[Sca-cooks] Requirements for a Laurel

[Lorenz Wieland]

Michael Gunter wrote:

> This reminded me of one suggestion of a Laurel I'd heard long ago but
> I rather like.
>
> "Could this person make a living at doing this in period?"


Being relatively new to the SCA, I am hardly one to talk about the 
requirements for becoming anything, but this standard strikes me as very 
strange.

Throughout most of the times and places covered by the SCA, artisans, 
and in particular, cooks, were servants, sometimes outright slaves.  
"Making a living" seems to imply a mercantile/tradesman class that 
didn't really exist in our context.

The other odd thing about it is that my impression is that Laurels 
exemplify the highest echelon in a given artform, not just anyone who 
can perform competently.  In modern terms, I'd think a Laurel would be 
equivalent to something like the Bocuse D'Or or James Beard Award, not a 
certificate from CIA or Cordon Bleu.

-Lorenz