Royal Garden of Pefkou, The

One of the most useful documents relating to the highly stratified system of food consumption in medieval Cyprus is a 1468 agreement of transfer dealing with a royal garden in Nicosia called du Pin in French or in Greek Pefkou (The Pine), in reference to a large and probably ancient pine tree that was its defining feature. Basing his research on this text, William Woys Weaver, Professor of Food Studies at Drexel University in Philadelphia, discusses medieval gardens, food and diet in Cyprus to evoke a vivid picture of daily life on the island in Lusignan times.