[Sca-cooks] Butter (was Honey Butter? No! No!)

[Terri Spencer]

Greetings all,

Brighid cited a latin poem "The Way of Dining" from 1180 instructing
that butter and soft cheese be eaten spread on bread, thus documenting
bread and butter at feast.  Her post prompted me to re-read my copy of
the translation in The Babees Book, edited by Frederick J. Furnivall.
Therein, in John Russell's Boke of Nurture (1460-70), I had previously
marked:

Good sone, alle maner frute, that longethe for seson of the yere,
Fygges, reysons, almandes, dates, buttur, chese, nottus, apples, &
pere,
Compostes & confites, chare de quynces, white & grene gyngere;
and ffor aftur questyons, or thy lord sytte, of hym thow know &
enquere.
Serve fastynge, plonnys, damsons, cheries, and grapis to plese;
aftur mete, peeres, nottys, strawberies, wyneberies, and hardchese,
also blawnderelles, pepyns, careawey in fomfyte, Compostes ar like to
pese.
aftur sopper, rosted apples, peres, blaunche powder, your stomak for to
ese.
Bewar at eve of crayme of cowe & also of the goote, thaugh it be late,
of Strawberies & hurtilberyes with the cold Ioncate
For these may marre many a man changynge his astate,
but iff he have aftur, hard chese, wafurs, with wyne ypocrate.
hard chese hathe his condicioun in his operacioun:
Furst he wille a stomak kepe in the botom open,
the helthe of euery creature ys in his conicioun;
yf he diete yhm thus dayly, he is a good conclusioun.
buttir is an holsom mete / furst and eke last,
For he wille a stomak kepe / & helps poyson a-wey to cast,
also he norishethe a man to be laske / and evy humerous to wast
and with white bred / he wille kepe thy mouthe in tast.

Wynkyn de Worde's Boke of Kervynge, 1513 repeats this pretty closely
(the editor suggests they are copies of a common earlier source, the
text is online at http://milkmama.tripod.com/kervynge2.html). Some
small differences:

Also loke ye have in all seasons butter, chese, apples...
Serve fastynge butter, plommes, damesons...
butter is holsome fyrst & last, for it wyll do awaye all poysons...

"Serve fastynge" is interpreted as before dinner, so it might be the
first course at table, or it could be served elsewhere.  The Way of
Dining starts the meal with potage, and ends thus:

Let dishes of things fried be the last course of the dinner,
Let a napkin contain wafers, spices, fruits, gaugres, light cakes,
when they are served to the lords.
Empty plates being brought, he allowably gives delicious food to his
patrons eating at the table.

This sounds like an "issue de table", or perhaps a separate serving to
bind and close the stomach. It matches many menus and feast
descriptions from the classic Greek "second table" to the late period
English Banquet.  I can't think of any that start with fruits, nuts,
butter & cheeses (though they've been served first at many an SCA
feast). Can anyone?

"Butter is holsome fyrst & last" sounds promising, but the editor says
it does not refer to it's place in the meal.  He quotes Thomas Muffett
(Health's Improvement, 1655) on butter: "best for children...and for
old men; but very unwholsom betwixt those two ages, because...it is
forthwith converted into choler".  None of my humoral sources agree.
I've checked Platina, Hildegard & Tacuinum Sanitatis; they wrote that
butter is warm, moist, nourishing and fattening, healthy in moderation.
 The Way of Dining says butter dissipates humors.  The worst I can find
is that it can render the stomach apathetic, and too much breeds phlegm
- not choler.  Do any period writings agree with Muffet?  If not, we're
back to butter first and last at the meal, spread politely on bread,
some small support for SCA tradition - without the honey.

Stefan wrote:
> earlier than the 14th Century I would go with something else. In
> southern Europe, you might consider olive oil instead of butter. In
> general butter was a northern Europe item while olive oil was more
> common in the south.

I've been thinking of this for a feast I'm planning, and Platina
confirms the use of olive oil instead of butter in the south.  But not
specifically on bread.  Are there any southern sources that mention it?
 Are there ever herbs, salt, perhaps garlic in the oil?  Hot bread with
herbed oil dip...yum!

Tara
Almost caught up, only 9 digests to go!

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