SC - Christmas Pudding

[Helen]

Ras wrote regarding the possibility of Russian cookbooks within SCA period:

>Considering that Communism and it's stranglehold has only recent;y been 
>broken in the Eastern nations of Europe, I would think your statement is 
>rather broad. Personally, I think that encouraging them to publish and/or 
>allow such manuscripts to be published and translated would be far more 
>practical than dismissing the possibility of their existence based on 
>availability from past repressive regimes......
<snip>
>With all these questions unanswered, speculating that period Russian 
>cookbooks do not exist is just as absurd as speculating that they do. We 
>simply do NOT know and those that are in a position to tell us the facts have 
>simply not done so.
>
>For that matter, there are numerous college and university professors on this 
>list who have a far more reasonable chance now than ever before to get their 
>hands on these documents if they exist. Why have they not diligently pursued 
>this path? And, if they have, why have they not spoke publicly on the matter 
>or shared any information they may have received? 

Well, here are the facts as I know them:
My husband (a university professor, if that matters) specifically looked
for information on SCA-period Russian culture, including food, when he was
doing research.  He checked the holdings of the Russian State Archive for
Ancient Acts (RGADA, in Russian) for this information.  RGADA is the place
where all pre-Petrine (Peter the Great) documents are kept.  There
unfortunately are NOT any cookbooks, per se.  And there are not likely any
reasons why the Communists would have held back on publishing a cookbook.

Food and foodways are mentioned within various documents of course, and an
archive catalog isn't going to show that, unfortunately, but that doesn't
mean there is a hidden cookbook out there, and certainly not something that
would have been hidden for ideological reasons.

The Russian Academy of Sciences published a book a few years ago which
catalogued all archaeological finds of this period (Kievan), and it didn't
mention any cookbooks.  I've looked.

I guess we can all hope that somewhere, sometime, someone will dig up a
hoard of letters with Anna Ivanovich explaining to her daughter how to make
kasha, but it ain't happened yet.  I am pursuing a degree in anthropology
(with an archaeological emphasis) with medieval Russia as my interest area,
my particular interests are foodways and material culture, so you've got at
least one academic on this list who is definitely interested in this
subject.  I am always actively looking for information, and if I find any,
I'll let people know.

>There is at least one group of SCA members in Russia as a request this past 
>few months for information on our organization and a request for some sort of 
>equipment or what not indicated. They received information and equipment 
>needed, SFAIK. 
>
>I see no reason why they shouldn't be contacted and specifically asked to see 
>if such manuscripts exist. Does anyone have the e-mail addy of the group that 
>was posted? I would be more than happy to post them such a request. Such a 
>request would be far better than 'supposing' this or that. 

The Slavic Interest Group has been in contact with them (the Proto-Incipient
Shire of Wildenburg in Vladimir and Suzdal).  If you would like to ask them
to try to find information, I am sure they would do their best.  Contact
them through their German liaison, Wolfgang
(wolfgang.mueskens at fen.baynet.de).  For more info on the group, check out
issues 9 and 13 of the SIG newsletter at
<http://www.uwplatt.edu/~goldschp/slavic.html>

>[Many people] of this list have went out of their 
>way to post or web hitherto unavailable documents and many of them not 
>speaking English as their native tongue have translated those documents or 
>parts of documents into English while many in a position to do so have chosen 
>not to do. Information only becomes accessible when someone is willing to 
>make it accessible.

True.  All I can say is that I'm working on it and eliciting help from
others in the field. 

- --Yana
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