Primary Sources for SCA Cookery

Serena da Riva

So, you want to cook like you are in the Middle Ages, but you are not sure how one would go about that? Well, there are many ways that you can come to the kitchen and this short article is not about any of them. The main reason for this article is to give you places to go look for primary documentation.

Just what is a primary source, and why is it such a Good Thing™? Well, a primary source is a document that was written during the time period that we study. Unfortunately almost all of these documents are in languages that the majority of us cannot read, so a primary source can also be considered a reputable translation of the document that was written in the time period we study. While there are many of these documents in existence their rarity and scarcity can make them very difficult to get you grubby little hands on an actual copy. But there is always the wonder of the Internet, a boon to researchers everywhere. Below is a list of primary sources that can be found on this magical Internet.

An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the 13th Century

http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Andalusian/andalusian_contents.htm

The Forme of Cury, 1390

http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/foc/

Le Ménagier de Paris, 1393

http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/menagier/

http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Menagier/Menagier_Contents.html

Du fait de cuisine by Maistre Chiquart

http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Du_Fait_de_Cuisine/Du_fait_de_Cuisine.html

The cookbook of Sabina Welserin, 1553

http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Sabrina_Welserin.html

Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books, 1420

http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/c/cme/cme-idx?type=HTML&rgn=TEI.2&byte=3356093

So, now you know where to find an actual receipt for a dish that was actually prepared in period. Time to get cooking? Um, not just yet, what was considered sufficient instruction to prepare a dish in the Middle Ages does not necessarily translate into an immediately prepare-able food item. The cook (you) needs to translate the text into a modern type formula for preparing said food item. This translation process is commonly referred to as redacting. The resulting modern formula from the redacting process is called a redaction. Once you have read through the primary sources you will begin to see the challenge inherent in the process. But the experimentation process is fun!

Which brings us to secondary sources. Secondary sources are much more readily available for grubby little hands, but must be regarded with a degree of skepticism. A secondary source is created by an author by going through the primary sources that by now you are already familiar with. The author selects dishes that they think sound yummy and then redacts them for modern use. A good secondary source will provide a transcription of the original source as well as their translation and redaction. There should be an extensive bibliography in such books. Not so hot secondary sources will frequently leave out crucial bits of information such as the original receipt and bibliography.

The skepticism comes in when you evaluate the stated and implied purpose of the author. Many authors are quite clear that they modify and substitute to make the dishes more palatable to modern taste. Some authors modify and substitute without justification. And then, there are the authors that are highly concerned with authenticity, and they are our favorites. There are many wonderful and useful secondary sources available, but that is a whole other article in itself.

If you are interested in delving into the cooking aspects of the SCA (and since you have read this far I assume you are) I highly encourage you to visit the above links and read the primary sources. Pick out one that sounds easy and try it out. Taste it, throw it away, and try to figure out what you did wrong. Try it again, correcting what you thought you did wrong, and celebrate when you create a delicious dish straight out of the Middle Ages. Write it up and give it to the A&S Officer – they will love you for it.

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