Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Yellum Notnef · 05-25-2008, 02:10 PM

I'm watching a show on the History Channel called "American Eats" and it was said that Constantine tried to outlaw sausages because they were too Pagan.

Looks like that went well. Do we have any ancient manuscripts with Justin Martyr claiming sausages were tricks of the devil? A diabolical meat?

Toto · 05-25-2008, 02:50 PM

I recall researching this before -

The sausage problem

This seems to be as much urban legend as anything.

Quote:

According to the oldest known Roman cookbook, written in A.D. 228, sausage was a favorite dish at the annual pagan festival Lupercalia, held February 15 in honor of the pastoral god Lupercus. The celebration included sexual initiation rites, and some writers have suggested that sausage served as more than just food. The early Catholic Church is known to have outlawed the Lupercalia and made eating sausage a sin. And when Constantine the Great, the fourth-century emperor of Rome, embraced Christianity, he, too, banned sausage consumption. As would happen in the twentieth century with liquor prohibition, the Roman populace indulged in "bootlegged" sausage to such an extent that officials, conceding the ban was unenforceable, eventually repealed it.

There is no support for this, but it's too good a story to let go.

Stephen Carlson suggests that if there was a problem with sausages, it would have been because they were made of pig's blood, and early Christians maintained that food prohibition.

general_koffi · 05-25-2008, 03:01 PM

Quote:

The celebration included sexual initiation rites, and some writers have suggested that sausage served as more than just food.

<_<

05-25-2008, 02:10 PM	#1
Yellum Notnef Banned Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Gone Posts: 4,676	Constantine tried to outlaw sausages? I'm watching a show on the History Channel called "American Eats" and it was said that Constantine tried to outlaw sausages because they were too Pagan. Looks like that went well. Do we have any ancient manuscripts with Justin Martyr claiming sausages were tricks of the devil? A diabolical meat?

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