PGC2019: Meisterin Christian's Festa de Natale, Late 16th C Italian feast

Not just an item of food or drink your persona may have grown, prepared, consumed, or known of, Meistern Christian has entered a whole feast in the category "Do you think because you are virtuous, that there shall be no more cakes and ale?"

Final course on the sideboard
Photo by Isabel Maria

Persona period inspiration and use:

A friend wanted to host a Christmas event with a meal (Southron Gaard, Festa de Natale, December 2018).  He wanted a menu suitable for his Lady’s persona, i.e. late 1570’s Italian noblewoman.  I chose to follow Scappi, a chef to various cardinals and pope’s, whose Opera dell'arte del cucinare was published in 1570.

I used Scappi’s recipes and menus to construct a feasibly accurate light summer celebration meal for Italy in the 1570’s.

Design, Materials and Construction:

I reviewed all the translated menus from Scappi I could find, and established the appropriate number of courses and dishes for a light feast.  I reviewed the dishes on those menus, and arranged them as to the appropriate course in which they should appear (certain dishes appear only in certain courses).  From those lists I selected a long list of the dishes I preferred.  Christmas in Italy is obviously not in summer, so some flexibility was necessary in selecting recipes from both the summer and December menus.

Roast pork tenderloin presented
before being carved by Sir Tycho
Photo by Isabel Maria

I then narrowed down the long list of recipes balancing an authentic light Scappi summer menu with the modern constraints / considerations of the event: a menu of light dishes and salads appropriate for a warm summer evening, a balanced menu (for modern tastes), recipes I liked, available seasonal produce, preparation time and cooking facilities, recipes with a nod to Christmas (period or modern Christmas) and keeping a low ticket price in mind.


Here is the menu from the feast:

Primo servitio di credenza (First service from the sideboard):

• Uva fresca di piu sorte (Fresh grapes of various sorts)
• Formaggio (Cheese)
• Olive di piu sorte (Olives of various sorts)
• Insalata di citrioli et cipollette (Cucumber and onion salad)
• Insalate di cedro tagliate in fettoline, servite con zuccaro, sale & acqua rosa (Orange salad with sugar, salt, and rosewater)
• Prosciutto cotto in vino, tagliata, servitto freddo (Ham cooked in red wine, with a dressing of capers, currants, sugar, vinegar)
• Amaretti (Almond cookies)
• Pane con buttiro (Bread butter)

Primo et ultimo servito di cucina (First and last service from the kitchen)

• Polli arrostite (Roast chicken)
• Il lomboletto di porco domstico in piu modi (Roast pork tenderloin)
• Mostardo amabile (Sweet mustard)
• Sapore vino di melangranate (Pomegranate wine sauce)
• Minestra di tagliatelle (A thick soup of Tagliatelle)
• Bolognese tourte ((for vegetarians) Cheese and chard tart)
• Cuocere Broccoli asciutti et cauli (Broccoli and cauliflower with sour orange juice, oil and garlic)
• Insalata di misto (Mixed salad)

Secondo et ultimo servitio di credenza (Second and last service from the sideboard):

A closer look at the final course
Photo by Isabel Maria

• Mele et pere crudo di piu sorte (Raw pears and apples)
• Formaggio (Cheese)
• Grani di melegranate et Fragole (Pomegranate seeds and strawberries)
• Mandole (Almonds)
• Neve di latte(A dish of Snow)
• Per fare pizza a un’altro modo (A dried fruit tart: pastry)
• Ciambelle (Italian cookies)
• Gelo di cotogne (Quince paste)

Here is a link to an article in FTT with some recipes from the event: https://sg.lochac.sca.org/docs/ftt/FTT-2019-06.pdf

Final course from the sideboard. Photo by Isabel Maria del Aguila

Reference:

The Opera of Bartolomeo Scappi (1570): L'arte et prudenza d'un maestro cuoco (The Art and Craft of a Master Cook), Lorenzo Da Ponte Italian Library, University of Toronto Press, 2011, Terence Scully.

PGC2019: Meisterin Christian Baier's Double Dolphins Brustfleck

As a companion piece to the "M&M" dress, Meisterin Christian enters a beaded brustfleck as an accessory her persona may have owned, made, used, or gifted in the category “With scarfs, and fans, and double change of bravery, With amber bracelets, beads, and all this knavery.”

