Cut-off date (was: Re: SC - Pea soup sugar peas question)

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/7/99 4:50:20 PM Eastern Standard Time,
varmstro at zipcon.net writes:

<<  Ras jumps
 from the medieval time period to the early modern while skipping that vital
 time period of the Renaissance, which occured significantly later north of
 the Alps than it did in Italy.
  >>

Even theat is not as radical a jump as you claim it to be. The disapperance of
galingal, cubebs and grains of paradise was abrupt and there is little or no
evidence that shows their use was gradually withdrawn over the span you
mention. 

To put it in perspective, future researchers will find an abrupt and
inexplicable shift in the cookery of our own time period. In less than 20
years, modern cookery has virtually eliminated lard and Crisco from recipe
books and the cooking of vegetables has taken a complete turn about from fork
tender to tender crisp (both developements negative IMO). These are drastic
culinary changes and will reflect historically as a completely different
culinary style. 

Anyway, what I was trying to say in my previous post (and failed miserably)
was that by incouraging late period cookery more times than not we find people
justifying their use of inappropriate ingredients and forms of ingredients as
'period' when in fact they are restricted to a specific geographical area and
time.

Your argument , while completely valid does not prohibit The College of
Heralds from allowing late personas to register late period arms. One area of
study and practice is no more important than another and consistency is the
preferred route IMO. Elizabethan personas do not object to bearing earlier
arms and on that basis should not object to earlier cookery so your arguments
in that area are groundless, IMO.

However, given the apparent lack of any bona fide concern for consistency in
the rules governing the SCA, I fear that my point is moot.
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