Steak and Mac & Cheese - the Medieval Way

 It's been a while since I posted a dinner.  This is one that I made a few month back when the weather was so cold and miserable and I was in want of comfort food.  What could be more comforting than garlic, beef, and mac and cheese?  Because I like a bit of green in my meal, I served these two dishes with a salad of spring greens topped with a little oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

Beef Tenderloin in Garlic Sauce 
3 tbs olive oil
8 cloves garlic
3/4 lbs of beef tenderloin tips
salt
1 tbs sherry

Bring skillet to a high heat. Add oil, garlic and meat and cook to desired doneness. Sprinkle with a little salt and deglaze pan with sherry and a little water.

Notes:  This recipe does not have a specific period source.  It comes from the Boke of Gode Cookery site and was used in a feast themed "Springtime in Seville".  I cut my beef into thin strips as my dining companions were quite hungry and the beef was frozen.  This allowed for even more of that garlic-y, sherry-flavored deliciousness to coat the beef and sped up the cooking process significantly.

Macrows
Take and make a thynne foyle of dowh, and kerve it on pieces, and cast hem on boilling water & seep it wele; take chese and grate it and butter cast hynethen and above as losyns and serve forth.

from The Forme of Cury by Samuel Pegge and the chief Master Cooks of King Richard II.

1 lb. noodles
1/2 cup or more grated Parmesan
2 Tbs. of butter or to taste

Boil noodles in salted water until tender. Place half of the noodles in a serving dish. Sprinkle with half the cheese and half the butter. Repeat with the remaining halves of the ingredients and serve.


Notes:  The first time I had this dish was at a feast in Carolingia back in the early 90's.  They used lasagne noodles and a mixture of Parmesan and cheddar cheeses and a hint of nutmeg.  Simple, yet satisfying on a cool night.

House Fulton Pins

Just getting back from GNE, but here's a little something that goes back to that rainy Panteria.  One of the high points of the evening was when Lord Fulton presented all the founding members of the house with these little pewter and pearl pins.  The kids all received leather tags with the House Fulton martlet on the front and their name and associated parent's phone number on the back.  The eldest girl in the group, certainly old enough to know how to contact her mom in case of getting lost received a martlet pin, but instead of pearls, hers had a red bead for her martial activities and a green one for her A&S work.  There is also a space for a blue bead to represent service, should she decide she wants to add that to her SCAdian repertoire.  They're all pretty cool looking and really helps give us a sense of unity.

Garb for Beginners: Part the First In Which We Discuss What You'll Need and Where To Get It

Back at the Endewearde Silver Anniversary, a good friend of ours - and his four children - decided that they really liked the SCA and wanted to try a weekend camping event.  I lost my mind volunteered to help them get garb ready.  I had a little over two weeks to pull it all together, along with a whole new kit for The Husband and an extra layer for warmth for the kidlet.  These pictures show just a few of the end results.

Now, people have all sorts of notions about beginner garb.  Here is my take:  your first garb should be quick to make, not terribly expensive, have plenty of layers, be washable, and make you feel like you're not totally out of place.  We clothed - from scratch - two adult males and four kids for under $200.  Everyone got two pair of pants or kirtles, two undertunics or chemises, one tunic or surcoat, one cloak, one hat (if their cloak didn't have a hood), and one belt pouch, plus hoods and caps for the menfolk.  Not bad, right?  Thinking I must be some whiz seamstress?  Not even close.  No, seriously.  What you're looking at here is pretty much the extent of my abilities.

The garb I'm going to show you how to make over the next few weeks is not really any specific time period, but that's not our goal right now.  Right now, we're going to concentrate on how to get you - or your significant other, or your kid who outgrows their garb so fast it seems like it's not worth bothering with, or that friend of yours and his four kids - dressed for SCA success in a week or less.

Before we can do that, however, you're going to need a few things.  First, you're going to need a sewing machine.  Yeah, you sew your garb by hand.  That's a project for another time.  If you don't already have a machine, or know someone who will let you borrow one, you can buy a little starter for under $25 from your local big-box store (see disclaimer below).  This machine will not be fancy and if you can afford a better machine, by all means, do so.  At least get one that does buttonholes.  Failing the cash to make that happen, a perfectly serviceable machine can be had on the cheap.

