Literature and cider making took a hammering

The Dark Ages are indeed a little dark, what with plagues, famines, bad weather and invasions by Saxons, Vikings and Danes. Literature and cider making took a hammering. A black hole in other words, though religious houses like Ely had orchards in Saxon times. There was hope.

J. Crowden, Cider country (2021), 96

Persian apples were peaches

A word of warning: in Greek the word ‘melon’ is always taken to mean apples, but ‘melon’ covers a number of other fruits including pomegranates: ‘Armenian apples’ were apricots, still grown on the northern side of Mount Ararat. ‘Cydonian apples’ were quinces. Cydonia was an ancient city state near Chania in Crete. Persian apples were peaches.

J. Crowden, Cider country (2021), 36