[Sca-cooks] terminology

[jenne at fiedlerfamily.net]

I'm bringing this up here because here is the issue.

Phlip just used the term 'not documentably period' about some food at a
feast on the EK list. Of course it started a firestorm. Phlip, please
don't think I'm flaming you on this, 'cos I certainly knew what you meant!

But the way SCA-Cooks uses the term 'documentably period' is confusing to
non-cooks. Because what we mean is specifically 'created from a period
recipe'. [Presumably we also mean 'with period ingredients' but that's
another kettle of fish: if someone uses a period recipe for gourds and
uses acorn squash, what do we call that?)

We have the luxury of saying, and doing that, because we have recipes. We
don't have to work just from descriptions and pictures like other arts. We
also have the need to do that because we don't have as many pictures as we
would like and besides, pictures don't help that much with food!

But when we say, "it wasn't made from a period recipe so it's not
documentably period" people get confused. To them, it's like saying that a
dress made from period fabric, using period methods, to match an extant
picture, isn't documentably period because it didn't use a period cutting
diagram.

To make things worse, the phrase 'not documentably period' is also used by
people in the arts community to describe things that we have no evidence
for at all, but sensible people aren't willing to say, "Look, this isn't
period"  because someday someone might come up with evidence that there
was a whole culture doing crochet or wrapping rattan swords with fibrous
sticky tape or wearing medieval garments that expose the belly-button.

I'm as ready to insult people's sensibilities if I think they are being
stupid as anybody, as everyone on this list knows.

But, well, sometimes words get in the way of what you are trying to say
and it's a good idea to think about that, even if you don't agree with the
person.

Feel free to flame me on this one.

-- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa
jenne at fiedlerfamily.net OR jenne at tulgey.browser.net OR jahb at lehigh.edu
	"Index your brain."