[Sca-cooks] wassail and caudles

[Stefan li Rous]

Adamantius replied to me with:
> I think they "officially" become beverages rather than thick or even
> standing pottages in the late 16th century, but caudles are based on
> recipes that date back at least to the early 14th century. Not sure
> about possets.

Hmmm. Okay. Does anyone have a reference to this early 14th century 
caudle or caudle-like dish? I thought I remembered "A Sip Through Time" 
giving a 16th century date for this.

I did find the following in my wassail-msg file, but it really doesn't 
give an early date, just the idea that it might be earlier than the 
17th century since C. Anne Wilson says "medieval diet". "mild beer" 
might give a rough early date, though.

> Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 23:08:18 -0600
> From: Stefan li Rous <stefan at texas.net>
> Subject: SC - buttered ale/beer info
>
> C. Anne Wilson says this in "Food and Drink in Britain" about
> buttered beer/ale:
>
> p389
> "The thickened aleberries, ale caudles, possets and similar drinks, 
> which
> had been a feature of medieval diet, were still enjoyed, and indeed 
> only
> began to go out of fashion in the later eighteenth century. Mild beers,
> lighly hopped, were the usual foundation. These warm drinks were taken
> early in the day as a morning draught, or in the evening in lieu of
> supper. Buttered Ale was a favorite version of the thickened ale drink
> during the seventeenth century. To make it, mild beer or ale was boiled
> with some butter, sugar, nutmeg, or other spice, and was thickened with
> beaten eggs or egg yolks. Mulled ale was not dissimilar, for although 
> it
> was prepared without butter it often contained eggs. It had to be 
> poured
> back and forth between pan and bowl many times, in order to achieve the
> right consistancy."

> > Although it was a holiday tradition and not an everyday thing,
> > perhaps wassail is another, similar tradition. And that does go way
> > back.
>
> I dunno, maybe you're reversing something in your logical sequence.
It's certainly possible. I hadn't considered this before. But a number 
of other folks seem to group these into Christmas holiday traditions, 
although some of these authors have mixed reputations. I have quotes 
from these books on wassail:
"Christmas Feasts", by Lorna Sass
"Medeival holidays and festivals", by Madeleine Pelner Cosman
Peter de Langtoft, cited in Hutton, Ronald, Stations of the sun, A 
history
of the ritual year in Britain. Oxford: OUP,1996

An interesting quote:
 > The oldest reference I have to the custom is in "Daily Living in the
 > Twelfth Century" by Urban Tigner Holmes, jr.  He says that it was a
 > silly custom of the English.  One drinker would pick up a vessel of
 > wine, "salute his companion with a kiss, and cry "Wassail!"  The other
 > bestowed a kiss in turn and cried "Drink-hail!"  They both drank. . .
 > .  The people on the Continent observed this practice with awe and
 > amusement, and were disposed to consider the English to be drunkards
 > because of it."  His footnotes refer to John of Salisbury, to Gaimar
 > in "Estorie des Engleis", to "Brut", and to Giraldus (who describes a
 > Cluniac version of the procedure).

> I don't think these were holiday dishes/beverages in period, but have
> since become associated with them. It's kind of like, how many
> non-SCAdians make gingerbread in the summertime? I think it may be
> more likely that we remember our old traditions around the holiday
> season.
I've never thought of gingerbread being associated with a particular 
season. I've made it at various times of the year.

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****