[Sca-cooks] 100 Mile Feast

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Sep 20, 2006, at 9:31 PM, Daniel Phelps wrote:

> Good Gentles:
>
> For what it is worth in furtherance of this discussion I was just  
> reading Cheyney's "A History of England, From the Defeat of the  
> Armada to the Death of Elizabeth" Vol. 1.  In the chapter titled  
> "The Seizure of Contraband" it is cited that on the 27th of July  
> (1588) the council issued from the court at Nonesuch a formal  
> "order and decree" for the forfeiture of goods seized on certain  
> neutral German ships bound for Spain. Under "Victual" are listed  
> "Bacon, Corne, Wheate, Barley, Meale, Beanes, Peason and such  
> lyke."  Such would suggest to me some of the more common bulk  
> commodities in trade which were shipped long distances by sea in  
> the last quarter of the 16th century.   If I might inquire:
> Would Peason be peas?

Extremely likely. Middle English texts refer to "peyson"

>  What is the consensus regarding what grain is ground for "Meale"  
> in this reference?

Could be almost anything. Actually, I'm more interested in what the  
"corne" was, if not barley or wheat. Bear in mind, though, that this  
is listed as "Victual", and not as cargo. IOW, strictly speaking, not  
necessarily direct evidence of import or export, and perhaps merely  
that sailors had to eat.

It could probably be argued either way...

Adamantius