[Sca-cooks] more on bananas

[Mark.S Harris]

Balthazar of Blackmoor replied to me with:
> --- Stefan li Rous <stefan at texas.net> wrote:
> > The April issue of "BBC History Magazine" has in
> > their calender for April 10:
> > "1633: The first bananas imported to England go on
> > sale."
>
> Quick question:  Are we all sure this was a banana
> peel discovered in an English midden, and not a
> plantain peel? The latter, IIRC, ripen much, much
> slower than bananas.

We just went through this question when the banana peel was
brought up again recently. I have not done any research on
this midden heap find.

I have given you all the info that was given in the magazine.
This doesn't seem to be the same event, as this statement
implies intentional commercial banana importation and not just
a single peel in a midden heap. I further don't think this is
the same episode since a "Tudor" midden heap would be a lot
older than 1633. Also, the exact date implies more specific info
such as a cargo manifest or bill-of-sale rather than an analysis
of an archeological find.

Yes, there are a number of unanswered questions about this
one statement. What evidence are they using to make this
statement? Was it truly bananas or could it have been
plantains? Where did the bananas come from? Was this a single
shipment or part of a series? Is there some method to provide
fresh bananas for sale in England during this time period that
we aren't thinking of? Could this be evidence of not imported
bananas, but bananas grown in a hothouse enviornment in
England or at least somewhere closer than where they can be
grown naturally?

As to Ras' later comment:
> << This is still out of the SCA period, but its a lot closer than before. >>
>
> SCA period ends in 1650 CE from what I've been told. <snip>
> Anyway, 1600 CE is apparently the official cut off date

1600 is what is in the official document, the Corpora. We've been
over that quite a bit on this list. You certainly don't need to
stretch the date to 1650 to justify "fencing" in the SCA. In the
Florilegium alone there is adequate evidence for fencing earlier
than this. You do however need a 1650 date to justify wearing
some of the "Three Musketeer" type clothing.

Stefan li Rous
stefan at texas.net