[Sca-cooks] A Noble Book of Royal Feasts

[Susan Fox-Davis]

How the heck did they miss finding this at Longleat of all places?  It's the
home of a jungle park and a Dr. Who exhibit, or it was back in 1979 when I was
there anyway.  Well, if somebody happens to be rolling south to Bath some time
in the next year, do please get extras and let this list know!

Want any trade goods from Los Angeles?

Selene, Caid

Christina L Biles wrote:

> Wonder if we can get copies?
> -Magdalena
>
> ews - How to feed a king - first, splatte your pyke.
>                      By Sarah Womack.
>
>                      06/27/2002
>                      The Daily Telegraph
>                      P9
>                      (c) Telegraph Group Limited, London, 2002
>
>                      Social Affairs
>
>                      Correspondent
>
>                      CHOPPED sparrow and roasted swan may not be today's
> idea of sophisticated or even acceptable
>                      cuisine, but there was a time when such dishes
> delighted the palates of English aristocracy.
>
>                      The recipes appear in what is thought to be the
> earliest printed cook book in English, newly discovered
>                      at Longleat House, Wiltshire, home to the Marquess of
> Bath.
>
>                      Dating from 1500, the book features meals based on
> almost "any animal that could draw breath". It
>                      offers an invaluable culinary and cultural insight
> into the life of England's wealthiest and most influential
>                      people, including kings and archbishops.
>
>                      A British Library spokesman yesterday described the
> book, entitled A Noble Book of Royal Feasts, as
>                      an extraordinary find.
>
>                      It is divided into three parts: a history of
> important feasts, including that served at Henry V's coronation
>                      in 1413, a calendar of seasonal food variations, and
> a list of ingredients. Historians said it was
>                      designed for the aspiring merchant and gentry
> classes, enabling them to discover what was being
>                      eaten at the king's court and replicate it. In the
> margin, scribbled Latin notes indicate that the recipes
>                      were used.
>
>                      Kate Harris, librarian and archivist at Longleat,
> said: "One feast listed was that served for George
>                      Nevill, who became Archbishop of York in 1465. It is
> a huge list of birds, including curlews, gannets,
>                      gulls, dotterels, larks, redshanks, peacocks,
> partridges, woodcocks, knots and sparrows.
>
>                      "Henry V's coronation feast is also recorded and it
> included cygnets, trout, fried roach, perch, carp
>                      and lamprey. During the meal the King would have had
> swan, but everybody else would have eaten
>                      conger eel."
>
>                      The 80-page book was printed by Richard Pynson, a
> Norman based in London, whose first known
>                      book was produced in 1492. Later, he specialised in
> law and became the King's printer.
>
>                      Ms Harris said: "The book came to Longleat when
> Elizabeth, the daughter of Margaret Harley - later the
>                      first Duchess of Portland - married the first
> Marquess of Bath in 1759. It was rebound in the early 19th
>                      century by Thomas Whitacker and has been here ever
> since but recent archiving has brought it to
>                      light."
>
>                      Its full title is A noble bok of festes ryalle and
> cokery, A bok for a Prynces housholde.
>
>                      Unlike a modern recipe book, there are no details
> about cooking times or amounts to be used.
>
>                      "The cooks would have been highly skilled and moved
> the food to and from the fire's heat to ensure it
>                      cooked correctly," Ms Harris said. "Like good chefs
> today they would have judged when something
>                      was ready by eye and smell.
>
>                      "Although most things listed are meats, there are one
> or two dairy dishes, including `Ledlards', which
>                      were a coloured egg and milk mix.
>
>                      "Meats would have been flavoured with spices
> including ginger, cinnamon and cloves. The animals
>                      would have been presented whole."
>
>                      Contrary to popular belief, nothing went to waste and
> despite using their fingers to eat, noble people
>                      were tidy eaters. "They had spoons and knives but
> they used fingers instead of forks, which were a
>                      later Italian invention," said Ms Harris.
>
>                      "Sons of aristocrats were sent to houses to learn the
> rules of etiquette and how to carve meat. There
>                      are a lot of fish recipes because three days a week,
> Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, were fast
>                      days when only fish could be eaten."
>
>                      Presentation was crucial and tables would have been
> decorated with sugar sculptures that were
>                      painted and even gilded. Meals of the type in the
> book would have been produced on a huge scale and
>                      more than 1,000 people would have been fed.
>
>                      Copies of the book are being made for academics and
> visitors to Longleat House.
>
>                      While handwritten recipe books from the medieval
> period are in existence, this is the earliest known
>                      copy of a printed cook book in English, said a
> spokesman for the British Library.
>
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