SC - Taillevent bio

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Vincent Cuenca wrote:
> 
> Offhand, does anyone know if Guillaume Tirel was nobly born or a commoner?
> His knighthood for service to the House of Valois would seem less unusual if
> her were nobly born.  I've found a few instances of cooking knights (Sir
> Kenelm Digby being one, and a Gonzalvo Gil listed in a c1300 roll of members
> in the Order of Santiago as "cozinero mayor del rey" or head cook to the
> king).  Were these cases of additional honors being bestowed on those
> already entitled, or the elevation of commoners due to their skills?
> 
> Vicente
> (knighthood for cooking... hmmm...)

I once had a lovely discussion with a member of the Order of Chivalry
here in the East, in which he opined that the Order of the Laurel was
not an appropriately period form of recognition for a master craftsman.
(This was a while ago, before the leafy thing occurred.) Finally he
said, "Okay, you're a cook who tries to behave like a period cook. What,
based on your experience and historical precedent, is the highest honor
a Crown would bestow on a cook for that service?" I said, "Well,
Taillevent was made a knight and given an estate..."  Somehow the
subject changed after that.

As far as I can recall, Taillevent was a commoner, and while I have a
vague memory of it having been said he was the son of a shopkeeper, all
I can find is that his name appears listed on a roll dated 1326 as a
kitchen boy in the household of Jean d'Evereaux, and the Larousse
specifically calls his subsequent knighting ceremony as his
"ennoblement", by which we can conclude (if accurate) that prior to that
date, he wasn't noble.

Digby appears to have been a knight in a non-culinary right; cookery,
brewing, mazing, etc., seem to have been sidelines. I seem to recall
reading that he had been both a diplomat and a spy for various English
Crowns. I know there's a fairly detailed (if short) bio of Digby in Eric
Quayle's "Old Cook Books".   

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com