Historically, why was eating breakfast often associated with poverty or labor in the European Middle Ages?

Laborers required sustenance for hard physical work, while upper classes reserved energy for a large midday *dinner*

Historical context reveals that the perception of breakfast's importance shifted dramatically based on societal structure and necessity. In the European Middle Ages, the necessity of sustained energy for demanding physical labor meant that laborers often needed to eat early to fuel their work throughout the day; thus, eating breakfast signified their working-class status. Conversely, the wealthier or upper classes, whose activities might be less physically taxing early on, often deferred their main, significant caloric intake until midday, where they held their principal meal, known as *dinner*. This disparity shows that the concept of *when* one should eat the first meal was tied to economic role and energy expenditure, rather than a universal dietary requirement.