Subject: Re: SC - no Anglo-Saxon recipes?

[Jessica Tiffin]

Lady Diana said:
>     I know that such a book exists, and have seen articles and references 
> about it, but that's the extent of my knowledge. What you probably remember 
> is my inquiring about a source for a modern English translation of it.

"Leechdom, Starcraft and Wortcunning" is, as Cairistiona said, in the 
library of the University of Cape Town. After three days of wrestling 
with the library's brand, spanking new online catalogue, which is 
still in its... um, implementation phase (it's been down for three 
days), I have finally found the books and persuaded someone to issue 
them to me...

Lady Diana, the three-volume edition I have includes a translation; 
the books are "collected and edited by the Rev. Thomas Oswald 
Cockayne, with a new introduction by Charles Singer"; this edition is 
from The Holland Press, London, 1961.  It's one of those ones which 
is nicely done with the Old English on one page and the translation 
on the facing page.  It contains the following works (I've quoted 
from the explanatory notes in the introduction):

VOL I:
Herbarium of Apuleius
Herbarium continued from Dioskorides, etc ("a selection of 
prescriptions gathered from a Latin version of Dioscorides 'De 
Materia medica'")
Medicina de Quadrupedibus (described in the introduction as "a 
disgusting little work on the badger, 'De taxone'", and "an equally 
nauseating book on medicines derived from animals")
Leechdoms from Fly Leaves of Manuscripts Charms (in part) - this is 
not related to the Apuleius manuscripts, which the above works seem 
to be.

VOL II: Leechbooks
"Three texts which are compilations by English leeches mainly from 
Latin sources."

VOL III: 
Lacnunga - "some extremely early pre-Christian elements and a long 
poem of the seventh century in 'Hisperic' Latin"
Incipit liber qui dicitur peri didaxeon - "of schools of 
medicine", translated in the 12th century from a Salernitan text of 
about 1100. 
Prognostics: "a miscellaneous collection on calendarial matters and 
of forecasts from dates and dreams."

Most of the matter of the three volumes seems to be specific salves, 
ointments, brewets, draughts, etc, for a variety of aliments, often 
disgusting... :> (flying venom, sudden pustules, the wrist drop, head 
wark, etc...).  In terms of actual recipes for food, as opposed to 
medicines, there seems to be little or nothing here; Cairistiona will 
have a better sense that I do, I've only skimmed bits and she's read 
through.  So far I've found one recipe for oxymel (infuse it with 
betony for a man tired by a long journey) and an injunction to eat 
radishes for depression.  ("For heaviness of the mind, give to eat 
radish with salt and vinegar; soon the mood will be more gay."  
Recipe 73 from Lacnunga, MS Harl. 585).

I can post the oxymel recipe if anyone's interested; excited 
herbalists, please contact me privately... :>

Jehanne

Lady Jehanne de Huguenin  *  Seneschal, Shire of Adamastor, Cape Town
(Jessica Tiffin, University of Cape Town)
Sable, three owls rising argent, each maintaining a willow slip vert.
http://users.iafrica.com/m/me/melisant/stidings.htm