The word "sausage" derived from the french word "Saussiche" from the latin word "salsus", which means salted.
Sausage making is a traditional food preservation technique. The first sausages were made by stuffing roasted intestines into stomachs. As far back as 589 BC a Chinese sausage called "lachang is mentioned, which consisted of lamb and goat meat. In the Odyssey, the Greek poet Homer mentioned a kind of blood sausage. Early in the 10th Century the production of blood sausage was outlawed by Leo V1 The Wise in the Byzantine Empire, due to cases of food poisoning.
Right back in Medieval times when most peasant families kept only one or two pigs at a time, sausages were made to create a meal out of the less appetizing parts of the pig and in a way that would help it to keep for longer. Nothing could be wasted. When a pig was killed, the offal was eaten straight away or made into sausages, whilst the rest was salted for ham or bacon. The curing of ham and sausages was important. The carcase was salted and hung up to smoke. Smoking helped it to keep longer and gave it a good flavor. The blood and fat were pounded together, sometimes with a little meat from the animal's underside and flavored with spices and herbs before being packed into it's own gut, which was well-cleaned and then cut into convenient lengths.
Sausages are often referred to in England as "bangers", due to their tendency of shrinking and exploding in their tight skin, now that collagen, cellulose or even plastic casings are used instead of the natural gut of the animal. This name was used at least as far back as 1919, but was popularized more during the second world war when shortage of meat meant that water was often added, making them even more prone to exploding. A famous dish now served is known as "bangers and mash."
Another popular dish is "Toad in the Hole" which is also known in Norfolk as Pudding-Pye-Doll. "The ingredients have changed over the years. In the 18th Century cooks would wrap a small piece of mutton in a large piece of suet crust to make the meat go further, which resembled a toad in a hole.
The sausage has come a long way and even today, remains a much-loved food served at barbecues and at the family table of people all over the world.