[Sca-cooks] fat or skinny period pigs

[Stefan li Rous]

Jim  Chevallier quoted:
<<< "The medieval pig was a wilder, thinner and blacker creature than the  
modern pig."

The Westminster Corridor: An Exploration of the Anglo-Saxon History of  
Westminster Abbey and Its Nearby Lands and People

David Sullivan
Jan 1, 1994 >>>

Interesting. Thanks for the quotes. However, this one in particular, doesn’t differentiate from the pigs kept by the peasants and those kept by the lords.

Years ago on this list, Ras (See, a long time ago :-) ) and I got into a “discussion” about whether period pigs were fatty or slender. I happened to say they were skinnier. However, I’m not sure we ever came to a definite decision. His contention was that they were fat, and part of this support, was that the lords could afford to fatten up his pigs or to command the best areas for browsing them on acorns and such. My current opinion is that were were probably both right, depending upon whose pigs you were talking about.

I can’t remember for sure where I put any of this type of discussion. I think the first:
p-pigs-msg (38K) 1/15/07 Medieval pigs. Differences from modern pigs.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/ANIMALS/p-pigs-msg.html

pork-msg (45K) 10/18/10 Use of pork in period. Pork recipes.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-MEATS/pork-msg.html

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
   Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          StefanliRous at gmail.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/marksharris
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****