SC - clockwork spit

[tgl at mailer.uni-marburg.de]

Mary Morman wrote:
<< ... the Scappi spit illustration ... He finally did find the actual
spit - in a small museum in either Belgium or the Netherlands - ...>>

Thank you very much! That's intresting to hear.

I must make a correction to what I said earlier.
<< And there seems also to be mention of such a machine in Rabelais'
'Gargantua'. >>

I was wrong. There is no mention of such a machine in Rabelais. At least
I did not find it in the place I was looking. BUT: it is mentioned in
the German version of Rabelais done by Johann Fischart in 1575 (both
Rabelais and Fischart, who frequently 'expands a bit' on the ideas of
Rabelais, are full of food and drink references):

"Dann er het ... ein Lebendig Pratspißwerck: oder selbsgengig
Pratspißmül von 72. Pratspissen erfunden "

roughly: 'Because he had invented a living roasting spit device, an
automatic (self going) roasting spit machine (mill work) with 72.
roasting spits'

Th.