Project description
The chemistry of class in medieval Flanders
Medieval Flanders was a powerhouse of urban growth, but there were deep structural inequalities behind the prosperity. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the FLA-MEAL project aims to explore the lived realities of the silent majority through their diets. It will apply stable isotope analysis to bone collagen from roughly 500 individuals from the 11th to the 15th centuries, so researchers can reconstruct 400 years of food history across Bruges, Ghent and Ypres. The study investigates how access to essential proteins (particularly fish and animal meat) differed based on social status, sex and age. This bioarchaeological approach is slated to reveal how systemic inequality shaped human resilience during historic famines and plagues. Ultimately, FLA-MEAL will provide a benchmark for European history while offering insights into contemporary food security.
Objective
Medieval Flanders was one of Europe’s most densely urbanised regions, where prosperity, crisis and recovery unfolded with stark social contrasts. Between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries, urban growth in Bruges, Ghent and Ypres coincided with structural inequality in wealth, housing and above all food access. Climatic shifts, demographic pressures and repeated shocks, from famine to plague, shaped diets unevenly across social groups. While elites are well represented in written records, the experiences of the majority remain largely invisible. Yet diet offers a powerful proxy for status, resilience and vulnerability.
FLA-MEAL addresses this gap by applying a bioarchaeological framework to reconstruct diets across four centuries of Flemish urban history. Using stable isotope analysis of bone collagen (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S) from c. 400 urban and c. 100 rural individuals, combined with osteology, radiocarbon dating and historical sources, the project will test how protein access varied across time, urban versus rural settings, and social categories including sex, age and health. Special attention will be given to the role of fish (marine or freshwater, prestige or low-status), as a potential alternative to costly terrestrial meat.
The outcome will be the first continuous, phase-resolved reconstruction of urban diets and inequality in medieval Flanders. By integrating isotope geochemistry, osteology and history, FLA-MEAL will establish a benchmark dataset for Europe, reveal how structural inequality shaped resilience during crises, and offer comparative insights for contemporary debates on food security and adaptation.
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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1050 Bruxelles / Brussel
Belgium
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