The costard was a variety of apple popular in

medieval England England in the Middle Ages concerns the history of England during the medieval period, from the end of the 5th century through to the start of the Early Modern period in 1485. When England emerged from the collapse of the Roman Empire, the econ ...

, and the second apple variety (after the

pearmain A pearmain, also formerly spelled "permain", is a type of apple. The name may once have been applied to a particular variety of apple that kept well, although in more modern times its inclusion in varietal names was, like the term 'Pippin', "large ...

) introduced by the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

. It was grown widely as a

commercial crop A cash crop or profit crop is an agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate marketed crops from staple crop (or "subsistence crop") in subsisten ...

by the 13th century and was supplied to the household of

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

in 1292. It remained widespread for several hundred years, until other apple varieties gained popularity during the 17th century. It is thought to have been a

cooking apple A cooking apple or culinary apple is an apple that is used primarily for cooking, as opposed to a '' dessert apple'', which is eaten raw. Cooking apples are generally larger, and can be tarter than dessert varieties. Some varieties have a fi ...

and was perhaps similar to the modern

Bellflower apple Yellow Bellflower is a cultivar of domesticated apple that originated in New Jersey. It has many other names including "Belle Flavoise" and "Lincoln Pippin". It is probably the best known of a group of apple cultivars referred to as the yellow be ...

. It is said to have been named for its resemblance to the human head (for which "costard" was another term).

History

The first known named English apple variety was the

which was first mentioned in 1204, having been introduced by the Normans. The costard is the second known variety introduced by the Normans and was commonly grown as a commercial crop in the 13th century. It is mentioned, by the name "Poma Costard", in a

fruiterer A greengrocer is a person who owns or operates a shop selling primarily fruit and vegetables. The term may also be used to refer to a shop selling primarily produce. It is used predominantly in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the United ...

's bill for

in 1292. In 1296 100 costard apples could be bought in Oxford for one shilling and in 1325 29 costard trees could be purchased for three shillings. The monks of

Reading Abbey Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, m ...

were entitled by one agreement to an annual payment of "unum pomum costard" (one costard apple), possibly an example of a Peppercorn payment. The costard apple remained one of the best known and most famous of British apple varieties for several hundred years. The costard and pearmain varieties were the only ones popularly grown in Britain until the 17th century. The costard is said to have long fallen out of favour by the 20th century. It is described as "not known" in the United Kingdom in a report of 1830 and as "now appears to be extinct" in 1967.

Description

Cross section of Catshead, National Fruit Collection (acc

Nurseryman and pomologist George Lindley described the costard as synonymous with the Catshead apple but this has been disputed. The 17th-century botanist John Parkinson described two varieties of costard: "gray" and "greene". He described the "gray" as a good winter apple, whitish in colour and stated the "greene" was similar apart from coloration of the skin. Leonard Meager in his 1670 work the ''

Complete English Gardener The ''Complete English Gardener'' is a practical guide to gardening first published in 1670 by English author Leonard Meager. The original title is ''The English Gardener, or, A Sure Guide to Young Planters and Gardeners: in Three Parts''. ''Th ...

'' stated there were three types: white, grey and red. The costard is believed to have been a

, perhaps similar to the modern

. The name is possibly derived from the Latin ''costatus'' ("ribbed"), relating to prominent external protrusions on this variety. The apple gave its name to the

costermonger A costermonger, coster, or costard is a street seller of fruit and vegetables in British towns. The term is derived from the words ''costard'' (a medieval variety of apple) and ''monger'' (seller), and later came to be used to describe hawkers i ...

(which was originally "costard monger", a seller of costards), a term used to describe a transient fruit seller.

In writing

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...

(c. 1340–1400) mentioned the costard in his work, writing: "your chekes embolmed like a mellow costard". In 1597 William Lawson wrote about growing apple trees and stated that the costard and "Pipping" apple were large trees and that to ensure best yields they should be grown on the north side of an orchard so as not to shade other trees.

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

in his 1755 ''

A Dictionary of the English Language ''A Dictionary of the English Language'', sometimes published as ''Johnson's Dictionary'', was published on 15 April 1755 and written by Samuel Johnson. It is among the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language. T ...

'' thought that the name derived from the use of costard to refer to the head (for which he cited Shakespeare). He supposed that the apple was so named as it was large and round and thus resembled a head. Shakespeare uses the term in scene IV of act I of ''Richard III'' (1593) where one of the murderers suggests hitting the

Duke of Clarence Duke of Clarence is a substantive title which has been traditionally awarded to junior members of the British Royal Family. All three creations were in the Peerage of England. The title was first granted to Lionel of Antwerp, the second son ...

over the head with their sword hilts. In his mid-1590s comedy ''

Love's Labour's Lost ''Love's Labour's Lost'' is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Elizabeth I of England, Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and ...

'' the court jester to the King of Navarre is named

Costard Costard is a comic figure in the play '' Love's Labour's Lost'' by William Shakespeare. A country bumpkin, he is arrested in the first scene for flouting the king's proclamation that all men of the court avoid the company of women for three yea ...

References

{{apples Apple cultivars