[Sca-cooks] Recognition, was 13th Century Icelandic Fish Skin Tanning Techniques

[A. F. Murphy]

Actually, I might be interested in that nice little houp - that seems to be
the direction I'm leaning in... As I said, I'm new. No persona yet.

I just thought this was an interesting train of thought, as I had heard it
from several unrelated people (mostly not in costume.) And I am not, so far
at least, interested in Laurels, but, as I am a costumer, I have been told
this when I said I didn't know what period I was interested in yet. Not by
costume people, BTW. And I agree, the research is much easier in late
period.

Is there something like this in cooking? I mean, I assume people are more
likely to know that you *are* cooking if you do feasts, or otherwise make
things for common consumption...

Anne

Who asks all kinds of questions...

> [Original Message]
> From: Laura C. Minnick <lcm at efn.org>
> To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
 > Date: 10/26/01 12:35:43 PM
> Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] 13th Century Icelandic Fish Skin Tanning
Techniques
>
>
>
>
> This is, of course, something of an over-generalization- and
> unfortunately one I tend to agree with. And as there is a great deal
> more to work with in late period (extant garments, tailor's manuals,
> etc) and a larger corpus of instructive materials, an SCA artisan can
> fairly quickly learn enough to make people oooh and aaah. Check out the
> costume sites and see the proportion of 16th c. resources compared to
> the 12th or even 15th c. And I have been told to my face that you can't
> get a costuming laurel unless you do late period work (apparent
> exception? early period hand woven or felted stuff. I will never
> understand this Kingdom...). I know this is not true, as I have seen a
> couple given for earlier period work. A couple. Yup- that perfect little
> upper-middle class around-the-house houppelande isn't worth much when
> faced by someone wearing 120 yards of trim.
>
> But is this why we do what we do? Heck- I made that little wool houp so
> I could be warm and comfy and period, too. And I make the weird little
> hats and such because they look cool, and it is sooo nifty to look in
> the mirror and see something that looks like the pictures in a book.
>
> Which is not to say that I don't get irritated or frequently get the
> Sour Grapes Syndrome. I am, after all, a human being (at least the last
> time I looked!). But I know I have chosen a different path, and I know
> that the work I've done, whether in costume, or in food, or research and
> teaching, is not in the mainstream popular fields. I once had Someone
> Who Should Know Better tell me to my face that my work and teaching in
> Canon and Marriage Law was irrelevant and 'didn't count'. Same person
> told me that teaching costume by helping teenaged girls cut and sew
> their own garb in my living room 'didn't count'. Well, BAH! I'M GONNA DO
> IT ANYWAY! So make your 'perfect t-tunic'! If you know it is right and
> you know you look great, then you will have accomplished something- you
> will have followed the Prime Directive of the SCA- you will have
> re-created something of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, added to the
> SCA community of Pretty Stuff and What We Know About It, and you will
> have had fun doing it. Isn't that why we're here?
>
> stepping down from my soaspbox before I fall and hurt myself,
>
> 'Lainie
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