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

[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.
 
Jim  Chevallier

Comparing early and late medieval food in France
http://www.chezjim.com/food/pre-v/comparisons.html