Let's Time Travel with Pease Pudding Hot (KS2 and 3)
- 6 hours ago
- 6 min read
Pease Pudding Hot seems like a simple nursery rhyme but it is a "living fossil" of medieval life.
Pease Pudding Hot Fact Files
The Royal Connection: King Richard II
There was a cookery book written for King Richard III called The Forme of Cury. This was not a book for everyday people; it was written by the master cooks of The Royal Palace.
Today, many children learn this song in school, or sometimes before formal school attendance. While the nursery rhyme feels like a "street song," it is really a recipe ‘Fit for a King’. In 1390 it was called "Perrey of Peson" but today we call it Pease Pudding.
After the Norman Conquest the English language was changing. The word Cury comes from the Old French word cuire which means to cook. The word Forme meant the ‘proper method’, so the title of the book The Forme of Cury meant The Proper Method of Cooking.
Music and Memory (Oral Tradition)
In 1390, very few people could read. Recipes and traditions were often passed down through rhythm and song.
Read the lyrics to Pease Pudding Hot, the rhyme can be seen as a mnemonic device. This means it helped people remember how long the food lasted and how it was served, much like how a catchy melody helps us remember lyrics today.
The Science of the "Nine Days Old"
In the medieval period there was a lack of refrigeration in the way we understand it today. Food was preserved in other ways.
Pease pudding was made from dried "field peas." Once boiled into a thick paste (the Perrey), it could stay in a pot or a pudding cloth for days.
The high salt content and the thick, protective skin that forms on top of the pudding acted as a natural barrier against bacteria, allowing it to be eaten "nine days old."
Here is a small excerpt of the Middle English text. Can you "decode" it like a puzzle?
"Take peson and seeth hem fast... drawe hem thurgh a cloth."
Can you identify the modern words within the old spelling
peson = peas
seeth = seethe/boil
thurgh = through
In the Middle Ages the etymology of both music and language were in a state of change.
Musical Form: The "Round"
The recipe is from an old book called The Forme of Cury, this tells the reader it is about the order of ingredients. The musical form of Pease Pudding Hot is ‘A Round’ or ‘A Canon’, it tells the performer about the order of the notes.
Imagine you are singing with your friends. A "singing round," which is also called a Canon, is a special type of musical performance where everyone sings the exact same tune and words, but you all start at different times.
Think of it like a human domino effect in music!
Person 1 starts singing the whole song.
When Person 1 gets to the second line, Person 2 starts singing the first line.
When Person 2 gets to the second line, Person 3 starts singing the first line.
Because the melody is designed to fit perfectly together, when everyone is singing their own part, the song sounds full and layered, even though it's just one tune! The song Pease Pudding Hot is perfect for this because it's short and repetitive, just like the repeated tasks in a medieval kitchen.
Performance
This rhyme was more than likely to be sung by children, maybe in the market square. It could have been accompanied by a passing minstrel (wandering musician) who played a lute or a rebec (a medieval fiddle). Minstrels were the "news-bringers" of the day. This blog post uses nursery rhyme as a base for learning about history and food tech. Music was the social media of the 14th century and heard in the market and the taverns. Just like a viral video today, a catchy tune in the 14th century was the fastest way to spread a message, a recipe, or a story. If a minstrel played a song in the tavern, by the next morning, the whole town might be humming it.
Can you imagine the scene?
The smell of the woodsmoke and pease pudding in the air, the shouting of the traders, and the rhythmic sound of the lute cutting through the crowd.
Conclusion
Pease Pudding Hot is far from a simple "children’s song" but it is a source for historical and musical enquiry and allows us to glimpse through a window to view the Medieval periods of British history and to develop a deeper musical understanding of life, language and how they come together is music.
Now that we’ve time-travelled to a 14th-century market square, how does your performance change? If you were a minstrel trying to be heard over the shouting traders and the smell of woodsmoke, would you play with more 'staccato' (short, sharp notes) to cut through the noise?
Key Stage 2 Multiple Choice Questions
Fact Recall: The Cook Book. What was the name of the medieval cookbook written for King Richard II that contained the Pease Pudding recipe?
A) The Forme of Pastry
B) The Proper Method of Cooking
C) The Forme of Cury
D) The Royal Songbook
Vocabulary: The text explains that in the 14th century, very few people could read. What is the word for passing down stories, songs, and recipes by speaking or singing, instead of writing?
A) Etymology
B) Oral Tradition
C) Mnemonic Device
D) Social Media
Historical Understanding: Why could Pease Pudding be eaten "nine days old" in medieval times?
A) They put it in a medieval fridge.
B) The high salt content and thick top skin protected it from bacteria.
C) They had special nine-day-old preservatives.
D) Minstrels sang songs to keep it fresh.
Key Stage 3 Questions for Deeper Thinking
Historical Interpretation: The text calls "Pease Pudding Hot" a "living fossil" of medieval life. What does this mean? Give two specific examples from the text (like the recipe or the lack of refrigeration) that show how the song teaches us about the year 1390.
Music and Communication: In the 14th century, the text suggests music was like "social media" today. Explain this idea. How did the minstrel and the "catchy tune" of a song like Pease Pudding Hot work in the same way that a "viral video" or trending topic works today?
Language Change: Look at the Middle English phrase: "Take peson and seeth hem fast... drawe hem thurgh a cloth." If the Forme of Cury was meant for a King's cook, why do you think common people needed a song (like Pease Pudding Hot) to remember the recipe instead of reading the cookbook? Use the facts about literacy and oral tradition from the document in your answer.
Download PDF Worksheets
Glossary
Term | Definition | Context in Text (Why it matters) |
Living Fossil | A term for something modern (like a song) that is so old it gives us a direct look at the past, like a prehistoric creature surviving to the present day. | The author calls the song Pease Pudding Hot a "living fossil" because it preserves a recipe and life details from the medieval period (14th century). |
Medieval Period | The time in European history from roughly the 5th century to the 15th century. Also known as the Middle Ages. | This is the historical setting for King Richard II, the Forme of Cury cookbook, and the origin of the Pease Pudding recipe. |
The Forme of Cury | A medieval English cookbook written around 1390 for the master cooks of King Richard II's Royal Palace. | It is the original, written source of the Pease Pudding recipe, which was then passed down through song. |
Oral Tradition | The way that history, stories, customs, and recipes are passed down by word of mouth (speaking and singing) rather than by writing them down. | This was important because very few people could read in the 14th century, explaining why a recipe became a catchy song. |
Mnemonic Device | A system, like a pattern of letters, ideas, or associations (e.g., a rhyme or song), that helps people remember things. | The rhyme Pease Pudding Hot is a mnemonic device helping people remember the recipe, how long it lasted ("nine days old"), and how it was served. |
Minstrel | A medieval musician, singer, and poet who would travel from place to place. They often performed in markets and taverns. | Minstrels were key to spreading the song and news, acting like the "social media" of the time. |
Singing Round | A musical form where two or more people sing the same melody, but each person starts at a different time. The parts constantly overlap. | The song Pease Pudding Hot is a round, which mimics the repetitive, rhythmic tasks of a medieval kitchen. |
Etymology | The study of the origin of words and the way their meanings have changed throughout history. | The text explores the etymology of words like cury (from the French cuire to cook) and helps "decode" Middle English words like peson and seeth. |
Staccato | A musical instruction meaning to play a note briefly and sharply, separated from the notes before and after it. | This is suggested as a performance technique to help the minstrel's music "cut through the noise" of the busy market square. |
