[Sca-cooks] Venison, not necessarily deer meat?

[Terry Decker]

Middle English "veneson" derives from the Latin "venetio" (hunting) via Old 
French.  In its archaic form, it refers to the meat of any game animal being 
used as food.  The limitation to deer meat is a more modern definition.

Bear

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


Granted Casteau wrote his cookbook around 1585,
although it was not published until 1604, so it
is rather late. But i began to wonder: does
"venison" or spelling variations of it in
SCA-period English cookbooks merely mean some
sort of more or less generic "deer" meat, as i
think most Americans assume, or does it really
signify what the French does - meat from any of
several large game animals?

-- 
Urtatim [that's err-tah-TEEM]