Second on our list is materials.  Here in Maine we have a wonderful haven for all things SCAdian called Mardens Surplus and Salvage.  There are several throughout the state and they have an amazing fabric department.  Fabric is not cheap, so if you don't have a Marden's nearby ask some of your local SCAdian friends where they get their cheap fabric.  We have found 100% wool and 100% Italian linen for $2 and $3 a yard.  This is a Very Good Deal.   You'll also need things like thread and possibly trim.   You can often times find these things at places like Mardens.

The third thing you'll need is your measurements.  If you are in need of a measurement chart, this is the one that I use.

All of the above garb was done purely through measurements, as none of these people actually live with me.  Measurements will allow you to cut out garb without having fancy patterns to work from.  If you're making garb for yourself, find a friend and have them measure you.  When you're taking measurements for this clothing, you want the measuring tape to be in that fine line between loose and snug.  If you're having trouble finding someone's waist, have them put their hands on their hips.  When you measure the head measurement, take a measurement just above the eyebrows.  If you're going to make a hat instead of a hood, take a second measurement lower down that includes both ears.  Be sure to note which measurement is which.  Shoulder measurement is easiest to grab when the subject is wearing a fitted shirt.  Measure the shoulder width from seam to seam.  If the measurement is close, I round to the nearest whole or half.   For example, if the measurement around the wrist is 7 1/4, I call it 7 1/2.  If the head measurement is 21 5/8. I call it 22.  Proper seamstresses will likely have even more measurements than the ones I've listed.  You may never need some of the measurements on this list.  Again, this is just a guideline for how you can do it.  Don't forget to retake measurements every year or so.  Kids grow quickly, but grownups can change sizes too.

Once you have your measurements, you'll be able to calculate how much fabric you'll need to buy. 

So if you're playing along at home, your assignment for next time is to find yourself a sewing machine, play with it a bit so that you know how to use it, and grab a friend (or the person you're making garb for) and a tape measure and get those measurements down.

DISCLAIMER:  The sewing machine linked to in this article is not a machine I've ever used.  I don't know anything at all about how well it sews.  Like with most things in life, you get what you pay for.  This link is provided simply to show that there are very inexpensive sewing machines that will probably get the job done, at least for your first garb.  Also, this is not a guide for how to make perfectly period garb.  This is one person's guide to help brand new folks, or folks who need to get a lot of garb made fast, dressed and on their way to an SCA event without having to spend a fortune or tear their hair out trying to find fabric and patterns and the thousand other things we could worry about trying to find before getting to the event.  Your mileage may vary.

Palio, Dogs, Kids, and the SCA

Me and Shaggydog at Harper's Retreat in Stonemarche

The Palio di Stonemarche was this weekend.  It was filled with silly fun and nonsense as well as wonderful, welcoming people, all of my favorite merchants, and a dayboard to rival some feasts.  Yes, Palio is an event that I will go to again and encourage others to join me.  But while I have great memories of the day, and great pictures besides, what I really want to talk about today is Dogs and the SCA.

You see, there was one black mark on the day.  The site was dog friendly and while there were maybe half a dozen dogs in attendance, there was an altercation between a larger dog and a small service dog.

Now, I am not entirely clear of the details.  What I do know is the smaller dog was punctured in four places, went to the vet today, and should make a full recovery.  This is good news, but it does lead to the discussion of whether dogs belong at SCA events or not.

As a dog owner, I'm well aware that this sort of incident is not exclusive to the SCA.  Dog owners need to be accountable for the actions of their pets no matter the setting.   There is certainly a lot of blame placed on the owner in this instance.  There has also been blame placed on the breed of dog, and strong opinions offered on now irresponsible some SCA parents are with their kids and dogs.  I think as dog owners (or parents, if you prefer), we should take a lesson from the SCA horse folks.

Horses, the other period "pet".

