SC - Humoral theory

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 10/29/98 3:47:49 AM Eastern Standard Time,
p.vbrown at tsc.nsw.edu.au writes:

<<  I think that Ras is underestimating the availability and
 dissemination of these works among the upper European classes whose feasts
 we try to emulate.  >>

Peerhaps. However, since professional cooking of the time was in the hands of
Guilds, this is something that we may never know. I tend to think that the
manuscripts we have access to  from the Middle Ages were preserved not because
they were  'commonly available'  but rather because they were uncommon and
unique. 

In spite of my own view point, we, as historical cooks, are in a position that
demands we use those recourses available to us. Those resources lean heavily
on the humoral theory. So we simply can't ignore that system of medicine if we
are to do authentic 'recreation' when using the sources at hand. I don't feel
that the neccessity of using those manuscripts necessarily translates into an
observation that the majority of medival cooks paid any particular attention
to then current medical advice.

Considering that our time period spans hundreds of years and we only have a
handful of cookery manuscripts that have survived, the most we can extropolate
is that the individual who wrote a particular manuscript felt that the humoral
theory was valid. In our own time there has been dozens of different cookery
books written that expound dozens of different medical theories. Is there any
evidence that it was not the same in the MA? The uniqueness of the humoral
theory would naturally make such maunuscripts immenately  'collectable' but
would not neccessarily mean it was widely used.

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

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