[Sca-cooks] Being Careful: Was Hoopoo

Elise Fleming alysk at ix.netcom.com
Tue Nov 2 05:44:28 PDT 2010


Suey wrote:
 >What is the difference between a badge and a coat of arms? What is the
 >plant that is surrounding Henry VII's coat of arms?

In non-technical terms, a badge belongs to one person and can be used to 
identify possessions or be placed on the livery of servants, etc.  It is 
not passed down from father to son.  Henry VII's badge is here: 
http://yeomenoftheguard.com/hrhawthorn_small.jpg and the hawthorn bush 
is clearly seen.

A coat of arms can be handed down from father to son.  A coat of arms is 
on a shield shape.  A badge is not.  You can see Henry VII's coat of 
arms here: http://www.fleurdelis.com/royal.htm - scroll down to Henry 
IV.  You will notice that 9 other kings and queens used the same coat of 
arms.  They did _not_ use the same badge as Henry VII.  Most had their 
own badges.

On the Spanish blog site (http://mesaconvino.blogspot.com/) which says 
that the abubilla/hoopoo was cooked and dressed again in its own plumage 
like the swan and the peacock, she says about another dish: "Este plato 
se cita ya en la Cena de Trimalción relatada en el "Satiricón" de 
Bocaccio." (This dish is mentioned in Trimalchio's Dinner as told in the 
Satyricon of Boccaccio.- my translation - and she misspells the name.)

I'm sure someone will correct me, but I can't find that Boccaccio ever 
wrote the Satyricon.  Errors like this make the blog spot "suspect". 
She is just writing, not checking facts.  And, that's what blogs are for 
- expressing one's own opinions and not necessarily providing "true facts".

The Internet is a wonderful tool but it can't be used to the exclusion 
of checking information from another source.  What several of us are 
trying to say is that her use of "abubilla", for example, gives you 
something to look for - in a primary source (that is, in a cookery book 
from the Middle Ages, or in a book that provides you with a link back to 
the primary source).  If you can't find abubilla mentioned specifically, 
and especially served dressed in its own plumage, then that "fact" isn't 
reliable enough to use.  Unfortunately, if people repeat false 
information enough times, that false information becomes a "fact" on its 
own.  (Think about using spices to cover rotten meat!)

If I wrote a blog and stated that Alfonso X (the Wise) became so "wise" 
because his nursemaid fed him on owl eggs as an infant and then the 
flesh of young owls as he grew older, someone would take this as fact. 
It isn't easy or simple to check facts that you want to put into a book 
of yours, but it is mandatory if you want people to accept you as a 
knowledgeable author. The Internet cannot be the only source of 
information about food words in the Middle Ages.  There have got to be 
medieval and Renaissance Spanish cookery books somewhere where you live, 
and I'm certain that Robin could point to some webbed versions on the 
Internet.

Alys K.
-- 
Elise Fleming
alysk at ix.netcom.com
alyskatharine at gmail.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8311418@N08/sets/



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