[Sca-cooks] Flandrin: the medieval order of meals

[Elise Fleming]

> From: JIMCHEVAL at aol.com

> Having just returned from Paris, I was able while there to finally look at  
> Flandrin's "L'ordre des mets", which studies the orders of services and 
> dishes  in various eras:
>  
> _http://books.google.com/books?id=S_35L9mQCwIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22l'o
> rdre+des+mets%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RvpiUoLXEbDWigLMzIHIDA&ved=0CDQQuwUwAA#v=onep
> age&q=menagier&f=false_ 
> (http://books.google.com/books?id=S_35L9mQCwIC&printsec=frontcover&dq="l'ordre+des+mets"&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RvpiUoLXEbDWigLMzIHIDA&ve
> d=0CDQQuwUwAA#v=onepage&q=menagier&f=false) 
>  
> His chapter on medieval food is fairly brief and mainly based on the menus  
> given in the Menagier de Paris, which at first glance seem to follow no set 
>  order. His thesis is that there is indeed an order, even if it is more 
> fluid  than what is found later. From what I could gather in a quick reading, 
> the gist  of his idea is that the roast is always the center of gravity of 
> the meal, no  matter how varied the other courses are, and also that, 
> typically, there is a  symmetry in the number of dishes per course, even if the 
> courses themselves are  less set than later. While this still leaves a lot of 
> room for variation, it  suggests at least the outline of an order.
>  
> He also points out that 'mets' and 'service' are not typically the same,  
> but sometimes seem to be used synonymously here.
>  
> For what that's worth.

Is the cover photo from the 1700s? The place settings certainly look 
post-1600. And, is "Arranging the Meal" the English version of this 
French book?

Alys K.

Elise Fleming
alysk at ix.netcom.com
alyskatharine at gmail.com
http://damealys.medievalcookery.com/
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