SC - Tyrca makes Pyment again

[Tyrca]

Here is a little history problem which I've come across -- when did
saffron become part of the medieval cook's spice rack?

Crocus sativus originates in India, was used by the Egyptians, Greeks,
Romans, and most of the people of the Middle East.  It may have been
carried into Western Europe by the Roman Legions, but it appears it was
not cultivated or it died out.

Saffron was brought into Spain by the Moslems and was cultivated.  The
Foodbook places this in the 8th Century.  Trager contradicts himself in
The Food Chronology by placing this in 961 C.E.

According to Trager, the Spanish introduced saffron to Northern Italy in
the 15th Century.  This seems a little late to me.

English cultivation of saffron begins with a single bulb smuggled out of
North Africa (probably in the 14th Century.  I'm considering this
apocryphal until I have supporting evidence.)

My personal speculation is the Moslems brought saffron to Spain and had
it under cultivation by the end of the 9th Century.  In the 10th
Century, it was traded (free trade being a major occupation along the
French-Spanish border to the dismay of centuries of governments) into
France and spread across the Holy Roman Empire.   It followed the
Normans into Britain.

Spanish saffron was probably supplemented by trade with the Middle East
during the Crusades.  Italy probably obtained saffron by trade, either
with Spain of the Middle East.  It may be that saffron cultivation was
brought to Northern Italy by the Spanish in the 15th Century, but I
expect that saffron had long been used in Italy before that time.

The source materials I used don't provide much in the way of
documentation, so chasing the facts down may prove interesting.

Bear

Sources:

Day & Stuckey, The Spice Cookbook
Giacosa, A Taste of Ancient Rome
Tannahill, Food in History
Trager, The Foodbook
              The Food Chronology

============================================================================

To be removed from the SCA-Cooks mailing list, please send a message to
Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".

============================================================================