SPICE ENTHUSIASTS

Meet some of the greatest ancient and medieval spice lovers

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ELIZABETH I
ENGLISH, 1533 - 1603
Tudor Queen Elizabeth I is one of England's most famous monarchs and she had a long-lasting impact on history. Among her many notable achievements, she is credited with inventing gingerbread men. At the time, gingerbread was a popular delicacy in Europe but it was Elizabeth who first shaped the sweet treat into human form when she asked her cook to make gingerbread in the image of her guests at court.

RICHARD II
ENGLISH, 1367 - 1400
A seemingly unlikely fan of spices was medieval English King Richard II. Under his rule, saffron was cultivated in England for the first time, having been brought into the country during the reign of his predecessor Edward III. Saffron was a prized ingredient in the 1390 cookbook of Richard's master cooks, The Forme of Curry, which stipulated that increased amounts of saffron should be used in recipes for grand occasions.

Li Shizhen
Chinese, 1518-93
In 1593, just after his death, Chinese scholar Li Shizhen's Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica) was published. In the monumental work, Shizhen had compiled information on nearly 1,900 different drugs and over 11,000 prescriptions. Of the remedial ingredients listed, Li Shizhen categorised a vast list of animals, minerals, herbs and plants. He also listed among his ingredients for many medicines and remedies a number of spices from across the world. These included ginseng root, chamomile, pepper and ginger, the properties of which were outlined in relation to their utility in medical treatment.