SC - Palladius #6

[Ian van Tets]

Here is some more Palladius.  By the way, can someone send me my last 
posting?  I deleted it by accident (howl).

August:  Book the Ninth
De onfaco melle (to make Omphacomel)
29      For comfit that is clep hony-onfake
        Sex sester take of grapes juce half soure,
        Twos sester hony mightily let brake,
        Or stampe, and putte it into this licoure.
        Thenne XLti dayes stonde it every houre
        To boile under the bemes of the sonne,
        And after kepe it cloose, and it is wonne.

notes:
take six pints of half-ripe grapes and two of honey well-pounded, and 
leave it to dry in the sun forty days.
Fruit leather!!  CJvT

September:  Book the Tenth
To pitch casks:
17      The tonnes forto pitche is to devyse:
        A tonne of two hundred congys suffise
        With poundes XII of pitche, and more or lesse,
        After the quantitee therof then gesse.
        
18      Sumen to XXti pounde of pitche a pounde 
        Of wex wol doo, to ese it lest it lepe
        In colde;  eke wyne to taste and smylle sounde
        Fro bitter pitche also thi vynes kepe.
        
notes:
17:  12 lbs pitch per cask, more or less.
18:  Some add a lb of wax per 20 lbs of pitch lest it split.        
[Since the writer elsewhere uses 'vyne' to mean 'wine', does he mean 
to avoid putting wine in bitter pitch, or to avoid putting it on the 
plant?  CJvT]

De servandis uvis (to preserve grapes)
28      Trie oute the grape unhurt, neither to ripe
        Neither to soure, as gemmes luculent,
        Of softe and hardde as goodly is to gripe,
        Tho puld of that corrupcion hath shent,
        The closter tenes in hoote picke be blent.
        Suspende hem so in colde hous, drie, obscure,
        Ther noo light in may breke, and thai beth sure.
        
notes:
Choose grapes neother too ripe nor too sour, bright as gems, soft and 
hard to the touch.  Pull off the corrupted ones.  Burn the stalks of 
the clusters in hot pitch, and suspend in a cool, dry place.

October:  Book the Eleventh
De oles viridi & laurino faciendo (to make olive-oil and laurel-oil)
15      Fresshest olyve is taken, so dyvers
        As his colour is, as, to dwelle ore eve,
        Let brede hem, lest thai hete & be the wers.
        Eke everie drie or roton cors remeve,
        And rather hool thenne groundon salt let streve
        On hem III strike on X strike of olyve,
        And into skeppes newe hem haste as blyve.
        
16      This savery salt alle nyght so let hem drinke,
        And erly sette on werkyng hem the wrynge;
        A savery oil ther wol oute of it synk;
        But first with water warme is to bespringe
        The chanels of this oile and vessellyng.
        Lest rancoure oil enfecte, do fier away.
        Nowe eke is oil to make of laury bay.
        
notes:  
15:  Take fresh olives, diverse as is their colour, keep over the 
evening;  spread them, lest they heat.  Remove dry rotten berries, 
strew on them whole, not ground, salt, and put htme quickly into new 
baskets.
16:  Let them drink up the salt all night, and early set the press at 
work upon them.  First sprinkle with warm water the pipes and vessels 
of this oil.  Keep away fire, lest the oil become rancid.

************

I shall leave all 33 verses of October's wine-making frenzy until 
next time, so that they are all together.  There are still about 45 
verses all up.  Thanks for your patience.

Incidentally, people were asking about strains of fruit.  Palladius 
gives three strains of peaches names here:
Book 11, verse 18
Thaire kyndes beth, oon is peche Armenye, 
Precox is next, the thridde is duracyne.

(Their sorts are the Armenian, the Precox, and the clingstone)

That's all for now.

Cairistiona
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