Persona period inspiration and use:

Christian is a woman of the court in early 16th C Saxony.  Clothing of women of this court are recorded in art of the time, most notably (but not exclusively) in the portraits of Lucas Cranach.
The Brustfleck (Breast piece) or Brusttuch (Breast cloth) is the decorated piece that covered the front openings of clothing, over the linen layer, found in many styles, in early to mid 16thC German women’s clothing, including the clothing of Saxony.

Brustflecks for Saxon court gowns of this period are generally made from brocade and are variously decorated with slashing, pearls, and embroidery.  Pearl embroidery could be in geometric or floral/pictorial designs.

Christian has a number of brustflecks, but not a floral/pictorial one.  I’ve been meaning to do one of these for ages, but I’m fairly inexpert at embroidery, and there were times in the past where obtaining small real pearls was difficult and expensive. This brustfleck was made for the M&M dress (one of the illustrated dresses has a floral/pictorial brustfleck, while the other has a geometric design).

Design, Materials and Construction:

Design: the particular design here is copied from the dress of Emilia in Lucas Cranach the Elder’s portrait of Sibylla, Emilia and Sidonia of Saxony, 1535.  This is a fairly common design, with scrolling flowers and two heraldic dolphins.  I am a member of the Order of the Dolphin of Caid, in fact I received two Dolphins, so this design seemed appropriate.

Materials: the Brustfleck is from made from a gold metal thread and black silk brocade (matching that of the dress guards), interlined with linen canvas, and is lined with fine linen.

Construction: the brocade was interlined with canvas.  The design was simplified and modified to fit the size of the brustfleck and the available pearls.  The design was transferred to the fabric, the embroidery is done in several sizes and shapes of freshwater pearls, and outlined in fine gold cord.  The whole was then lined with linen.

Reference:

• A number of brustflecks (and their value) are recorded in wills are included in Textiler Hausrat, Kleidung und Textilien von Nurnberg, 1500 – 1650 by Jutta Zander-Seidel, pages 149-150.
• Portrait of Sibylla, Emilia and Sidonia of Saxony, 1535, Lucas Cranach the Elder.
• Illustration of Maria and Margarete in the Saxony Stammbuch: Das Sächsische Stammbuch 1546, http://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansicht/dlf/56803/1/cache.off

PGC2019: Meisterin Christian Baier's "M&M" dress

Meisterin Christian enters her stunning gown into the category “With silken coats, and caps, and golden rings, with ruffs, and cuffs, and farthingales, and things.”  She describes the garment her persona would have worn:

Persona period inspiration and use:

Christian is a woman of the court in early 16th C Saxony.  Clothing of women of this court are recorded in art of the time, most notably in the portraits of Lucas Cranach.

I had intended to make this gown originally for Midwinter Coronation in Cluain in 2017, but my modern work commitments became overwhelming and I did not get the dress finished at that time.  The gown then spent time in the “naughty corner” waiting on another event for which a velvet, high-necked court gown would be appropriate, which presented itself in the shape of Midwinter Coronation 2019 in Southron Gaard.  I had completed the bodice and skirt of the gown, so it was a fairly small job to assemble those, attach the fastenings, and make the brustfleck.  Sadly I was enjoying that event too much to get photographs, but I am told the play of firelight across the velvet and silk was lovely.

The dress is nicknamed the “M &M” dress, not only because the design comes from an illustration of ‘Maria and Margareta’, but also because there are 413 (or perhaps more) individual pattern pieces for the dress across the fabric, interlining, and lining.  (Why a nickname?  I have quite a few black and gold Saxon gowns, so it’s useful to have an easy way to identify each.)

The dress design comes from an illustration of Maria and Margareta, daughters of John the Steadfast, Elector of Saxony in the Das Sächsische Stammbuch (the Saxon family / friendship book) of 1546, in the Dresden archives, which features drawings of the extended families of the Dukes of Saxony and their ancestors.

The dowry of Magdalene of Saxony (daughter of Duke George the Bearded of Saxony, and his wife Elizabeth) from her wedding to Joachim Hektor II, the Margrave of Brandenburg (heir to the Electorate) in 1524 lists approximately two dozen gowns. As a peer of the realm, this seems like a useful sized wardrobe for Christian!  Magdalene’s dowry includes gowns of velvet and silk brocade, trimmed with pearls, similar to the M&M gown.

