[Sca-cooks] [OT] Professional Technique

[Volker Bach]

Olwen the Odd schrieb:
>
> >Going back to a thread that surfaced a while ago,
> >I have had the good fortune to visit my local
> >library today and finally found the book I
> >mentioned in the context of the professional
> >abilities of medieval ladies of the night. It is
> >in chapter 10 of:
> >
> >Jacques Rossiaud: La Prostituzione nel Medioevo,
> >Laterza, Rome 1985 (German: Dame Venus, Kempten
> >1989)
> >
> >I know of no English translation.
> >
> >At any rate it appears the selection of service at
> >period establishments was quite limited. I can go
> >into detail once Misha's been sent to bed :-)
> >
> >Giano
>
> Goodnite Misha.  Sleep well.
>
> Now, where were you Giano?

It's after 11 pm now, so I'm assuming it'll be
safe to start on the adult topics... Anyways, in
short, received opinion appears to have been that
the purpose of an - ahem - establishment of this
nature was to channel the sex drives of young,
unmarried males into acceptable directions rather
than having them seducing (or raping, as seems to
have been lamentably common) the wives and
daughters of older, richer, married men. Therefore
the Powers that Be held that the services on offer
should not be in any way special, so as to not
tempt the married to leave their rightfully wedded
wives to pursue forbidden pleasures of the flesh
elsewhere. Not that such pleasures were unknown
(anyone with a taste for classy pornography can
pursue this interest reading early medieval
penitentials - I always wonder whether these books
reflect actual practice or the ideas monks get
after midnight. Emm, they made me read them in
college, honestly!). We have a court case where a
prospective customer was beaten up and thrown out
of a house of ill repute by its staff for
demanding what the record coily calls 'unnatural
acts'. Thus anyone attempting to recreate such a
persona may rest assured that no particular Skill
seems to have been necessary. Good thing, too, as
I doubt there are laurels to be won for that
particular art or science.

Obligatory food content: I'm sure I could do
something with 'eat' or 'swallow', but I'd rather
not. Oh: Meister Eberjhard states that raw grapes
render people unchaste, so I think we know what
they served for snacks.

Giano