What counted as a spice
In medieval Europe, “spices” usually meant imported aromatic goods from Asia and sometimes Africa: pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and mace, ginger, cardamom and similar products. Sugar was often sold by spice dealers and treated as a spice, as were some dyes and drugs. Local herbs such as parsley, sage and mustard seed were not in the same category. The distinction was partly about origin and price.
Why spices were valued
Spices were prized for several reasons that overlapped. Flavor was one: they added warmth, sweetness or sharpness to food that was otherwise fairly plain, particularly in the diet of the wealthy. Status was another. Because spices were expensive and came from distant lands, using them showed that a household had money and connections. Gifts of spices could be impressive.
Health was a third reason. Under humoral theory, many spices were described as hot and dry, believed to aid digestion and balance cold, moist foods. Apothecaries sold spices as medicines, and they also appear in incense, perfumes and religious rituals. Not every use was culinary.
One often repeated claim, that spices were used mainly to disguise rotten meat, is doubted by historians. Spices were too expensive to waste that way, and people who could afford them could usually obtain fresher food.
Where spices came from
Most spices originated in South and Southeast Asia. Pepper was grown in southwestern India. Cinnamon came from Sri Lanka and parts of Southeast Asia, ginger from several Asian regions, and cloves, nutmeg and mace from islands in what is now Indonesia. Many medieval Europeans had only vague ideas of these places, and stories about spice lands were mixed with legend. Merchants often had little interest in revealing their sources.
The chain of trade
Spices rarely traveled in a single journey. They passed through many hands: growers and local traders in Asia, sea merchants crossing the Indian Ocean, caravan operators, and finally Mediterranean traders. A common route went by sea to the Red Sea or Persian Gulf, then overland or along rivers to ports in Egypt and the Levant, and on to Europe. Other overland routes crossed Central Asia and reached the Black Sea.
Each stage added costs: tolls, taxes, transport, risk and profit. By the time a clove reached a European kitchen its price might be many times what it was at the source, though precise multiples vary in the evidence and it would be unwise to quote a figure.
Muslim and Jewish merchants played significant roles in the eastern stages of the trade, and Indian Ocean ports such as those on the Swahili coast took part in wider Indian Ocean exchange. Alexandria in Egypt was one of the key points where European buyers met suppliers.
Italian cities and other distributors
The final European stages were dominated by Italian trading cities. The Venetian republic became famous for imports from Egypt and the Levant, and Genoese merchants had strong networks around the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Spices were then redistributed north across the Alps and by sea to places such as Bruges and London, and the wider network of long-distance trade supplied inland markets and fairs.
The crusader period helped open new contacts between Europe and the eastern Mediterranean, although trade existed before and continued during conflicts. Governments taxed the trade heavily, and rulers often granted privileges to favored merchants. The Mongol conquests of the 13th century are sometimes credited with making overland travel across Asia easier for a time, but the extent of their effect on spice supply is debated.
Cost, use and everyday access
Spices were costly but not entirely beyond reach. Pepper in particular was widely traded and appears in the accounts of prosperous townspeople and even modest households, whereas saffron, a highly valued spice grown in parts of Europe, and ingredients such as nutmeg and cloves were more prestigious. Pepper is often treated as a benchmark spice because it was the most widely traded.
Spices were prominent in elite recipes and in drinks such as spiced wine. Ordinary people would use local herbs, mustard and perhaps the occasional bought spice for feast days.
Competition and change
Medieval Europe’s access to spices depended on the political situation in the eastern Mediterranean and Egypt. As the late Middle Ages went on, European demand grew, and merchants and rulers wanted to reach sources more directly. This interest helped motivate later Atlantic voyages, but those belong largely to the early modern period.
It is often said that the Ottoman capture of Constantinople in 1453 cut off Europe’s spice supply and led to the age of exploration. Historians generally think this is too simple: spices continued to flow through other routes, Italian merchants kept trading, and Portuguese interest in direct sea routes had begun earlier.
What the spice trade shows
The spice trade shows how connected the medieval world was, even when most people lived within a few miles of their birthplace. A pinch of pepper in an English or Italian dish was the end of a long chain stretching across several seas, and its price reflected that distance, as well as taste and prestige.