[Sca-cooks] Description of the Beaver

[Pixel, Goddess and Queen]

The European beaver is Castor fiber, the American beaver is Castor 
canadensis. Apparently the European beaver has a slimmer tail and narrower 
skull than its American cousin. Beavers are order Rodentia.

As for deer, Cervus elaphus is the European red deer, Cervus canadensis is 
the American elk--it used to be Cervus elaphus canadensis. Alces alces is 
the American moose and the Eurasian elk. Moose, elk, white-tails, mule 
deer, roe deer, fallow deer, (and also caribou and reindeer) are all 
family Cervidae.

The grey squirrels imported from Norway in the MA were not the grey 
squirrel we have here, but both grey wolves and red foxes are the same 
here and there. Squirrels are family Sciuirdae, foxes and wolves are 
family Canidae.

I've been doing a lot of research on the appropriate uses and types of 
fur in medieval times--I could bore you to tears with an extensive list of 
medievally important critters and how they differ from the US versions if 
you really want. ;-)

Margaret FitzWilliam

On Wed, 24 Nov 2010, Daniel & Elizabeth Phelps wrote:

>
> Is the in period beaver of Europe and the British Isles the same as those 
> found in North America?  I know that their squirrels and deer were different 
> from those of the eastern seaboard  as were, I think, the wolves.
>
> Daniel
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kathleen Gormanshaw" 
> <kgormanshaw at gmail.com>
> To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2010 10:20 AM
> Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Description of the Beaver
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 24, 2010 at 7:00 AM, Johnna Holloway <johnnae at mac.com> wrote:
>> "I might here intreat largely of other vermin, as the polecat, the miniver,
>> the weasel, stote, fulmart, squirrel, fitchew, and such like, which Cardan
>> includeth under the word Mustela: also of the otter, and likewise of the
>> beaver, whose hinder feet and tail only are supposed to be fish.
>
>> from Modern History Sourcebook: William Harrison (1534-1593): Description
>> Of England, 1577 (from Holinshed's Chronicles)
>
> A strong example of the different world-view people had in the middle
> ages.  It would never occur to me to think part of an animal could be
> a fish.
>
> Eyrny