[Sca-cooks] Lemons in Middle English

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

Chris Stanifer wrote:

>--- Robin Carroll-Mann <rcmann4 at earthlink.net> wrote:
>  
>
>>I look forward to seeing what information you can produce.  Your 
>>evidence so far consists of two citations apparently found through a 
>>keyword search of the Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. 
>>
>>http://www.hti.umich.edu/c/cme/
>>    
>>
>
>How'd you know????   :)
>
I'm a librarian.  Also, I've had that site bookmarked for quite a 
while.  Among other things, it contains the text of "Two 
Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books" and "Rules for Serving a Lord at Table".

[snippage]

>My optimism stems from the stubborn belief that, if the Crusaders were carrying back lemons to Europe after the invasion of The Holy Land, then certainly they must have found some merit in them.  And, if they found merit in them, then they would likely wish to obtain more, and use them more frequently.  I am (ever) confident that there were ships travelling from the Orient just bursting with lemons )okay...maybe not bursting).
>
>Also consider that quite a few countries bordering Europe at the time were seemingly in love with the lemon.  Hey, a couple million unwashed heathens can't be wrong, right??  
>
>Maybe I'll come up with a great big goose egg, but I'm going to look a little deeper into this for the time being.  Maybe, in the process, I'll gain an appreciation of Middle English..... but don't hold your breath. :)
>
>William de Grandfort
>
The above is speculation on your part.  You're entitled to your 
opinions, but until you have some evidence to back them up, I'm not 
inclined to believe something that runs contrary to the information we 
do possess.

Also, rather than send three separate messages, I'll respond here to 
your comments about climate changes and lemon trees now growing in 
England.  The time referred to as the "Medieval Warm Period" started 
about 900 and ended about 1300.  The period that followed is known as 
the "Little Ice Age", which ended about 1900.  The tidal River Thames 
froze solid for 14 weeks in the winter of 1410.

I looked at the website for Global Orange Groves UK, which you cited.  
Yes, they do sell lemon trees.  On their main page, I found the 
following care information:

"Full growing instructions are provided with each tree purchased, but 
the main points are: Citrus trees prefer cool rather than hot 
conditions. Keep your tree outside in Summer and protect from frost in 
winter by placing in a conservatory or greenhouse."
http://www.globalorangegroves.co.uk/

So, even in modern, warm England, lemon trees cannot be planted in the 
orchard and be expected to thrive. 

-- 
Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom
Robin Carroll-Mann *** rcmann4 at earthlink.net