Guide have been getting up to, why not sign up to our monthly newsletter: https://battleguide.co.uk/newsletter
Gareth socials BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/garius.bsky.social Mastodon: https://mastodon.me.uk/@garius
Battle Guide Twitter: https://x.com/BattleguideVT General Enquiries: [email protected]
Credits: - Host: Gareth Edwards - Editing: Sander van Kammen - Production: Linus Klaßen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from The Untitled History Podcast
In post-war Britain, the drive to build new housing and a better world led to a number of plans focused on creating modern towns. The boldest and most visionary of these was to be Milton Keynes, a city from nothing.
In September 1926, art expert Paul Arndt was shown a newly-unearthed Ancient Greek statue by an Italian dealer. It was an extraordinary piece. Its sale for a vast sum of money to an American museum, along with other pieces unearthed, would create excitement across America.
On the 8th of 1940, a lone British destroyer encountered part of the German invasion force bound for Norway. The heroic last stand of HMS Glowworm against overwhelming odds earned her captain the first Victoria Cross of the war. Incredibly, this award was granted based on the recommendation of the German Admiral he had fought.
In 1940, Charles de Gaulle saved France. He called for resistance to the Nazi occupation from London. In 1958, with the French republic crumbling, he stepped forward to save France again.
In 1458, the Kingdom of Cyprus was the last of the Crusader States. Over the next 30 years, two remarkable women would fight to rule it as queen. Their rivalry would see each experience periods of power and exile.