[Sca-cooks] Food Fight!!

[Michael Newton]

While reading _A Medieval Miscellany_ editied by Judith Herrin, which I
found in my local library (a shock in and of itself!), I came across the
following piece:

Fiesta

During the Carnival in 1464 the Constable, Don Miguel Lucas de Iranzo,
organized a special fiesta in Jaen, with mummers, dances and jousts.


"Then came the gardeners of the city with shields and armour and carrying
great pumpkins in their hands and in the street a great tournaament of
pumpkins {took place}, the gardeners hitting each other until there was not
one pumpkin whole.

{later in the saame year} the Constable ordered a castle on wheels to be
built, which was brought onto the street of Magdalen, surrounded by
gardeners dressed for battle, and other men with trumpets and weapons. And a
great battle ensued.

When the mobile castle reached the tower where the Constable was with his
men, a great combat began {which they fought} with hard-boiled eggs against
the gardeners and against each other, and betwenn 3,000 and 4,000 eggs were
used and the battle lasted for one or two hours."

In the Index, the text is stated to come from Juan de Mata Carriazo (ed.)
_Hechos del condestable Don Miguel Lucas de Iranzo {cronico del siglo XV)_
(Madrid, Espasa-Calpe, 1940) chapter XVI pp. 164-6; tr. T.Ruiz.

While I think we'd have to talk the Knight's Marshall into the first one,
and I'm pretty sure that they're using a type of gourd as holding a New
World Pumpkin, esp. a "great" one to hit someone with sounds rather clumsy
and heavy, this sounds somewhat doable - how hard is a non-dried gourd
compared to rattan? (if not actual gourds then "list-legal" ones made out of
foam and rattan, ala "Tavern Brawl" weapons)

The only two problems I see with the second fight is first cooking that many
eggs and then picking up after ourselves:)

So, anyone else up for a period food fight?

Beatrix of Tanet





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