[Sca-cooks] SPANISH MEDIEVAL FOOD VOCABULARY

[emilio szabo]

Here are some comments.

-- L. Upupa epops

Does the "L." stand for "Linné"? Then it should be placed after the rest. At 
least, I think so ...

-- I suggest that you leave out everything that has nothing to do with cookery 
(the kind of singing..., the length of the bird, ...). On the other hand, please 
quote and document the aspects that are relevant for culinary history. Did 
Avenzoar say something about the culinary use of the bird? In which edition of 
Avenzoar will we find the information? Is the bird mentioned in the cookery 
books? In the dietetic works?

-- Could you please give the bibliographical details of the references? There 
are no hyperlinks and no bibliographic entries to Avenzoar, Ibn Zuhr etc.

-- Is there a survey about spanish medieval food sources? What is your "corpus"?


Thank you!


E.


      
ABUBILLA
  
OCast. habudilla, L. Upupa epops, Eng. hoopoe. To Spanish ears, this bird sings 
“bub-bub-bub” and for this, it was named “little bub.” To Anglo Saxons, he 
sings, “burp, burp, burp,” although that has nothing to do with the bird’s 
English name. Perhaps the hoopoe’s Spanish and English names indicate that it is 
bi-lingual. Avenzoar said that he who takes feathers or the tongue of a hoopoe 
will be successful. During the Middle Ages, it was thought that if one ate the 
meat it would sharpen the mind. It is about 18 cm long. The hoopoe can be 
confused with other birds for its cinnamon colored body, black wings and tail 
with white stripes. The wings are wide and rounded while the tail is squared. 
When flying, its large, wide, black and white wings flap, beating irregularly 
like a gigantic butterfly with a tail. It has an elegant walk and its head moves 
as if slightly trotting. The hoopoe has a long, narrow, curved bill to peck the 
earth in search for worms and insect larva. It has a prominent erect crest of 
large bright pink feathers with black tips that fans out when excited. The 
hoopee prefers warm sunny regions with vegetation, open areas with trees 
including pines, olive tree groves, orchards and gardens. In Spain, it occupies 
Levante and Andalusia. It is found in the Maghreb and northern Africa but not in 
the Sahara. In spite of its elegance, it is known as a dirty bird for its 
stinking nest as it normally in a hollow. When the chicks leave it, it is easy 
to find for the nauseous smell. In spite of the adults’ cleaning efforts, 
garbage and the excretions of the chicks cannot be cleaned properly inside the 
tree. Five to eight light gray eggs are laid between April and June and hatch 
after 19 days of incubation. The chicks remain in the nest for three to four 
weeks being fed by both parents. Sometimes there are two broods a season. The 
next time the menu includes hoopoe perhaps it should be seriously considered for 
its tongue. Don’t forget to ask for a few feathers too. [ES: “Abubilla.” n/d; 
Gázquez. Cocina. 2002:139; Ibn Zuhr. 1992:124; and Jutglar. 1999:374]