[Sca-cooks] A Scholar's Lunch

Sam Wallace guillaumedep at gmail.com
Sat Nov 20 08:39:09 PST 2010


While we seem to have plenty of descriptions of dainners and banquets and
general feasting, it is not as often that we find descriptions of lunch or
breakfast in historical records. This excerpt predates the medieval period,
but I thought others on this list might find it interesting. There are more
descriptions of dishes served, setting, and related environs in the text if
you are interested. I translated the portion below into English. The linked
text is Latin and Greek in parallel.

"Originally, this collection of encyclopedic excerpts, Latin and Greek
glossaries, proverbs, and fables was attributed to Dositheus, a fourth
century grammarian and teacher. Further analysis of all manuscripts, however
-- predominately those held in Leiden -- established that the individual
items must been part of a small textbook for use in schools. With its roots
reaching back into the early third century, the textbook came to be
influenced by various authors later on."

Guillaume
*******************

Hermeneumata Pseudodositheana (ca. 280 p. Chr. n.)
III. Colloquia Monacensia
http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost03/Dositheus/dos_col3.html

2. (excerpt)
Πρὸς τίνα, λέγει. Τί μέρος λόγου; ἔκλινα γένη ὀνομάτων, ἐμέρισα στίχον. ὡς
δὲ ταὐτ᾿ ἐπράξαμεν, ἀπέλυσεν εἰς ἄριοτον. ἀπολυθεὶς ἐπανέρχομαι ἐν τῶι
οἴκωι. ἀλλάσσω, λαμβάνω ἄρτον καθαρόν, ἐλαίας, τυρόν, σχάδια, κάρυα. πίνω
ὕδωρ ψυχρόν. ἠριστηκὼς ἐπανέρχομαι πάλιν εἰς τὴν σχολήν. εὑρίσκω καθηγητὴν
ἐπαναγινώσκοντα, καὶ εἶπεν· Ἄρξασθε ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς.

Ad quem, dixit. Quae pars orationis? declinavi genera nominum, partivi
versum. ut haec egimus, dimisit ad prandium. dimissus venio domi. muto,
accipio panem candidum, olivas, caseum, caricas, nuces. bibo aquam frigidam.
pransus revertor iterum in scholam. invenio magistrum perlegentem, et dixit:
Incipite ab initio.

On which, he said. What are the parts of speech? I declined nouns, dividing
up a verse. have we done so that this, he hath left to a meal. is set at
liberty, I came home. to change, I take white bread, olives, cheese, dried
figs, and nuts. I drink cold water. I turn back again from lunch to school.
find the teacher reading, and he said, "Begin from the beginning."


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