[Elfsea] Ancient book lists foods fit for a king

[Libbie Greene]

Ok,

Now that I am all aquiver with excitement having read this information how do I
find/buy this book? Such a tease!

HL Brigit

Spence Mabry wrote:

> Ancient book lists foods fit for a king
>
> Historians whip up a zesty recipe for pike and eels from 1500
>
> ASSOCIATED PRESS, LONDON, June 28
>
> Chopped sparrow, roast swan, poached pike, conger eel, porpoise and lamprey:
> If it walked, swam or flew, the English medieval nobility ate it -- usually
> with a dash of cinnamon, ginger or cloves -- according to an ancient
> cookbook released to the public Thursday.
>
> DATING FROM 1500, "A noble bok of festes ryalle and cokery, A bok for a
> Prynces housholde" is the earliest copy of a printed cookbook in English,
> according to the British Library. It has been in the archives of Longleat
> House, the country seat of the Marquess of Bath, since the 18th century, but
> until now has been reserved for scholarly use.
>        Longleat staff now plan to publish copies of the book. They have
> reproduced and eaten some of the recipes, including "pyke and eles in
> balloke broth", a dish of pike and eels spiced with cloves, cinnamon and
> saffron, and a mixture of milk and colored eggs called "ledlardes."
>        "The pike and eels were very strong ... and when we made the dish we
> weren't as liberal with the spices as they were -- so it was pretty clear
> that medieval nobles didn't like bland food," said Kate Harris, Longleat's
> librarian and archivist.
>        At least one noblewoman adored the dish: "That must our dame have or
> els she will be wrothe (angry)," the book notes.
>
> NEW INSIGHT INTO THE NOBLE LIFE
>        Historians say the 80-page book offers new insight into the life of
> England's nobility, including its kings and archbishops, and was designed
> for the merchant and gentry classes who aspired to copy their betters.
>        It is divided into three sections: a history of noble feasts,
> including the banquet at King Henry V's coronation in 1413, a calendar of
> seasonal foods and a list of ingredients.
>        Unlike modern cookbooks, it does not give quantities or cooking times
> -- cooks to the nobility were expected to be skilled enough to judge that
> for themselves. Scribbled Latin notes in the margin show that the book was
> used.
>        The book was printed by London-based printer Richard Pynson, a Norman
> who later became the king's official printer.
>        Harris said it was brought to Longleat when Elizabeth Harley, whose
> mother Margaret later became the first Duchess of Portland, married the
> first Marquess of Bath in 1759.
>
> FEAST OF 31 SWANS
>          The book reveals that Henry V's coronation feast featured a first
> course of 31 swans, roasted and probably redressed in their feathers. All
> carried signs praising the king.
>        This was followed by dishes of venison, antelope, porpoises and a
> range of fish, including carp, perch and lamprey, on which King Henry I is
> said to have gorged himself to death.
>        There is no mention of vegetables, and desserts are mentioned in
> passing as "dowcetes."
>        Harris said menus for a feast for George Nevill, who became
> archbishop of York in 1465, list a wide range of bird dishes including
> sparrows, gannets, gulls, larks and peacocks.
>        Presentation was lavish, with many animals served whole. Tables were
> often decorated with sugar sculptures that were painted and sometimes even
> gilded.
>        Harris said that contrary to popular belief, the nobility ate tidily
> and wasted little. They had knives and spoons, but used fingers instead of
> forks, which were a later Italian invention.
>
> Ceatta
>
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