Dogs, like horses, should be part of the SCA.  Both animals have been with us a long time and I think they add to the ambiance of an event.  Dogs, like horses, have their own personalities as well as likes and dislikes.  Watching the experienced horsewomen and men at Palio, they paid close attention to what made the horses uncomfortable.  They made sure to not put the horses in situations that might become dangerous to the spectators, the horses, or themselves.  I think they tend to regard their horses as their babies, just as we dog owners do, but they also remember that they are in control of a huge and powerful animal, and neither the horse nor the rider can forget who's boss.

If horses are at an event, it's usually because there is some horsey activity going on.  If dogs are at an event, it's usually because their owners didn't want to leave them or didn't have anywhere else to leave them for the weekend.  Perhaps this is another area where we can take a tip from the horse folk.  Maybe dogs need activities too.  Naturally, bringing them onto the battlefield is out.  Likewise for hunting live game, but we could set up flag coursing tracks, such as the ones in Caid.  We could have a tracking event or hunt-themed obstacle course.  There are activities that we could figure out how to host that would give dogs something to do.   No, it's not a cure for irresponsible owners, but it is an option that could give us a better connection to our dogs in relationship to our favorite hobby.

Dogs are not People Covered In Fur.

I think it's easy for dog owners to forget that their pet is an animal of instinct, not rational thinking.  My own dog is a loveable goof who I like to think of as extremely well behaved with kids and small dogs.  He is a talker who makes all manner of ridiculous noises to get the attention of people. His good nature has won over more than a few folks who don't like dogs and we get many compliments on his behavior.  For the most part, he's a good boy.  As a responsible dog owner, however, I have to look at Shaggy through the eyes of someone who doesn't like dogs.  In that light, he's a loud, slobbery mutt who likes to jump up on people.  His vocal nature sounds like growling.  He's very tall and when his hair is grown out, he looks huge.  In short, he's a cynophobes nightmare.  In this light, I can't let my own love of my pet override my common sense and responsibility.  

It's the fault (or not) of the breed.

Blaming the breed of dog is also a common occurrence and with that comes the equally vocal defenders-of-all-breeds who call for breed blindness. Yes, the onus of dog behavior falls to the owner to train their dog and to make sure the dog knows who's boss, but the whole reason we have dog breeds because humans desired certain traits over others.  Greyhounds were built for speed.  Labs have that retrieving instinct.  Border collies will herd anything that moves.  Huskies want to pull.  Dobermans were breed as guard dogs.  My mother-in-law's Cairn terrier will wait still as stone by a hole for hours if she thinks a small critter might pop out of it.  Of course there will always be exceptions to this, but we do a disservice not only to dogs but to the ability of dog owners to bring our pets to public venues if we foolishly choose to ignore what we've engineered a breed of dog to do.

Dogs and kids and childish parents, oh my.

Dogs and children are often brought up together when discussions of "what's wrong with the SCA" happen.  I'm not going to argue that there aren't people who are blind to the faults of their kids and dogs. We all know that there are people who show up at an event with pets and kids in tow and then turn them loose for the community at large to look after.  That is a recipe for disaster.  As dog owners and parents of children, it's not other people's job to police what is our responsibility.   We need to be able to hear when someone criticizes our "perfect angels" and not take it as a personal attack, but as a request for us to tighten the reigns.  If, heaven forbid, your dog is aggressive with another dog or, worse, a person, saying "She's never done anything like that before" isn't going to make the situation better.  We are responsible for any bills, vet or otherwise, caused by kids and our dogs.  Appologize, exchange information, and accept the bill (and perhaps the request that you remove the dog from the event) with grace.  

Likewise, folks having a problem with kids and dogs shouldn't let it get to the point of anger before they speak up.  Most of the time, a quiet word to parents or owners will bring a situation back under control, but for folks uncomfortable with that or who haven't found a resolution to the problem, that's part of what your Event Steward is there for.  Autocrats should be very clear what the dog policy is for the site and what the penalties are for failing to abide by those guidelines.  If everyone knows going into an event that they will be asked to leave if their dog is ever off leash or they don't pick up after it, there are no surprises.  As dog owners, we should play by those rules or leave our buddies at home.

How we can do it better.

