SC - Definitely OT: Ghee and Bamboo steamers

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Michelle wrote:
> 
> As part of one of my History classes (Uni level if that makes it hold more
> weight) we studied Chaucer's Canterbury Tales - One of the characters
> within that was described as having a red humor -which we surmised was
> caused by having too much wine and meat. The lecturer then went on to
> mention a little more on humors (but I mean a *little*) - so does a Chaucer
> reference to humors improve it being a bit more a common a concept??
> 
> Michelle
> 
> >Sorry for the ramble. This subject is interesting and I hope to learn more
> >about it as M. Adamantius also appears to hold that this medical theory was
> >widely accepted and practiced in the medieval kitchen. Is there evidence
> >outside of Platina that would point to wide spread use?
> >
> >Ras

Hmmm. A red humor, huh? One could make a case for a red humor being an
excess of either sanguine or choleric humors, the first being
excessively hot and moist, as in having too much blood, and a candidate
for bleeding, the second hot and dry, and more or less flushed with
fever. Of course the person could simply have had high blood pressure,
which often tends to cause a flush, but more in keeping with the
sanguine concept.

As for widespread use, I can only say that surviving medical and
culinary texts seem to suggest that the idea wasn't going away. Whether
a whole lot of people actually followed the apparently prevailing
medical view is hard to say. Certainly the adjectives used to describe
the humors (phlegmatic, melancholic, sanguine, and choleric) survive in
reasonably common usage as describing temperaments, which might be
believed to be the result of a specific balance of humors.

Adamantius
Østgardr, East 
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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