[Sca-cooks] Abysmally wrong EDiets article on medieval diet

[Bronwynmgn at aol.com]

I just found this egregiously awful article, and I
  don't have the patience or temper right now to write a
  polite and informed reply.

  http://www.ediets.com/news/article.cfm?code=24565&article_id=8431

  Would someone else like to correct this information?

  Katja
Well, I can tell you what part of his problem is.

I don't know about other Renaissance Faires, but I worked at the one here in 
Pennsylvania (in fact, I live less than 30 minutes from this doofus).  This 
particular Faire has very little interest in historical accuracy as presented at 
the Faire (I can't speak for the Star Chamber, which is what they call their 
school presentations on Elizabethan history.  I sure hope it's better than the 
Faire, but it's the same people doing it...)  This is the Faire where, when 
choosing to have a group of Landesknechts and their campfollowers running 
around, refused to accept the documented fashions of the campfollowers, because the 
skirts were shorter than what the court ladies were wearing and "it might 
confuse the public".  They suggested that the lady designing the costumes add 
ruffles to the bottom of the skirt to lengthen them.  The lady in question was a 
member of my shire at the time.
I can well believe that someone at the Faire, either a Faire goer or one of 
the ubiquitous staff, told him all that claptrap.  
The scary thing is that every school district anywhere nearby sends their 
middleschoolers and highschoolers to the Faire as an educational field trip.  The 
Faire is open weekdays during the fall for this.  Those who work there refer 
to these days as "Nipperkin Wars" and try valiantly to stop the students 
stealing everything they can get their hands on (especially the throwing stars at 
the gaming booths - there's a medieval European weapon for you), or stealing 
away into the surrounding bushes for a bit of period exercise, if you know what 
I mean.  Not to mention the gratuitous insults that all the boys felt 
appropriate as humor.  I was glad that I had a mundane job that prevented me from ever 
having to work Nipperkin Wars.

Brangwayna Morgan