Atilla the hun

[DeadRamones]

Was watching a show on History channel about Atilla the Hun. They mention how raw meat is undigestable to humans & must be cooked because of it's strong muscle fibers. I found this statement very odd. Coming from such an informative station.
One specialist said that's why The Huns put their meat under the saddles. Because the long rides mixed with the horses salty sweat preserved,flavored & cooked the meat. I'm guessing they didn't want to mention raw meat consumption out of liability purpose.

[PaleoPhil]

That's strange, because according to other sources, the secret of why the Huns' and Tatars' strength and physiques were superior to Romans and other "civilized" peoples was attributed to raw meat, and it also helped them avoid being spotted by their enemies, because they didn't need to build campfires. To use some of the greatest eaters and promoters of raw meat in Neolithic times as reason to not eat raw meat is bizarre.

All the peoples of the steppes and Siberia and surrounding areas were reportedly great consumers of raw meat and/or fish: Huns (who probably included other steppes and nearby peoples in addition to Huns in their confederations, such as Turkic, Yeniseian, Tungusic, Ugric, Iranic, and Mongolic), Tatars (another name later loosely applied to many steppes peoples, from which the name steak tartare comes from), Mongols, Celts, Scythians, Turks, Avars, Kets, Nenets, Tuvans, etc.


Attila the Hun and Steak Tartar
www.schonwalder.org/Menu_Special_Steak_Tartar.htm

"Attila's men ate raw lean meat cuts which being placed under their saddles were tenderized for as long as a day's ride." ....

"People feared the Tartars but attributed their strength to the energy source of raw meat and spices." Wanting to be much like the feared Huns, people in western Europe first secretly but soon openly prepared food the way they had seen the nomads do it. They tenderized meat and added spices.

"... and that's where the steak tartar as we know it today originated!"


"They are short in stature, quick in bodily movement, alert horsemen, broad shouldered, ready in the use of bow and arrow, and have firm-set necks which are ever erect in pride." Jordanes. http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~vandersp/Courses/texts/jordgeti.html The origins and deeds of the Goths XXIV (127-8), translated by Charles C. Mierow


The Hun
"In the tradition of Mongol warriors, the Hun ate mare's milk, blood, and raw meat if necessary."
www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/bios/b3atilla_p1dz.htm


Others claim the Huns kept meat under their saddles to keep it warm, rather than necessarily tenderize it:

"...he tells us that the Huns ate raw meat which they warmed a little by carrying it between their saddles and their horses' backs." --The Huns by E. A. Thompson, Peter Heather

[DeadRamones]

Exactly Phil, They didn't mention anything of war tactics or easy traveling to the consumption of raw meat. I'm guessing they were trying to paint a villainous picture(Even though they were already ruthless)

[SkinnyDevil]

The writers of the program probably relied on "common knowledge" as far as raw meat is concerned, rather than research. Their area of study is not on physiology or nutrition, but on historical events.