Design, Materials and Construction:

Design: the design is taken directly from the Stammbuch illustration of Maria and Margareta, although with the cuffs of one dress and the brustfleck design of the other.  The dresses in the Stammbuch are similar to Saxon court gowns seen in other portraits of this period, so can be assumed to be an accurate representation of clothing of noble women of the period.

Materials and construction: the gown is made of a natural fibre high quality velvet, which is about as close to period velvets as it is possible to get at an affordable price.  Of course the joke is on me, because the pile is very thick, which makes it fiddly to sew (hence the “naughty corner”).  The brocade is gold metal thread and black silk in a traditional brocade design.  The gown is interlined with linen canvas, and lined in linen.

Reference:

• 1526 Nürnberg wedding record:  H. Doege, "Das von Questzische Hochzeistbüchlein, 1526”, Waffen und Kostümkunde, 1922.  Also see Schulordnungen, schulbücher, und pädagogische miscellaneen aus den landen deutscher zunge: Im auftrage der Gesellschaft für deutsche erziehungs- und schulgeschichte, Band 34.  Translated here.
• Saxony Stammbuch: Das Sächsische Stammbuch 1546, http://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansicht/dlf/56803/1/cache.off

PGC2019: Mistress katherine kerr's Acqua de Lavanda

Under the category of "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, To throw a perfume on the violet", Mistress katherine kerr shares her adventures in the arts of the stillroom.

"A lady of worth should smell sweet, so it is a pleasure to use plants from the garden and spices from the kitchen to make a tisane suitable for my hair, my face and my linens.

I like having a nice-smelling spray when I'm ironing my linen garb, but the recipes for Queen of Hungary Water always seem chockful of ingredients. As a starter, I decided to try Acqua de Lavenda, from Gioventura Rosetti's Notandissimi Secreti de l'Arte Profumatoria , a book of 30 cosmetic recipes published in Venice in 1555.

I poured 2/3C of acqua vitae (in this case plain vodka) over 1/2C of dried lavender flowers from my garden, and let the mix steep in a screw-top jar for three days. (Countdown had jars with my KK sigil on them!)

To the resulting dark brown solution, I then added 1/4C of rosewater, 3 sticks of cinnamon and 6 cloves. Rosetti has the liquid distilled in an alembic, which I didn't have. So I sealed the jar tightly and placed it in a pot of gently simmering water for around 15 minutes.

The jar's metal lid showed a pleasingly indented form, indicating it was sealed with a partial vacuum. From there it went into a dark cupboard for four weeks for more steepage.

The mess was strained to remove the soggy lavender and spices, producing a dark honey-coloured tincture. The scent is on the spicey, rather than lavendery side, much to my approval. I look forward to trying it as a hair rinse or ironing spray -- probably diluted with water 1:3 or 1:4 times, as seen in the smaller bottle.

I now have a jar of Queen of Hungary Water currently steeping away in the cupboard , but I think the liquid to plant matter ratio may be wrong. I'll know in a couple of weeks."

PGC2019: Mistress katherine kerr's Torse and Lambrequin (Mantling)

Mistress katherine kerr's latest entry falls into the category of "Is this a dagger I see before me?"

In her words:

"I felt it my duty to help my consort present a good-looking corpse..er..combatant on the Field of Mars and so decided to make him a torse and matching lambrequin to adorn his helm and make it easier to identify him, alive or dead.

The torse and mantling are commonly depicted in heraldic illustrations, the torse being a twisted roll of fabric holding the billowing drapery of the lambrequin or mantling.

German Wappenbuchs (rolls of arms) show the use of torse and mantling in heraldry; illustrated manuscripts like the Nuremberg Tournament and Parade Album show knights riding into tournaments with torse, mantling and crests.

Album: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/22.229/

Both torse and mantling reflect Sir Radbot's livery colours of argent and sable, with references to his rat charges in the form of a number of small metal rat charms on the torse and rat dagging on the mantling. The torse is a general match to my own consort head roll, and has a long tail of silk, as seen in the Schembert Carnivals."

