[Sca-cooks] Water Purity was: Mustards

[kingstaste at mindspring.com]

Da wrote:
 Oh well so much for supper break thanks needed to loose weight anyway. Just
the lovely thing for my graphic imagination.
 Da

> I would add that there are other indications that water purity was
> considered, at least on a medical level.  There are illustrations* that
> show
> doctors examining a patient's urine in a vessel called an orinel.  It's a
> clear glass, rounded bottle with a lipped mouth.  Color and clarity were
> checked as well as smell and taste for diagnosis purposes.  It wouldn't be
> much of a stretch to think that they would also check such standards in
> drinking water sources, at least in some enlightened areas and times.  Not
> that you would find microbes that way, but you can see a lot if you're
> looking for it.
> Christianna
> *citations coming, sources not currently available ;)

Well, since I've already spoiled your dinner (gee, you'd never make it
through a dinner around us, it seems like meal times bring around the most
inappropriate discussions),  here are some citations (illustrations) showing
the article in question.
Christianna
(with many thanks to Mistress Ximena Yannez de Talavera)

Ok, they look remarkably like this
http://www.couronneco.com/g5491_vase.htm

Here's a picture
http://history.smsu.edu/jchuchiak/HSt%20101--Lecture%2017--Medieval_medicine
_and_medical_pr.htm

http://history.smsu.edu/jchuchiak/HST%20101--Lectyre%2022--Medieval_medicine
_and_the_plague.htm

There's a picture on this site
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/medieval/articella.html