[Sca-cooks] Very Odd Food Reference Question

[Dan Phelps]

Good Gentles:

I'm doing a bit of research for a fun little paper I'm intending to write
and I need help from  someone who might know some of the the really obscure
little oddments of
bread.   After discussing "Braveheart" with a friend I came up
with the happy thought of documenting "mooning" as a period act.  I've got
Chaucer's "Miller's Tale" and a short piece from "The Description of
England" of all places.  I figured that there might be a Shakespearian
reference as well so I've been in contact with the Folger Library.  If I can
find three or more period references, I've the two already, it  might make a
nice little research paper. My working title
is "Turning the Nether Cheek; an Exposition on Mooning in Period."  I seem
to recall a, quite possibly spurious, historical reference regarding a siege
of a European city.  It seemed that the besieged were growing lean and
getting quite desperate when they found a very fat citizen who was hording
food.  They stuffed him full, hoisted him to the top of the city wall, had
him hang a moon over the edge and proceed to show the besiegers just how
well fed they really were.  Supposedly the besiegers were suitably
discouraged and left.  The food connection, ...yes there really is a food
connect to this tale, ...is that a special roll in the form of the
discouraging anatomy of the hoarder was then prepared by an enterprising
baker.   Does this ring a bell with anyone or am I confusing this with the
story of the croissant?  Any references to documentable events would be
quite appreciated.

Daniel Raoul
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