SC - Help!!!!

[Steven Cowley]

Christine A Seelye-King wrote:

>         This is my time period, and I don't know of any cooking sources from
> that era.  French is probably closer to the point, as Eleanor starting
> having the Courts of Love when she was Queen of France, and her daughter
> (also the Queen of France, I think) had them there as well.  

Close- Eleanor's daughter Marie was the Countess of Champagne, and the
two of them allegedly held Courts of Love more than once (I say
allegedly because the most recent academic work on them is calling the
existence of the Courts into question and suggesting that they were
_literary_ conventions and not _literal_. I haven't made up my mind. But
point is, if they were in popular imagination enough to have been
included as a fictional trope, then one could imagine that someone might
have decided to hold one...)

> Perhaps you
> could find some poetry of the period (I will look in my old Creative
> Anachronists, I'm pretty sure there are some on Troubadors, which might
> be later, but would be close) 

Troubadours are contemporary with Eleanor and all her rabble- in fact
Bernart de Ventadorn was alleged to have had an affaire with Eleanor
(not likely, but romantic nonetheless). The CA on Troubadours is In The
Basement with my books but I am certain that there is no recipes in it.
There is one famous song by Colin Muset about when Winter comes he wants
to find a generous lord whose hearth is warm and who would feed him
well, with a long list of food- pork, mutton, beef, fat capons, and
cheeses in baskets. Check out Frederick Goldin's book on Troubadour
lyrics- it is excellent with facing-page translation. The song by Muset
is in there and you never know- you might find soemthing else useful.

> and then basing or at least introudcing
> each dish with a bit of verse.  

I don't know that we have a basis for doing this- do you have an
example? I'm curious.

I think I would check out lists of attributes of love (Ovid, Capellanus,
etc.) and maybe work with that- using foods that are emblematic of the
particular attributes.

Many years ago when I was living in a small shire near the Big Bad
Barony, we held a Tournament of the Lions and set it in 1188- middle of
the era you're working in. IIRC, we couldn't find specific 12th c
recipes except for some candy that was suspiciously like taffy. So we
worked with some 13th and mostly 14th c. stuff (mostly _Curye on
Inglysche_) and focused on serving and presentation. No one said
anything (I doubt anyone but the staff even knew that our recipes were
two centuries too young) and the feast was well received. So I'd say
find what you can, do what you are able, do your best, and it will work.

'Lainie
(who started out many years ago as a late 12th c. Norman widow and also
took too many classes and seminars on Courtly Love and Troubadours for
the Useless Degree. *sigh*)
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