Attn: Drake [Fwd: Re: SC - Cow's Milk Buns]

[Craig Jones.]

Now that we've dealt with the "rotten food" myth, I thought I'd share the
little jewel of misinformation I discovered this weekend.  I found a book in
our library by Eric Quayle called "Old Cook Books:  An Illustrated History."
It was published back in 1978 and the author was a specialist on book
collections.  It had chapters on Platt and Digbie, among others, so I
decided to give it a shot.  However, he lost all credibility with what he
had to say about medieval cooking, to wit:

"Subtle craftsmanship in cookery - indeed, any sign of exacting care and
time-consuming artistry in the preparation of food - was often looked upon
with dark suspicion.  These were dark times, and there were way too many
well-authenticated tales of violent illnesses and acutely painful dealths
after eating at the tables of seemingly friendly hosts to allow any
relaxation of vigilance.  Dining out was a hazardous business; but the risk
was lessened if you were careful only to partake only of the same joints and
drink from the same tankards as the rest of the assembled company ...

...Throughout Europe, the main concern when plenty of food was available,
especially free food, was to eat until you could eat no more.  After reading
details of the gargantuan feasts held to celebrate victory in battle, or to
mark the long looked for return of a feudal lord to his castelled fortress,
one marvels at the almost unlimited capacity for food and drink the eager
guests at these revels displayed.  Relays of leather-aproned cooks sweated
far into the night to provide an overfill, their bucket-sized ladles
hurrying from smoke-blackened cauldrons to fill the steaming dishes.
Anything even remotely edible had been tossed into these same cauldrons as
rows of heavy iron pots and kettles of food simmered for days in
smoke-filled kitchens ...

... When the revels commenced, immense quantities of food and strong drink
were consumed at a single sitting, the plates being scooped clean in greasy
handfuls as each new course arrived.  Quart-sized pots and leather
blackjacks of wine and ale were up-ended with monotonous regularity, until
at last the session of four or five hours of solid drinking and eating began
to take their toll.  The less stalwart were the first to go, as many
collapsing across the tables as slid beneath them.  Great pride was taken in
being the last to submit, but finally the last eupohoric handful of grossly
distended carousers would heave uncertainly to their feet.  Those still able
to stagger manfully through the prostate and spread-eagled ranks of their
fellow revelers belched their uncertain way back to straw-filled beds and
the oblivion of sleep, leaving the debris of a once-proud feast to be
scavenged by the dogs.

Next day, after a night and morning of snoring oblivion, there were the
sick-making sights and smells of a head-splitting morning-after to be
endured by those forced to crawl out of bed to relieve the demands of
nature.  Preparations for the next night of revelry would be well advanced
before the last of the casualties of the previous feast had regained
consciousness and was fit to face the sight of food and drink again.  Then
it was back into the fray, for one never knew how long the good times would
last, and he was a fool who didn't eat his fill while the good God
provided."

AARRGGHH!!!  Be grateful I skipped the parts about the necessity of emetics
in the feeding frenzy!  I'll never be mistaken for a Medieval scholar, but I
have read Platina, the Regimen Sanitatis, and a couple of the books on
manners, and I don't remember anything on "binging and purging" being part
of the recommended daily routine.  Mr. Qualye doesn't provide references for
his statements, which I would guess are mostly old B-grade movie versions of
Robin Hood and King Arthur.  It's unfortunate that someone who didn't know
any better would read this book and come away with the impression that
medieval dining was either:  1) a poison-fest you'd be lucky to survive; or
2) an evening with Bluto and the rest of the brothers of Delta Tau Chi.

John le Burguillun