 Schembert Carnival: https://publicdomainreview.org/collections/radical-fashion-from-the-schembart-carnival-1590/

https://www.lesenluminures.com/artworks/categories/4/9486-p-schembart-ldquo-hiding-beard-rdquo-carnival-book-p-c.-1540-1550/

PGC2019: Master Brian's Spoon

Master Brian's crafty wee spoon and case is entered under two categories: "With scarfs, and fans, and double change of bravery, With amber bracelets, beads, and all this knavery" as well as "'Fore God, you have here a goodly dwelling and a rich".

My persona's parents were Genoese traders.  Once we left the siege of Caffa in 1345, we traded around western Europe.  Accommodation varied a lot and it was handy to have my own cutlery.

  

PGC2019 Baronessa Ginevra's Candle making class

At Firey Knights II, and again at Golden Flight, Baronessa Ginevra taught how to make dipped beeswax candles.

Across most of the period we cover, beeswax is an appropriate and good option for candles.  It casts a brighter, clearer light then rushlights, so you can read or work by it, and it doesn't drip as much as the modern alternatives of paraffin wax or soy.  Dip candles use less wax than some other means of candle production, and are simple to produce - just ask the children who made their own!

(Thanks are due to Ladies Gisla and Vigdis for the photos of their candles, because Ginevra realised she forgot to take any during the classes)

PGC2019: Baronessa Isabel Maria's Sugar Cone

This sweet wee entry in the category "Do you think because you are virtuous that there shall be no more cakes and ale" is explained thusly:

Sugar Cone

A detail from "...the art in which sugar is made" by Jan van der Straet. 
You can see the sugar cones drying on the table, and the empty moulds on the floor

Many, many years ago, in London, I found myself intrigued by a number of things I saw in museums; one of which was reproduction sugar cones and a couple of original moulds.  Having not really had the chance to explore this particular fascination, I asked myself some of questions: “did they use sugar in 16th century cooking?”, “what did period sugar look like?” and “ was it actually transported or sold in cones?”

A little light research (in period recipe books I have on hand) indicated that yes, sugar was used in late 16thc cooking.  Some more research suggested it could be purchased in a variety of forms and degrees of refinement.

Construction

I mixed brown sugar, caster sugar, and demerara sugar together until I got the sort of colour indicated in my notes from the museums I visited in 2003.  I then sprinkled in a few drops of water, (just enough for the sugar to hold together when pressure was applied) and mixed it through.

A small amount of the sugar mixture was transferred to a lightly oiled mould and pounded into shape with the end of a chopstick.  I roughed up the surface of the moulded sugar before adding more and pounding that into the mould.  This was repeated until the mould was full.  After drying for a couple of days, the sugar cone was tipped out and allowed to fully air dry.

Verdict

In this form, the sugar bit shattery to use, but fun to make and it looks sufficiently different from modern sugar to not look out of place in a period style spice box.  

As I don’t have any sugar nippers, I have to shave or grate off any sugar I want to use.  This difference also serves to remind me that sugar was an expensive “spice” in the 16th century, and should be used sparingly.  The fact this sugar cone causes that change in my mindset while cooking is particularly pleasing.

Resources

• “The art in which sugar is made” by Jan van der Straet, early 1580s, Posner Library
• “Sugar” Medieval Cookery website http://medievalcookery.com/notes/sugar.html
•  “Sugar versus honey in Byzantine recipes” by Petros Bouras-Vallianatos (contains an image of period sugar moulds and molasses pots)

PGC:2019 Baronessa Isabel Maria's Spice Box

Another entry from Maestra Isabel Maria under the category "Do you think because you are virtuous that there shall be no more cakes and ale?" She describes her ongoing spice box project:

"As I like to “play house” at Canterbury Faire, (rather than consider myself as going “on campaign” or “on pilgrimage” etc) I am trying to make sure all the items I regularly use are persona-appropriate so that I no longer need to hide items away in my tent.  One thing that annoyed me last year were modern cardboard spice boxes sitting on my work surface.  So, with regard to keeping valuable spices secure and yet convenient for use, I once again asked “what did they use in period?”, which lead to, what I assume is a wee spice box (below right), shown in the 1570 Scappi manuscript. 

Although I have been unable to find an equivalent in a Spanish resource, making do with an item from a neighbouring area (Italy), with which Spain had significant commerce,  seemed reasonable.

