The Power of Peasant Consumers The Material Culture of Food in the Late Medieval Kingdom of Valencia
Book contents
- The Power of Peasant Consumers
- Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought
- The Power of Peasant Consumers
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Illustrations
- Money and Measures
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Part I Material Culture
- Part II Consumption
- Part III Standards of Living
- Part IV The Logic of Peasant Consumer Behaviour
- Chapter 15 Emulation and Assimilation
- Chapter 16 Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 15 - Emulation and Assimilation
from Part IV - The Logic of Peasant Consumer Behaviour
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 November 2025
Book contents
- The Power of Peasant Consumers
- Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought
- The Power of Peasant Consumers
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Illustrations
- Money and Measures
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Part I Material Culture
- Part II Consumption
- Part III Standards of Living
- Part IV The Logic of Peasant Consumer Behaviour
- Chapter 15 Emulation and Assimilation
- Chapter 16 Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The argument of this chapter is that it was a combination of emulation and assimilation that shaped the logic of Valencian peasants as consumers of food-related objects. In making this case, this chapter provides evidence on emulative attitudes through contemporary moral criticisms and sumptuary laws. It also explores the meanings of food-related objects and how peasants used such notions in their dwellings. The chapter concludes that peasant consumer behaviour was not solely and passively guided by a will to imitate others but by an interest in absorbing what was relevant from others into their lifestyles, and for their own aims. This deliberate, conscious assimilation led peasants to incorporate new objects into their own familial and social needs.
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- The Power of Peasant ConsumersThe Material Culture of Food in the Late Medieval Kingdom of Valencia, pp. 297 - 320Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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