Barley they called _gru_, which, in Latin, became _grudum_. _Gruellum_ was husked barley, which the Gauls ate in soup and with boiled meat. This is the origin of the French word _gruau_ (groats), which is equally applied to husked oats. Rye was used in the northern part of Gaul; and, from the time of Strabo, millet was in use among the Gauls as well as panic, but especially in Aquitaine. They also certainly knew of buck-wheat, which had been cultivated from time immemorial in Africa, for it has been found in several Celtic remains in the Camp de Chalons. The Romans brought millstones with them, and introduced the water-wheel, which saved them the exertion of personally grinding their corn, and with the arrival of the Franks came Christianity, and they were taught the prayer, ‘Our Father, which art in Heaven ... give us this day our daily bread.’ In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in France, noblemen, the middle-class, and shopkeepers did not eat much white bread, and their best was equal to the ‘household bread’ of to-day, whilst whitey-brown, brown, and bran breads were to be found on their tables. The common folk fed on bread made of barley, rye, maslin, a mixture of wheat and rye, brown bread, black bread, and enormous pasties, of which the thick crust was composed of rye, bran, and flour mixed together. Maize was introduced into France from America in 1560. Champier speaks of it as a plant recently imported, and says: ‘Some poor people, in default of corn, have made bread of it, especially in the Beaujolais, but it is less fitted for men than for animals, which fatten quickly upon it, and especially for pigeons who love it much.’ Vermicelli, macaroni, lazagnes (riband vermicelli) and other Italian pastas were brought into France during the wars of Charles VIII., and had no other rivals than rice. At this time, in making bread, the yeast of beer was partially abandoned, and other ferments were made use of. The Flemings boiled wheat, and, after having skimmed off the froth, used it as a leaven, which gave them a bread much lighter than hitherto, or, according to Champier and Liébaut, who wrote in 1589, they employed vinegar, wine, and rennet; and from their writings we find that the farmers were their own millers and bakers. ‘It would be useless for the labourer to take so much pains with his land, if he only derived a profit from a sale of the grain which he has harvested, if he could not himself make cakes, flammèches (_flaky pastry_), flans (_cakes made with flour, eggs, milk and butter_), fritters, and a thousand other dainties, which he can make with a flour from his own corn; and it would be very unbecoming in him were he to borrow them from his neighbours, or buy them of the bakers or pastrycooks. [Illustration: A MEDIÆVAL BAKERY. (_From an engraving by Jost Amman._)]