Workshop "Early Modern Nourishment: Eating, Health, and Knowledge in Europe, 1500–1800"
On 16–17 April Karin Sennefelt and Anton Runesson organized the workshop ”Early Modern Nourishment: Eating, Health, and Knowledge in Europe, 1500–1800”. The workshop took place at The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, Villagatan 3 in Stockholm.
The workshop explored how people in early modern Europe understood the nutritional value of what they consumed, the perceived effects of individual substances on the body, and how healthy bodies were imagined and cultivated within society. We also discussed who possessed such knowledge and who made decisions regarding access to food.
More broadly, the aim was to investigate prevailing ideas of what constituted a healthy body and to what extent such bodies were considered a matter of public concern prior to the emergence of modern public health.
The workshop had participants from Italy, Ireland, UK, Ukraine, and Sweden.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities. Photo: Karin Sennefelt.
Last updated: 2026-05-12
Source: Historiska institutionen