SC - fetal???

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Hullo, the list!

In re the whole fetal rabbits jam, I agree that it almost certainly
couldn't have been widespread practice to eat same in Lent or other
meatless days, but I do have a a point or two to raise before people
abandon this topic entirely. 

Anne-Marie Rousseau wrote:
> 
> I still maintain that the ingestion of fetal rabbits is unlikely as a
> lenten cheat for several reasons:
> 1. there are no recipes for them in any source I've seen, nor in any menu.
> 2. they are not mentioned in any shopping lists, or in the lists of
> provisions neccessary
> 
> If anyone has primary source proof to the contrary, I'd love to see it!
> 
> --AM

I myself have never seen any primary source evidence to suggest they
were eaten, which, it must be admitted, doesn't mean they weren't eaten,
it only means that we have nothing to prove they were. Essentially the
idea can be neither proved nor disproved with the available information,
and it seems the more conservative of us on the list are interpreting
that fact one way, and the liberal ones another. Such a surprise, no?

OTOH, I recall that the secondary source evidence that I _have_ seen
stated specifically that the people said to have eaten dose wascawwy
fetew wabbits were clergymen of high estate, and it seems as if the
standard sources we tend to examine as SCAdians tend more towards the
various royal or semi-royal recipe collections, and there's no reason to
assume that if the Baby-Rabbit-Eating Bishop of Bath and Wells _did_ eat
fetal rabbits (although as I recall what I read concerned newborn
rabbits, not fetal ones, which would affect the logistical issues raised
about slaughtering Mom), the recipes would be fund in sources like The
Forme of Cury, or its contemporary menus.

Guess we need to actually look for this information, folks, rather than
simply not run across it while looking for something else...that is, if
people feel it's really necessary to worry about it. My apologies to AM
and others who may a have dug deep, on purpose, to examine the Fetal
Rabbit Question, if I misinterpreted your respective efforts.

Adamantius  
______________________________________
Phil & Susan Troy
troy at asan.com
============================================================================

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".

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