SC - Dating Eleanor Fettiplace

[THLRenata at aol.com]

Cariadoc asks:

>>Is it clear whether the recipes are late 16th or early 17th? I don't have a
copy ready to hand, but I thought the date at the front was something like
1611 or so. Do we know whether that was the date she finished writing the book
or the date she started?<<

The date on the book is 1604, which is when  the majority of her recipes were
compiled. I don't know if the date was for the begining of the compilation
process or the end -- I've sent the question on to a friend who has studied
the scribal arts to see if there was a common usage for dating handwritten
books.

Eleanor grew up and learned to cook in the 16th Century (she was born ca.
1570), so I'm willing to take most of her recipes as late 16th Century, since
I doubt that when the calendar struck 1600 she decided to chuck out all the
recipes she'd been using for years and make new ones.

Not that it's impossible, of course -- just unlikely.

Renata
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