Every event should have a pet policy.  If dogs are allowed at an event site, what are the rules?  Can dogs be off leash?  Can they be on a long line?  Are there specific areas of the site that they aren't allowed?  What happens if dog owners don't abide by the rules?  Will owners receive warnings before they're asked to leave or is there a zero tolerance policy?  Make sure everyone knows what the rules are so that we're all playing the same game.

Owners need to be sensible about their surroundings.  Events can be small and low-key or crowded and busy.  Folks with dogs should give other encampments space, if they can.  If you're unable to find a spot away from the crowds, dogs should be kept on a short 5' leash, not a 20' leash.  Talk with your neighbors and find out how they feel about dogs.  If you have a neighbor that doesn't like dogs, it might be worth the headache to consider moving to a more dog friendly location.  Consider bringing a covered crate so your dog has a space of their own that they can retreat to.  Make sure they have fresh water available at all times.  Dehydration makes both dogs and people cranky.

Event stewards at larger camping events might want to create a "dog friendly" area or a "no dogs allowed" area so that people can camp in their comfort zones.

Attendees without dogs need to speak up if they are uncomfortable around dogs or if dogs are being a nuisance.  Owners need to respect the feelings and wishes of the other attendees.  Dogs at events is a privilege, not a right.  Have a realistic plan in the event that it's just not working out with your dog at an event.  Please don't make that plan "I'm going to leave him in the car until it's time to go."   It seems condescendingly obvious, but you know there are people out there who would do just that.

If you plan to drink to excess or make the rounds to all the best parties, leave your dog at home.  That way you still get to have the good time you want, and you don't have to worry about your buddy.

Take a realistic assessment of your dog and set your expectations accordingly.  Some dogs are startled by loud noises and crowds (both of which are not uncommon at an SCA event) and a skittish dog is a hazard.  Every dog has the potential to be a biting dog.  Even if your dog plays wonderfully with every other dog they've ever met, today may be the day they meet the dog (or the kid, or the adult) they don't like, or the dog that doesn't like them. 

Don't let children walk dogs unattended and if you have to leave your dog with someone while you run to the bathroom, make sure that person knows not to let folks pet him or her until you get back.  Dogs in unfamiliar surroundings may behave totally different when you are out of sight.  

While the bark of a dog amidst the calls of Vivat! adds a charming note to the chorus, the dog that won't shut up will not make you a welcome attendant.  Have a plan for what you're going to do if you have a barker.

Finally, give your dog something to do every once in a while.  If the event isn't hosting a dog activity, consider running one.  At the very least, take her for a walk that's more than just a trip to the bathroom.  Happy dogs make for happy events.

Thus endeth my time on the soapbox.

Heraldry is like giving birth

Azure, a crane in its vigilance argent and a tierce ermine

No, really.  There's a lot of waiting, times of pain, and when it passes, there's a feeling of great joy and wonder at this little thing that is now a part of your life.  Oh yeah, and (if you're lucky) the process takes nine months.

Having done the SCA thing before, I knew that I wanted to get my arms designed and submitted so that I could officially start using them.  The design was done in August and the paperwork was completed and submitted in September.  Just this last week I received word from my local herald that my name and arms had passed the final hurdle.

I encourage everyone to decide on arms and go through the process of getting them registered.  First, it's pretty cool to have a "logo" you can stick on your stuff that identifies it as yours.  Second, nothing helps hide that the rather modern room you're feasting in faster than heraldic banners.  Third, it adds to the pageantry of The Game.  Ever see those pictures of encampments at Pennsic with pennants and painted pavilions and sheetwalls bearing the arms of everyone in the encampment?  It's really stunning.

If you have a background in the arts, go ahead and start sketching ideas for your heraldry.  While there are many rules in heraldry about what you can and can't do, these five will get you started:

1.  There are rules for which colors (heraldic-ly called "tinctures") can go next to each other.  Colors - red, purple, blue, black, and green - can never touch other colors.  Likewise, Metals - gold (yellow) and silver (white) - cannot touch other metals.

2. The purpose of your heraldry is to make you easily identifiable across the tourney field.  If you're having trouble identifying your heraldry at arms length while you squint at it, it probably needs to be trimmed of some of the fiddly details.