My Version

Collation of this project began with the careful shopping for a suitable box and bottles.  The box is one for transporting essential oils, so had the small compartments already fixed in place.  I chose corked bottles of brown glass, because they were available, affordable and, most importantly, fit in the box compartments.  (That the darker colour would help reduce the amount of light reaching the expensive spices is a bonus.) 

As for the spices contained in the box, I have chosen only those spices used in the specific 16th century English and Spanish recipes I like to cook, namely: 

• Anise
• Black pepper
• Carraway
• Cinnamon quills
• Cloves
• Ginger
• Mace
• Nutmeg (and grater)
• Salt
• Saffron
• Sugar cone

I still have some empty spots for other spices that I acquire as my repertoire of recipes increases, or for mysterious spices like grains of paradise, long pepper and galingale etc.  

Verdict

First used on the spiced water project where it proved convenient, although I’m looking forward to see how it works at Canterbury Faire. 

I suspect I will need to find a way to label the bottles for ease of use, probably on the top of the cork lid since I don’t want to have to lift each bottle out to see what is in it, once it gets a little empty.  Similarly, I’m not overly happy with the plain corks securing each bottle as they seem a little... unfinished compared to the period illustration."

Resources

• “The Opera of Bartolomeo Scappi (1570): L'arte Et Prudenza D'un Maestro Cuoco"
• “English Huswif’s Jewel” by Thomas Dawson (1596)
• “Libre del Guisados” by Roberto de Nola (a Spanish edition of Libre del Coch), published in 1529 ,  translated by Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

PGC2019: Mistress katherine kerr's "How to puzzle a Knight with the written word"

Mistress katherine kerr describes her entry:

"I have some languages: the Scots of my country (though little used here in the Laurel Kingdoms so mostly forgotten); the English of our near neighbour and the close dialects used within the land of Lochac; and a smattering of the Latin and Italian I learned when a young girl living in the Venice of my birth.

This Challenge provided impetus to take a look at Scottish terms, vocabulary and oaths; a surprising number of which were reasonably familiar to me!

One of my long-held SCA disappointments is how difficult I find it to do a convincing accent, so katherine has never sounded particularly Scottish, but I am becoming more familiar with Scots usage in written form.

I had been working on a series of letters to my lord-consort, Sir Radbot von Borg. As I was to be overseas for an extended period, I was missing three tourneys. The letters were given to the Baroness of Southron Gaard for delivery when Sir Radbot made his salute to me.

I used some general Scottish/Elizabethan usage but really went to town in one using an English-Scots translator supplemented with various word lists. By the time I was finished, it was pleasingly well-nigh incomprehensible....

The second letter in the series was scheduled for delivery at the Fiery Nights Tourney -- the Feast Day of St Matthew, whose angel stands for the application of reason. The latter was pertinent as the letter expressed concerns for Sir Radbot's safety in such a dangerous environment where I "have a premonition that [he] may be burned or [his] clothes catch fire or flaming stones rain down upon [him] from on high".

In this letter, the first page of the bifolium (the folded paper typically used for correspondence) was written in a tight secretary hand using as much Border and Lowland Scots terms and forms as I could muster. So the above-mentioned concern was expressed as: "I hae a firebrod ye micht burn yersel, your claes cuid catch oan fire an you cuid be skelp by a flaming stane fra on hie."

The second page had katherine's apologies for "the uncivil tongue which precedes this more harmonius note" as she went on to explain that she asked her secretary to take down her words "never thinking he would transcribe my thoughts into his own broad Border Scots, a tongue I know you do not ken". She then provided a clear English translation of the original text, albeit somewhat gentler in tone than the Border Scots.

Thus the secretary's transcription started: "Tha bruit came th’daie hither thit ye war thinkit tae put inta tha firey rammy an a am worriit thon it kin be a glaikit thing tae dae whit wi tha danger n aa."

Or as katherine put it: "I heard today that you were thinking of entering the Firey Tournament and am worried that it might be an unwise (Scots glaikit = stupid) thing to do given the danger."

The address included the instruction "make haste" -- this was not an uncommon phrase, somes repeated again and again, on letters with a time-critical aspect. Cecil and Burghley were known to use this inscription when about Queen Elizabeth's business.

The letter was locked using a tucked-in format and a seal, based on the form used by Erasmus.

Letterlocking: Desiderius Erasmus' Tucked Triangle Lock (1517)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCRo1_sulAM

I am told Sir Radbot was called up in opening court to receive my missive and spent some time with Sir Sebastian trying to puzzle out the Scots (much easier to do when you try reading it aloud!). It apparently took them some time to notice the second page....

