Waffle About

It may be September, but I'm still blogging! I took the first few days of September off partially because I did write 31 entries in 31 days, but also because I am one of the most boring people in the summer and had nothing to write about.

However, inspiration came in the form of a random conversation that occurred while dishing up waffles for dinner tonight between my dad and my brother.

Dad: Wait, what are you doing?

Nathan: (After going through all the waffles before picking one) I like strong waffles.

Dad: Strong waffles?

Nathan: No, I mean crisp waffles. Crisp might be a better word...

Dad: (Still going) Waffles aren't strong. Waffles are waffles. They waffle. That's why they're called waffles. Actually, I don't know why they're called waffles.

Which then got me wondering why waffles are called waffles. I started my academic venture in the place where almost every student starts and the truth dies at the hands of crazies and juvenile pranksters: Wikipedia. According to said wealth of information, waffles originated from wafers. Chaucer even mentions them in his classic work, Canterbury Tales, in both the Miller's Tale and the Pardoner's Tale. The only thing I remember about Canterbury Tales, when I studied it in high school, was the awkward puppet show I put on based on The Knight's Tale for a group project and the fact that The Knight's Tale was the MOST BORING out of all of them. Everyone else's tales had sex jokes that they got to tell under the guise of a group project, while all mine had was two guys fighting over some girl.

Also, they had waffle irons (then called wafer irons) in the Middle Ages! Guys! Waffle irons! I am fascinated by this because every time I think of the Middle Ages I picture paintings with odd perspectives depicting hell or the Virgin Mary and serfs toiling away under lords on farms they never leave in their lives. I realize that they didn't plug into the wall back then and were no more than two metal plates they stuck in a fire, but still! Next story I write that takes place in a middle ages type setting I'm going to feature waffles. And waffle irons.

I was curious about this, so I thought I might check a few other sources to make sure some crazy somewhere wasn't pulling my leg. TIME (in theory a much more reputable source) put out an article last November about the history of waffles at the beginning of some Ego waffle crisis (which I didn't even know existed until about five minutes ago). The article also discussed the presence of waffles (and waffle irons!) in the middle ages, although waffles apparently occurred in Ancient Greece first. This wasn't surprising as it seems like every accomplishment that happened in Western Europe either happened in Greece or China first.

Waffles, as mentioned previously, came from wafers for the purpose of religious festivals as Catholics couldn't eat things with animal products during times of fasting. Wafers did not contain animal products, so they were the perfect mid-afternoon snack. Wikipedia states (although without any citations) that apparently the market for waffle vendors was so high and occasionally violent, that a law had to be put into place stating waffle vendors must keep at least 4 meters from each other. Apparently Medieval England was more dangerous than New York because during my trip all the street vendors were usually only four inches from each other.

Now, hundreds of years later I can eat waffles from a pre-made mix with whipped cream and fruit on top. And then proceed to post and awkward blog about the history of waffles based on odd internet articles. Oh, 21st century. While amazing, you have nothing on the Ancient Greeks. After all, they invented WAFFLE IRONS.