[Sca-cooks] Bayeux Tapestry feast

[Stefan li Rous]

Gunthar commented:

<<< In October Ansteorra is having a Three King's melee
event and this year it will be the Battle of Hastings. >>>

At first I was thinking, they're already promoting that event on the  
Ansteorra list? I hadn't realized it was that far off. But I guess  
almost four months isn't that far if you are going to do a lot of  
planning.

<<< So far it looks like several spitted
birds and roasts and I think there is a fish on the table.
There is also a stew of some sort in a cauldron over
the fire. One part that will be a bit difficult to reproduce
is it appears they made a clay oven and baked items. >>>

And the problem is, what? Creating a clay oven for just a several day  
event?

You could take a hint from some later period documentation where  
there are shown clay beehive ovens on top of flat, two wheeled  
carts. :-) You could even tow it to the event behind your car. There  
was an individual at Gulf Wars who has a metal firepit/sculpture  
shaped like a multi-masted sailing ship. He hauled it to Gulf Wars on  
a trailer made of fancy "wrought iron" filigree? construction. He  
hauled the trailer to Gulf Wars on highway tires and then pulled them  
off and put on "wrought iron" cart wheels for use in camp. I've got a  
couple of photographs of the firepit and trailer if anyone is  
interested. Rather unusual. I'm not sure it was a period  
construction, but he said he had late-period documentation for it.

<<< To make the feast more authentic I'm wanting to get
a bunch of small wooden or ceramic bowls for drinking
and they served the meal on shields. I'll have to get a
few plywood shields cut and decorated.  :-)  >>>

Were these shields set on the ground for eating from? Or were they  
elevated so they formed a table? My wife took a couple of photographs  
of a table at Gulf Wars that was a series of decorated "kite" shields  
laid side-by-side on a surrounding wood frame to make a table. My  
thought has always been, "cute, but not in anyway period.". Maybe it  
wasn't as non-period/fantasy as i thought it was.

<<< Elizabeth and I are going to try to go for as much
authenticity as possible. Just for fun. I know Countess
Regina will be supporting William and will be working the
kitchen as well. This will be a great time for some research
and outdoor cooking.>>>

Since it is mostly a fighting event and not close, it isn't an event  
we've gone to. But I'm thinking of joining a siege engine crew or two  
that folks are putting together locally, and that may be one event  
they were thinking about going to for practice. Hmmm.  If I have a  
job by October maybe we'll make the trip...

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 ****