[Sca-cooks] Last word on lemons for now

[Johnna Holloway]

As a librarian I feel I ought to reply to the following thoughts 
expressed earlier today
as it may explain where some of us are coming from--

The point I would like to make is that I have been researching in this 
area of culinary matters
since 1973. I have over time assembled a collection of food history and 
culinary books that numbers
not in the dozens but in the thousands! Something over 10,000 volumes.
The working collection numbers a 1000 volumes.
 I am a professional librarian and bibliographer. I do research.
Moreover, I have spent the last several years collecting material on 
oranges and
then on citrus fruits. Lemons are part of that study. As an ingredient 
in medieval English cookery,
well simply put--- They just aren't there, except
in the instances that I noted yesterday (and what made those instances 
stand out was because
those were exceptional circumstances. The royal household went of its way
to procure those lemons for Eleanor on her deathbed. Special mention was 
made of this.)

We aren't closed mind nay-sayers-- A number of us are serious 
researchers who
have been through culinary investigations before. We also know enough to 
trust
certain authorities and experts on certain subjects and if Anne Wilson or CB
Hieatt or any of a number of noted professionals in this area don't 
mention an ingredient
or foodstuff, well we feel that there are valid reasons why they have 
come to those conclusions
based on the evidence. We don't have to repeat every search or  speculate
about every ingredient. We've learned to trust our sources, and in my 
case, I'll further trust
my own research and that 17 page single spaced bibliography of sources 
that I personally
have examined.

Johnnae llyn Lewis

Chris Stanifer wrote at 3:11 am on February 7th

>However, if we simply throw up our hands
>and say "I haven't seen a reference to it in the books that I have, so therefore it simply didn't
>exist", and imply that a search for the lemon in period England is fruitless (no pun intended this
>time) is a closed-minded approach (which is prevailent on this list).We have references that the lemon was known during the time in question.  Certainly there may be more references which show that it was more wide-spread than originally believed.  There may be
>other references whcih indicate that it was simply an oddity, and not worth further investigation.
> However, if we don't look, we'll never know. 
>It's very easy to hide under the cover provided by the limited surviving documentation currently
>in our possession, and foster the belief that these documents are the breadth and width of the
>world at the time.  However, even the most stalwart nay-sayer on this list has to entertain the
>notion that maybe...just maybe...these dozen or so books do not contain everything which was ever
>consumed, worn, made or believed during the Middle Ages.
>
>And, if we don't speculate, we'll never investigate.  Scientific theory's are just
>that...speculation based upon observed or assumed evidence.  Once the speculation leads to
>discovery, the theory becomes fact.
>
-------------
While this would have been better recieved than 'you will not find' or 
'this cannot be', I think

the crux of the matter is simple.  It is not a matter of 'we can't document lemons in Middle
England'..it's a matter of 'we haven't'.  I think it's possible, and I'm trying to find out. 
That's about it.  There seems to be a lot of opposition, which I find.... peculiar.  I'm not
trying to destroy the foundations of SCA cooking.  I;m trying to find out if lemons were available
in Middle English Enlgand.
WdG at 3:23 PM on Feb 7th

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