[Sca-cooks] Indian Maize in Italy in period??????
Elaine Koogler
ekoogler1 at comcast.net
Thu Nov 10 09:45:53 PST 2005
Friends,
This just showed up on the Atlantian e-list, the Merry Rose:
If you've been looking for documentation for the use of American Indian corn
in Europe during the SCA time period, here is a nice little gem.
Nancy / Ingvild
Nancy,
Not "soon after 1500" but Cosimo de Medici, husband of Eleonora of
Toledo mentions his "Indian Maize" crop in an Italian field. Checked out the
Medici Archives Project where I found this:
1548 April 30
Date Uncertain Doc undated
. From: Not Relevant in this Entry
Location: Not Relevant in this Entry .
To: Not Relevant in this Entry
Location: Not Relevant in this Entry
Synopsis: Unsigned and undated note, probably in the hand of
Lorenzo Pagni, between two dated drafts of letters from
Duke Cosimo, ordering Pierfrancesco Riccio to have
"Indian" grain planted in the field below the Vivaio in the
garden at the Villa at Castello.
Extract: [...] Scrivere al Maiordomo [Pierfrancesco Riccio] che
faccia sementare il campo ch'? sotto il vivaio a Castello
de' grani d'India
Wanda
Comments??? Could they be using the term "maize" or "Indian Maize" the
same way other writers used the term, "corn"...i.e., just another
reference to a kind of flour, but not to what we know as corn?
Kiri
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