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

[Peter Ryan]

>
> Ah, how do I question thee?
> Let me count the ways, etc.
>
> In no particular order, but working on the basic principle that we might
as
> well go whole hog here,
>
> A) Is a marshal a local term for seneschal, or the officer in charge of
safety and rules for fighters, in which latter case

The marshal is the person in charge of hitting things around here. That
should eminently qualify me for judging A&S stuph. ;)
>
> B) why is there such a defined opinion on laurel gestation period?

There isn't, to my knowledge. I just decided, on whim, that to have the
whole Canton Laurelled within 5 years would be a Good Thing (TM).
>
> C) Is it not possible that research in a new field is as likely to go
unnoticed , or at least misunderstood, and therefore less likely to be given
the accolade than some of the more obvious stuff? Witness the scads of, say,
costume and C&I laurels compared to, say, silversmith laurels. And this in
spite of the fact that there is often a distinct "pretty discount" where
precious metals and other expensive materials are involved. There's a recent
> candidate in the East about whom most people have begun their remarks with
> the words, "Well, I don't know much about Middle Period Mughlai Toiletry
> Articles, but this candidate sure _looks_ great," which leads me, in loco
> pessimis, to ask, "Well, if you don't know anything about 13th Century
> Icelandic Fish Skin Tanning Techniques [thanks, that was better than my
> example], how do you know it's so great?"

Why, by rhetoric, of course. There is no such thing as knowledge, there is
just the ability to sound knowledgeable. If someone waxes lyrical about
Pyments as a Catalyst of Sociological Change in Lombardy, and sounds
convincing, who will gainsay them? If someone challenges your dissertation,
the only defence required is to look down your nose and say, "Obviously the
writings of Count Flandamor of Tuscany have eluded you in your pathetic
endeavours to research this field.", or such like nonsense. In many areas of
research the first experts are those who tell you they are experts. Later
experts usually reveal the pioneers as frauds or worse (though Freud seems
to continue to get away with it by being right despite himself).
>
> Adamantius, who has never, ever, been called evil

Gwynfor - who has been called evil, malevolent, old, sneaky and a fossil...
I refer to the gorgeous Drake and the scintillating Meliora as referees. ;)

Gwynfor Lwyd OP, OLM, AA, PsC, OST etc
Canton of Krae Glas, Barony of Stormhold,
Principality of Lochac, West Kingdom