Given that I ayewis gie it laldy, I now have a list of interesting words and phrases I may throw into the conversation and see how they go.

Lang may yer lum reek!"

• 100 Key Scots Words, with regional variations
  https://education.gov.scot/improvement/learning-resources/100%20key%20Scots%20words
• Dictionary of the Scottish Language
  https://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/firebord
• English to Scottish Translator
  http://www.scotranslate.com/

PGC2019: Mistress katherine kerr's Soul Cakes

A delicious entry from Mistress katherine kerr under the heading of "Do you think because you are virtuous, that there shall be no more cakes and ale?" She says:

"Soul Cakes, Soul Cakes, please good Mistress a Soul cake

For that it lies near the Feast of All Souls Day and for that said day is the Natal Day of the lovely Lady Vigdis, know that the November Monthly Tourney on the iiid day of said month shall be graced by Soul Cakes for the sustance of all. And further, the aforementioned month occasioning the Feast Day of St Catherine upon the xxvth day, there will be Cattern Cakes for my saint's name's sake. For those not approving of the old saints, then it is a day in especial honour of lace-makers and the Queen.

I wanted to encourage activities at the barony's monthly tourneys which didn't revolve around the fighting. Everyone likes cakes so....

Soulmass cakes were traditionally baked  at the beginning of November to celebrate All Hallows E'en and All Souls' Day. The small cakes are filled with spices and mixed fruit, and usually have a cross marked on them. I used a recipe redacted from that of Lady Elinor Fettiplace (1604).

Cattern cakes are similar but have caraway seed and currants for flavouring. They are associated with St Katherine of Alexandria or, in England, with Queen Katherine of Aragon, who was said to have destroyed her lace to give employment to the local women. This is remembered in the following rhyme:

Queen Katherine loved to deck with lace
The royal robes she wore;
But though she loved to wear her lace,
She loved the lace-folk more.
So now for good Queen Katherine’s sake
Put bones and sticks away,
And keep the yearly festival
And sing on ‘Kattern Day

In France, unmarried women over the age of 25 were called "Catherinettes". They consoled each other on their unwed state, singing:

A husband, St. Catherine!
A handsome one, St. Catherine!
A rich one, St. Catherine!
A nice one, St. Catherine!
And soon, St. Catherine!

As form of  consolation prize, their friends would make them yellow or green hats, so they might demonstrate their faith and wisdom, respectively.

There are vague references to earlier St Catherine's Day celebrations when women dressed up in male attire and indulged in "unfettered merry-making, including amorous (or violent) advances to passing men" !

The cakes got eaten before I thought about taking photos -- didn't notice any ladies in men's clothing though....

katherine kerr"

PGC2019: Mistress katherine kerr's Materia Medica

This entry, in the category "Throw physic to the dogs; I'll have none of it", is by Mistress katherine kerr, who describes it below:

"I keep a small collection of materials to assist in the health of those around me with simples and tisanes and the like. Such knowledge I have from the older folk and a few texts from the ancients recommending treatments, though some of these be more effective than others.

I have long wanted to do a cabinet of curiosities or wunderkammer, and have been collecting items for it (a cowrie shell, some bones and fossils and suchlike). Lacking a highly fancy cabinet or spare room to devote to this, the plan has lain dormant for a number of years until the Baronial Challenge combined with a chance flick through Umberto Eco's The Infinity of Lists (Maclehose Press, 2009).


Illustrations on page 179 and 235 showed small collections in something akin to a modern shadow box; I had had one of those sitting under a table for many years just waiting for the right project....

So here is a collection primarily of materia medica, to match Challenge 13. It is modelled after the 1470 rendition of the material collection in the Book of Simple Medicines, a manuscript written by Salerno physician Matthaeus Platearius.

