[Ansteorra] eating horses and cats, oh my

[Mark.S Harris]

Aurore Gaudin wrote:
> Lots of laugh.  I wonder if someone would mention one of least like ideas of
> the meat group.  Times of food shortages and seiges, pets and work animals
> were last choice for dinner.  Thank for the good times now, I just couldn't
> eat my pet.

Nope, I wouldn't eat my cats, either. Actually, I believe all of the
recipes for horse that I highlight in the file below are actually
from southwest Asia and not Europe. I believe the emphasis on
knighthood and the horse, precluded them from regularly using
horseflesh. However, if anyone does have recipes or other evidence
for horse being eaten in Europe in the Middle Ages, I'd like to get it.

In times of famine, all the rules disappear, including those on
cannibalism, expecially when it involved the bodies of the "enemy".
See the accounts of the Crusades for evidence on this. (Maybe I
should finish the file for the Florilegium on canabalism).

There is also this file in the Florilegium, but I believe the
"cat" mentioned in this file is a type of wildcat, not the household
pet.
exotic-meats-msg  (73K)  9/21/01    Period and SCA exotic meats. Swans,
ostrich,
                                       crawfish, dormice, cat.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-MEATS/exotic-meats-msg.html

I also, don't have any period recipes for dog, yet. If anyone has
any, please let me know.

Stefan li Rous

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mark.S Harris" <mark.s.harris at motorola.com>

> > And folks, if you find that the upkeep of that horse is just getting
> > a bit too expensive, you could make it that night's (knight's?)
> > feast. See this file in the FOOD-MEATS section:
> > horse-recipes-msg (24K)  8/31/99    Period horse recipes. References.
> > http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-MEATS/horse-recipes-msg.html