3. The "Rule of Eight" says basically that no device should have more than eight elements to it.  Elements include charges and tinctures.  If your design is red, gold, blue, silver, and green and had a dragon, a wolf, a lion and a stag, you'll need to lose some things to get it to pass.

4. Keep your resume for your future boss.  Your heraldry is a representation of you, but it shouldn't read like your unabridged autobiography.  Better to pick out one or two things to represent you than to try and cram all your interests into one small space.

5. You can't have arms that make you something you are not.  Arms that already belong to someone and certain heraldic symbols, like crowns, are off limits.  So unless you are the King of the East (or his appointed representative)  or Edward III, you will have to choose something else to represent you.

For my own arms, I knew I wanted a crane to play off my byname of Crane.  The blue and ermine are a nod to the arms and persona I had the first time I was in the SCA and the whole thing has an asymmetrical quality, because I'm partial to what asymmetry does to a design.  If you're feeling overwhelmed, or don't think you're artistic enough to do this, never fear!  Your friendly local herald is there to help.  They will probably ask you for one or two things that you like and what your favorite colors are and can help you come up with a design that you're going to love.

And once you have that beloved design, the hard part begins.

The cost to register a device is $8.  If you're registering your name and device at the same time, your total cost is $16.  Your local herald will fill the paperwork out for you and you'll need to send multiple copies along with your check to your kingdom heralds.  Most heralds are pretty good about telling you when your device has made it to the various stages, but if you can't wait, you can track it online.  The East Kingdom LoI (or Letter of Intent) archive posts submissions on a monthly basis.  It took me a bit to figure out that the submission process on the archive reads right to left for submissions.  The first row, marked ILoI is where submissions first show up.  When the kingdom heralds are done, their response shows up in the LoR/LoD (Letter of Response/Letter of Decision) column.  The xLoI column is where the Laurel Sovereign of Arms and crew get ahold of it and the last column, LoAR, is the prize.  When your device shows up in this last row as passed, your wait is over.   Break out the fabric and the scissors, it's banner time!

Some good sources for designing your arms:

Creating a Heraldic Device by Master Modar Neznanich, Volk Herald is a great PDF primer with pretty much everything you need to create your device.

Fleur-de-lis Designs is a company that creates modern crests.  While I'm not advocating for their services, they do have an interesting page on symbolism.  Now, keep in mind that this symbolism most likely stems from Victorian ideals.  Medieval arms had symbols that meant something to the bearer and were by no means universal.  Should you have need of inspiration however, it might help you design your perfect blazon.

The Online SCA Ordinary is a useful tool for checking for conflicts, but it is not the easiest thing in the world to use.  For one thing, you need a passing familiarity with heraldic jargon.  Things like the color "red" is called "gules" and what the heck "rampant" and "sinister" mean.  Heraldy is it's own language which makes perfect sense... if you speak it.

Panteria - Panther Vale

Pretzel making class at Panteria XVIII  -  Laura Hamilton photo

First of all, let me be clear.  The disappointing parts of Panteria had nothing at all to do with the good and kind folks of Panther Vale.  The weather gods just wouldn't have any mercy upon us.  Memorial Day is supposed to be full of sunshine and barbecue weather, right?  Clearly, them what's in charge of things that fall from the sky didn't get the memo.

The Panteria organizers did an excellent job of rolling with the punches and making room in some of the indoor venues for activities that would have otherwise happened outside.  The kitchen staff all deserve metals of honor for keeping everyone fed  and supplied with hot beverages.  For those strong of heart and constitution, staying through until Monday seemed to pay off.  The best was made of the rain and snow (I hear there was a snowball fight) and it seems that there were classes and competitions that happened regardless of the weather.  I wish we could have stayed for them.

There are two things that I've taken away from Panteria - children's activities and camping in the cold and wet.  I had a delightful and inspiring conversation with Lady Albreda Aylese of Carolingia about making sure that the events planned for kids closely parallel adult activities.  There were A&S activities, but there were also events like the pretzel making where the kids learned things like, the first thing you do when entering the kitchen is wash your hands.  They were taken on a tour of the kitchen to see what was going on there and then they all got to salt their own pretzel.  Several of the youth martial activities took a hit, but some, like the youth fencing, went on as scheduled.  Of course, it's ultimately up to parents to make sure their kids aren't bored to tears at events, but those of us with an interest in organizing events can help out by making sure that kids learn what sort of roles they can play even if there is no specific "children's activity" planned.  Hopefully, I can use some of this inspiration to help with youth events at GNE.

