SC - Cordials

[Angie Malone]

I am so glad you posted this.  Being a nubbie in recipe research, I 
have been told already that walnuts are not period and meatballs are 
not period by a well respected researched but then I have seen a 
different well respected researcher doing both meatballs and using 
walnuts, not in the same recipe but in other recipes.

Sometimes I think what the researcher really means is, "that 
ingredient or that method of cooking, is not within my time period". 
As we all know from info on this list and well as our own research 
just because they were eating something in Italy doesn't mean they 
were doing it in England.

	Angeline


>Thanks for the info, Constance (hope you get well very quickly), and thanks
>for the support, Adamantius. I have a terrible problem with unilateral "It
>ain't period" statements without supporting information, but I don't like to
>bash people over the head with screams of "I DEMAND DOCUMENTATION!".
>
>So essentially I *was* hoping someone with their sources to hand or a brain
>slightly less sleep-deprived than mine would reply to some of those
>unsupported "It ain't period" allegations. So, I was taken literally. Big
>Deal. We've all learned something. That's a Good Thing (tm).
>
>You see folks, just becasue someone TOLD you "it" isn't "period" (what a
>terrible word we misuse far too often), doesn't mean "it" isn't historical
>to our time of study. This just means that "it" hasn't been researched
>properly by the  persons in
>question. "Becasue I say so" doesn't mean much, in my book. A responsible
>statement of historicity (or lack thereof) would contain statements
>something like this:
>"I've looked into that a little bit (or a lot), and as far as I can
>ascertain, "it" doesn't (or does) seem to be historically accurate within
>the SCA time
>under study. I've looked in sources X, Y and Z. There's a chance that I've
>missed something, however. What information do you have, and where did you
>find it?"
>
>Congrats, Constance, on some excellent research (I'm so excited for
>you---you found that elusive golden grail: fresh, untouched material! I LOVE
>it when SCA research alters the body of scholarly information out in the
>real world of Medieval and Rennaisance scholarship, where they really don't
>take SCA members seriously. Yours is the second I've come across such
>potentially scholarship-altering material this month!)!  I look forward to
>hearing, or seeing, more information on the subject when you're feeling
>better. Sharing knowledge is good.
>
>Cheers
>
>Aoife, definately way up on that high horse today, and wondering how she got
>there.
>