SC - coring fruit

[Marcus Antaya]

I should like to make some remarks on the post to the list and to the
paper mentioned there (http://web.raex.com/~obsidian/precwat.html).

<< I have also a very strange-tasting concoction (...) dating from c.
1375-1400 which is called in the source a "Cardiacle". >>

_Cardiacle_ is not the name of the concoction but the name of a cardiac
passion (OED) it is used for/against. Thus, you should change the
translation of the title in #9 ("For the cardiacle") from "A cordial" to
something like "For the cardiac passion/trembling of the heart".

<< ... showing the essential elements of a cordial; distinctive
flavoring elements in an alcoholic vehicle >> (commentary to #6, a
flavoured wine)

If _this_ is the criterion for a cordial: flavoured wines (herbs,
spices, drugs) are known since antiquity from several medical and
agricultural authors (e.g. Cato #122). Henry Sigerist, in his
introduction to "The earliest printed book on wine", says that some of
them were drunk as "appetizers" (p. 12 with footnote 12).

Re #4, #5  (Harl. 2378):
<< Despite the fact that this formula calls for use as an ointment, I
felt compelled to include it anyway, because not only is it a very tasty
sounding preparation ... >>

Frankly, to say that ointments, fragrances and other stuff designed for
external application, can be used as cordials, because we know nowadays
that the ingredients used for these ointments, fragrances etc. might be
used for cordials too, is questionable, unless there is further
evidence. At any rate, without further evidence I would not say that
these recipes for external application are "clear examples of medicines
on their way to becoming liqueurs", as stated in the introduction.

<< I have uncovered a recipe for Aqua Vite (containing among other
things very explicit directions for how to distill it) dating from the
period 1400-1450. >>

This in spirit with the chronology of aqua vitae texts. Taddeo Alderotti
is said to have written his aqua vitae treatise in 1280. The text was
soon copied and thereby shortened, enlarged, changed etc. There are
vernacular versions in German from the 14th century onwards (ed. by Keil
in Centaurus 7/1, 1960, 53-100). The German texts usually only mention
the medical benefits, not the technique of distilling. The Latin text of
Taddeo Alderotti was published by Karl Sudhoff and E.O. von Lippmann. I
did not see it yet, but in case someone wants to take a look: in "Archiv
für Geschichte der Medizin 7, 1914, 379-389".

<< Originally formulated as tonics and prescriptive medications, they
seem to increasingly have taken on a more recreational life of their own
from the 15th century on -- no particular sources per se, just the
impression I get from the research I've been conducting -- >>

To go beyond impression, you could check whether or not the use of aqua
vitae is subject to legislation, mirroring actual practice. Keil, in his
Centaurus article, mentions an old German dissertation: Erich Johannes
Rau: Ärztliche Gutachten und Polizeivorschriften über den Brantwein im
Mittelalter. Med. Diss. Leipzig 1914. I gather from this title that
there were laws/ legal instructions in the (late) Middle ages regulating
the use of brandy. Perhaps, there are English books or articles on the
same subject, too.

Thanks for sharing your paper and best wishes,
Thomas