Camping is tricky enough when it rains or when it's cold, but put the two together and it's a recipe for a rough weekend.  There are several things I know now that experienced campers probably take for granted:

1. Have Extra Tarps.  We don't have a nice period pavilion yet, and, in a way, I'm sort of glad for that.  In prepping for this weekend, we bought three new tarps.  One, of course went under the tent for ground cover.  One went over our tent and the extra layer kept us dry through a night of heavy rain.  I probably wouldn't have done that if it was our first time in a period pavilion.  Tarps. They may be ugly and distracting, but don't go camping without them. 

2. Layers of Clothing. Wool Clothing.  As I noted last week, there was a LOT of sewing in preparation for this event.  Five of the people in our household had no period garb whatsoever and The Husband had no warm garb.  I made sure that everyone had at least three layers to put on, but despite this, cotton and linen are no match for rain and cold.  When we do early and late season events in the future, I will be sure that my immediate family at least has a full wool layer to pull on, plus mittens and hoods for the kidlet and myself. 

One of the recommendations I saw was that we have a set of warm clothes to change into for sleeping.  Husband protested having to get out of his clothes, but in the end, I think he's glad he did.  It kept the bed dry and we were all able to snuggle and warm up in short order.  Thick dry socks made for comfortable feet in bed and the only thing we were missing was caps to keep our heads warm.  For the future, I'll make some simple caps of fleece that we can wear when we sleep.

3. Quick Kitchen Set Up and FIRE! NOW! When it's cold, the first thing the kids are going to complain about is, you guessed it, that they're cold.  Now, admittedly, most of the kids in our group aren't used to having to wear layers to keep warm and it was a fight to get them to do it.  Even after they did, however, it was so damp that the chill seeped into our bones.  Enter the fire pit.  In hindsight, I think I would have started the fire sooner, so that the kids could park themselves around it to warm up.  One of the first things I'll have them do at the next event is to go in search of stones to create a "DO NOT CROSS THIS LINE" ring around the fire. Despite our best warnings, the kids had to be repeatedly told to back away from the fire.  Once the ring was set up around the firepit, that was no longer an issue.  Then there was the matter of cooking. 

Now, personally, I love the idea of going to an SCA event and spending the whole weekend cooking over the campfire, but there are some practicalities that need to be worked out.  Like if it's raining, your fire will go out.  We had a camp stove with us and that has worked out great for us in the past, but it was having issues this time around so cooking had to happen on the hot coals.  Trouble was, the fire was surrounded by cold children and menfolk.  My future setup will have a fire ring for sitting around and then a separate fire bowl for cooking.  A little one-burner camp stove will be a useful backup for dampened campfires or for keeping a put of water hot.

Finally, while a camp kitchen setup may seem like a luxury,  the ability to open a box and go would have been really useful.  Kids were hungry.  It was getting dark.  Everyone was cold.  All of our kitchen gear was safely stowed in a plastic tote, which kept it dry but made it impractical to get at anything.  A camp kitchen is on my short list for future camping gear.

Side note:  The Girl Ccout camp that hosts Panteria had these lovely little shelters scattered about and each one had a handful of picnic tables and (insert choir of angels here) a fireplace.  If it's going to rain or looks like it might rain, and a roofed shelter with fireplace is available for use, take it. 

4. Have a Backup Plan.  Weather in New England is a tricky business.  It rarely does what anyone thinks it will.  However, when the weather people agree that it's going to be rainy and cold all weekend, and they agree on Monday, and again on Wednesday, and again on Friday before you leave for the event, take the hint.  Seriously consider if you have the gear to deal with rain and cold.  Consider the site you're going to.  Are all the activities you're interested in guaranteed to happen, rain or shine?  Are there heated indoor venues for activities to be held in?  Are you going to be able to feed yourself and your family if it's pouring?  Are you going to be able to stay warm and dry?  If you answered no to any of these questions, it may be time to disappoint people and cancel the trip or compromise and go for a day.