The box consists of:

(1) a lapidary shelf containing lynx stones (thought to be petrified urine), otherwise cited as belemnites by Conrad Gessner; white and red corals; a cowrie shell; and a portion of a large snakestone (ammonite)

(2) a shelf of scribal equipment; not exactly medical, but such items as seals and wax were not uncommonly seen on shelves in period portraits

(3) a shelf containing a variety of materials in a variety of containers: spices in a Mary Rose pomander (made by Master Edward Braythwayte) and in cloth bags; pearls and yellow amber beads strung on silk; rose oil in a corked glass jar; and walnuts in a pasteboard container with a skull on top to remind us that Death is always with us

(4) a herbal shelf, holding fenkel seeds; lemon balm; stickadove, more commonly known as lavender; rosemary; and mint unguent

The box is accompanied by writings covering the medical knowledge associated with each material, held together by a leather point, as was common practice."

A period image of such a item can be viewed here.

PGC2019: Baronessa Isabel Maria's Spiced Water

This project, completed at Golden Flight, is entered under the category of "Do you think because you are virtuous, that there shall be no more cakes and ale?" (Food and drink your persona would have known.)  Baronessa Isabel Maria has this to say about it:

"It is nice to have food and drink appropriate to ones persona when attending an event.  To that end, I was looking for an easy to make (or perhaps even convenient to buy) drink that it suitable for daytime tourneys, evening feasts or multi-day camping events.  So the question became “what did they drink in sixteenth century Spain?”

According to Daily Life in Spain in the Golden Age (Marcelin Defourneaux) there was “a great demand for iced drinks – orange juice, [and] strawberry water...” even in the summer months.  In contrast he also quotes the Countess d’Aulnoy as saying “women never drink [wine].”  With that in mind, I went looking for a flavoured water or juice recipe in 16th century Spanish cooking manuals or recipe books.  While I did not find such a book from exactly my period, there was one from earlier that met all my requirements.

Recipes

Clarea de Aqua
To one azumbre of water, four ounces of honey; you must cast in the same spices as for the other clarea; you must give it a boil with the honey over the fire, and hen it is off the fire you must cast in the spices.

Spices for Clarea
3 parts cinnamon, 2 parts cloves, 1 part ginger

Libre del Coch (1529, Roberto de Nola
translated by Lady Brighid ni Chiarain)

I used the above translation of the original Catalan recipe and considered the advice of several others who have made this drink, but adjusted the spice proportions to suit my tastes.

My redaction

Take 2 litres of water and add 170g honey.  Boil for 3 or so minutes and take the scum off the water.  Throw in ¼ teaspoon of roughly broken cloves, ½ teaspoon of roughly bashed cinnamon stick, a tiny fraction of a pinch of ginger.  Let steep until lukewarm, strain through 2 layers of thick linen, bottle and refrigerate.

Due to the honey used, there was a slight chemical aftertaste.  However, the addition of a tablespoon of white sugar eliminated the “tang” without substantially affecting the sweetness of the clary.

Verdict

This proved to be a light and refreshing non-alcoholic beveridge, that was very pleasant to drink when chilled while watching the tourney and room temperature during the feast. It is also fairly quick and easy to make, with ingredients regularly in my pantry, meaning it is the sort of thing that can be made the evening before (or indeed morning of) an event."

Resources

• “Libre del Guisados” by Roberto de Nola (a Spanish edition of Libre del Coch), published in 1529 ,  translated by Lady Brighid ni Chiarain 
  http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-MANUSCRIPTS/Guisados1-art.html
• "Period drinks - Spiced Wines and Sweet Waters" by Vicente Coenca https://www.florilegium.org/files/BEVERAGES/Clarea-d-Agua-art.html
•  “A Dinner of 16^th Century Spain” by Senhora Rafaella d’Allemtejo, submitted to An Tir A&S Championship, 2002.  http://www.fridayvalentine.com/rafaella/kingdom_AS/spanish_food.pdf

PGC 2019 Solvi's Sprang Class

On August 18th, Solvi taught a class on making Sprang to members of the Fibre Guild, and some curious Vikings.

PGC2019 Mistress katherine kerr's, small amulet

I have a small amulet to bring me luck and protect me from evil. It holds some little charms I have collected - pilgrim tokens, an elf-arrow, a petal from the first rose my consort won for me - as well as prayers and my favourite saints names. The priests, neither of the Old Faith nor the new Kirk, do not like these, so it stays hidden in a coffer, rather than worn around my neck as of old.

Amulets, talismans and charms -- yes they are different things -- have a very long history, it seems back as far as we can recognise humankind. In 16th-century Europe religious reforms and fervour had not succeeded in stamping out such practices.

