SC - Recipe for good small Pork or chicken pies

[Bronwynmgn@aol.com]

> I was having a flick thru a book by Anne Wilson called "Great Cooks and
> their
> Recipes, From Taillevent to Escoffier".  In it, she discusses a cook
> called
> Maestro Martino, former cook to 'the Monsignor' the Chamberlain &
> Patriarch of
> Aquileia.  I had not previously heard of Martino but basically, it is him
> that
> is supposed to be the source of Platina's recipes . . . 
> 
Maestro Martino's full name was Martino de Rossi.  His work is "Libro de
arte coquinaria".  Milham compared Martino and  Platina and came to the
conclusion that Platina took most of his recipes from Martino.  Platina was
writing in Latin and changes ingredients when there is no corresponding
Latin word for the Italian in Martino.

> Aquileia is located in  Northerner Italy, in the southern part of the
> Friulian
> plain, close to the wide Lagoon of Grado.  In 1420 it was  under the rule
> of the
> Republic of Venice (just to give an idea where it was in relation to
> Florence
> :-)
> 
> Ms Wilson advises that the 'Monsignor' Martino worked for, was apparently
> Ludovico Trevisan, a wealthy cardnial (read a cooks dream since he spent
> an
> extravagant 20 ducats a day on his food;-) who became patriarch of
> Aquileia in
> 1439 and papal chamberlain a year later (holding both posts until he died
> in
> 1465).  
> 
True, but the key point is "papal chamberlain".  As such, the Monsignor
would have been expected to live in Rome.  Martino worked for the man in
Rome and it was there he met Platina.  The situation of having formal
residence in one place and actually living and working elsewhere was fairly
common in Renaissance Italy, as demonstrated by Pope clement VII, Leonardo
da Vinci, and Niccolo Machiavelli.

Also, Master Martino was in the employ of the Dukes of Milan prior to
becoming the Monsignor's chef.

> Now Martino was supposed to have flourished between 1450-1475.  There is
> a 15th century recipe manuscript written by him (now in the Library of
> Congress)
> which is apparently written in the Italian of Tuscany, not in the latin
> used by
> Platina, but the 250 recipes are identical to those in 'De honesta
> volupate'. 
> Whether this particular manuscript was written before De honesta voluptare
> is
> uncertain, but Wilson is emphatic that Platina depended on Martino for the
> recipes based on this acknowledgement in Platina's book (in a recipe for
> bianco
> mangare Platina says):  "Oh ye immortal Gods, which cook could compete
> with my
> friend Martino of Como, with whom originates to a large extent that which
> I am
> writing here".  
> 
Given the references, the word alterations between the Latin and the
Italian, and the timing, it is almost certain that Martino's work predates
Platina's.

> Wilson also indicates that Martino's recipes were also printed in another
> italian cookbook called "Epulario" (Of Feasting), which is almost
> identical to
> the 15th Century manuscript.  Aparently this book ran to 30 editions in a
> hundered years (being translated into German, French & Italian & English)
> and
> was still being printed in the mid 1600s.  Wilson indicates that it spent
> much
> of the time being incorrectly attributed to a Giovanne de Roselli.
> 
> Basically, then, if her information is correct, given the apparent
> popularity of
> the latter manuscript (and given that it is supposed to be the source of
> Platina's info), it may be that Epulario can certainly be found in the
> required
> period in Florence.  My question is though, is her information correct?
> 
> Lorix
> 
There are four known existing manuscripts of Martino, so it is possible that
one could have been found in Florence at the appropriate time.  While I
can't comment on whether the recipes in the Epulario are taken from Martino,
Platina was the first cookbook to be printed and there were 16th Century
translations into French and German which suggest there were quite a few
copies available (at $10K, I had to pass on a late 15th Century printed
edition just last year).

Bear