SC - new books arrived

[Jenn/Yana]

>One of the books I received was the Domostroi.  My memory is not at its best
>right now, but IIRC we had a discussion on vodka recently and determined
>that it prolly wasn't period.  Nay nay moosebreath!  Domostroi discusses
>distillation of vodka as well as mead, although not in the depth I would
>like.  As Domostroi is period, and as the lack of depth implies that any
>good Russian wife would already know the mechanics of making vodka, I'm
>inclined to believe it traces back well into period, though I cannot YET
>prove it with any certainty.
>
>reading on, Puck

In the Pouncy translation, she does indeed refer to distilled spirits
(which she translates as "vodka"), but the Russian term which is originally
used is very vague (it simply means "spirits").  The actual Russian word in
the original is <vinnyi>.  I talked with my comrades on the Slavic
Discussion list about this not too long ago and here is what one had to say.

><vinnyi>, as you suspect, cannot refer to vodka, at least not in period. From 
>another secondary source (with a good survey of primary sources, etc) I 
>remember the comment that vodka, and other distilled spirits, did not make 
>their appearance in Russia before the XVII century, and when it did, 
>distillation and sale were strictly regulated by the crown (hear: state 
>monopoly). 
>Predslava

The secondary source that Predslava mentions above is Bread and Salt by
R.E.F. Smith. According to Smith, some believe that vodka was introduced as
early as the 14th century, but that probably vodka did not appear until the
16th century and that the distillation process was probably introduced by
the West.  The Domostroi mention of distilled spirits may even be a later
addition, for all we know.  If vodka-making and distribution was
controlled by the state, why would the conservatively-minded author of the
Domostroi say that a woman should know how to do such unlawful things?



Yana (Ilyana Barsova)  jdmiller2 at students.wisc.edu
         http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~jdmiller2 
"Shchi da kasha, pischa nasha" 
       -- Cabbage soup and kasha are our native food
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