[Sca-cooks] A Feast in the Time of Chaucer

[Terry Decker]

Sorry, but the web page contradicts you.  It specifically states, "Kitchens 
were rarely located on the same floor as the sala, because of the smells, 
noise and constant circulation of people. Instead, they were usually in the 
attics, to minimise the risk of chimney fires, or on the ground floor. Many 
servants rarely left the kitchens, and the woman of the house paid frequent 
visits to supervise their work."

As for the dining room in the background, it is a technique Vincenso Campi 
used to tie his primary subject to other activities related to it.  The 
Fruit Seller has an fruit picking in an orchard as a back drop.  Two 
different paintings each usually titled The Fish Seller have backgrounds 
showing freshwater seining.  The Poultry Seller has a more general 
background of a man and woman passing on a country road.  You can not assume 
Campi's background is an accurate portrayal of a direct connection between 
kitchen and dining room.

BTW, Campi's painting would be about 1587 rather than the 1487 in the 
painting's URL.

Bear


----- Original Message ----- 

Not sure about this period but I do know that during the Renaissance in
Italy, kitchens were frequently on the same floor as the dining room,
usually at the top of the house.  That way smoke from the fires, etc could
be more easily vented...and food could be served easily while it was still
hot. 
http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1487_renaissance/cucina.htmlis
a web page from an exhibition about homes in Italy during the
Renaissance
and you can see both a cross section of a house showing the kitchen on the
top floor and a painting by Vincenzo Campi where you can see the dining room
through a portal on the other side of the kitchen.

Kiri