One form which remained popular (versions can be found to this day) is that of the breverl, breve, or brevu relating to the short text and reminders it contained (surviving in this useage in the legal term brief). They typically consist of a couple of pages of folded written or printed text accompanied by woodcuts of saints or the Holy Family and a selection of tiny charms such as crosses, pilgrim tokens, pebbles or gems and the like. These were carefully folded together and housed in small bags of leather, silk or metal; later pasteboard slipcovers became common and Cellini drew designs for jewelled versions.

The text contained prayers, written charms or magic words aimed at protecting the wearer, initially from plague, but just as much from temptation and sin, and also from more mundane concerns like cramp or lightning strikes. Sometimes a small roll of paper or parchment would contain a list of saints or intercessionary prayers.

St Thomas Aquinas approved of some types of amulets and the witch-hunting tome Malleus Maleficarum recommended that the inquisitor wear one to protect against the spells of witches (Skemer, pg 66). Perhaps not surprisingly, Martin Luther railed against the practice in the late 1530s, saying it was "a frightful misuse and a piece of witchery to write the words In principio erat verbum on a slip of paper..as a charm against thunder and storm" (Skemer, pg 67). 

Although the Church in all its forms came to frown upon these, they remained a staple of religious markets, predominantly popular in Garmany, Italy and Austria. I was pleased to find a Scottish reference to their use, with John Ruthven (he of the Gowrie Conspiracy) wearing one, though it clearly didn't aid him in his attack on James VI (Skemer, pg 134, footnote).

There is mention of ensuring that the amulets were locked like letters to retain their ju-ju (Skemer, pg 145). Once opened, their divine powers were said to vanish; one rare extant version was opened to find the magic text page was blank!

Oddly enough, the text in these contain mnemonics for various prayers/devotions -- it's hard to see how useful they could be if the amulets weren't actually consulted....

My textual amulet (to use the technical academic term) contains inspirational quotes I like, the Baronial Oath, a list of virtues as well as some Biblical verses and prayers. For the Scots touch there are conversion units for money, weights and measures, and an extract from a 1541 church dedication record for Andrew Ker of Fernihirst (12 pounds donated to St Catherine's altar!).

The woodcut of the saints is a 1488 one by Domenec showing at top the 15 mysteries of the rosary and Christ's life; in the bottom half is (left) St Dominic, St Thomas Aquinas, and St Catherine of Alexandria, surrounding the Madonna and Child. The extant versions were backed with printed art papers which looked a little modern to my eye so I backed mine with some parchmenty paper.

The list of saints starts with ones that katherine venerates: St Jerome, St Barbara, St Katherine, St Dominic and St Thomas, along with others of interest. It also includes a reminder of the Hours.

The charms include a collection of event tokens: a St Thomas clover leaf from the Coronation I co-stewarded; a St Katherine wheel from an Ildhafn event; an Alan Garner-inspired flower-owl from one of the first quests I ever ran; and a lion from a Canterbury Faire feast, for St Jerome and my lord-husband Bartholomew. Also a milagros cross, a broken Kingdom award (Prix Jongleur), a flint arrowhead, some amber chips and a set of my Kingdom triple gems, a gold wooden tower crafted by my son Pippin when he was a wee lad. All these are backed by dried rose petals from the May Crown Rose Tourney where Sir Radbot fought for me. As with the extant examples, they have been glued to a card with four saints' names and scrap fabric in red and green across the corners.

The extant versions I have been able to track down thus far are from the 1650s-1720s. Period references mention silk or leather bags, rather than the pasteboard slip-cover of the later versions. I intend to make a small taffetta bag in "katherine green" to hold my amulet, but in the meantime I have tucked it together in a letter-locked style to hold things in place.

Let's hope it brings me luck!

Skemer, Don C: Binding Words: Textual Amulets in the Middle Ages; Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006

Amulets - "Breverl.", Entry 2, pg 3

https://ilab.org/sites/default/files/catalogs/files/1305_musinsky_20spring_20list_202013.pdf

Breverl 1690-1710

http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/objects/display?id=4607

http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/hommedia.ashx?id=9747&size=Large

Breverl: folding paper amulet, 1650-1726:

https://www.smu.edu/Bridwell/SpecialCollectionsandArchives/Exhibitions/ShapeofContent/ReadableObjects/Amulet

Video of folding:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T8AWpmrrdo