If, like us, you throw caution to the wind and go anyway, it helps to be sure to have something else to do.  Games are greatly appreciated by all and are a lovely way to meet people.  Panteria had people spinning and painting and playing music in the main feast hall all day on Saturday.  I brought some blocks and my pick-up-sticks and the kids and I had a good time building things and seeing who had the steadiest hand.  It wasn't archery or watching the horses do their thing, but it kept them from whining about being bored.

For more valuable info about camping and the SCA and some great lists to inspire your own, check out these links:

SCA Camping 101
CT's SCA Camping Page
DragonBear's Pennsic Packing List
You Forgot The What?  A Packing List

This Wardrobe better lead to Narnia...

For the last two weeks, I've been sewing like a fiend.  You see, an old friend of  Husband has been bitten by the SCA bug and decided to take his four kids to Panteria.  I, foolish mortal that I am said, "Pick up the fabric and I'll make garb for you guys".  Then, Husband decided that maybe it would be better to switch to the 12th century in England rather than 14th century China.  He's new enough to the SCA that I'm not sure anyone knew that was the time and place he was going for, so the switch will be easy; except that meant he also needed new garb.

My poor sewing machine needs an extended vacation.

We got back from a very soggy and disappointing Panteria yesterday. I'm not sure we even got any photos of the event to post, but I'll write about our first camping trip of the year next Sunday.  I'll also do a few tutorials on how to outfit 6 people for two nights of events for under $200.  Right now... I never want to see another piece of fabric again.

A Crown Tourney Soup

At the crown tourney of King Edward Grey and Queen Thyra Eiriksdottir in Endewearde, the feast was inspired by medieval Polish recipes.  In the first course, a soup with parsnips and cabbage was served that was so delicious, I had to have the recipe.  Head chef, Lady Leofwyn Wytleseie was kind enough to share it with me.  When my next door neighbor gave me some of his freshly dug parsnips, I knew just what to do with them. 

I modified Lady Leofwyn's dumpling recipe a little as her recipe called for barley flour and mace, which I didn't have, and as I wasn't creating dumplings for 150 people, I opted to cook them right in the soup.  The results were delicious.  Also, since I was cooking them in the soup, I cut her recipe in half so that I would have room for them and all the soupy goodness as well. 

Although I don't have the original recipe which I like to post to share the original source, the recipe itself comes from Food and Drink in Medieval Poland by Maria Dembińska.  

Duszony Por z Pasternak i Gier 
(Stew of Parsnips, Leeks, and Alexanders)

4 pounds leek greens (use the leafy part that is normally discarded
3 pounds small parsnips, trimmed, pared, and sliced on a slant to resemble thick potato chips
2 cups sliced leek, white part only
2 cups white cabbage, shredded as for sauerkraut
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, sliced in half lengthwise
6 tablespoons honey
1/8 teaspoon ground saffron
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cumin1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup coarsely chopped alexanders (leaves and small stems only)

Boil the leek greens in 1 gallon of water until soft and until the stock is reduced by one-fourth (about 1 hour). Strain and reserve the liquid, discarding the leek greens. Put the stock in a stewing pot with the parsnips, sliced leeks, cabbage, onion and garlic. Cover and stew 45 minutes, or until the parsnips are tender, then add the honey, saffron, cinnamon, salt, and vinegar. Stew 15 minutes, then add the alexanders. Let the alexanders cook for about 5 minutes, then serve immediately over pieces of stale manchet bread or cheese dumplings.

NOTES:  As the hour was late when I started this dinner, and people were getting very hungry, I opted to use some homemade turkey broth that I had on hand rather than use the leeks to create the base for the soup.  Alexanders or black lovage is a spring plant that is part of the Umbelliferae family (carrots, celery, fennel, dill, caraway, anise, etc).  Reports are that it tastes a little like celery.  Or asparagus.  Or parsley.  Or pepper.  Or chicken.  Well, maybe not that last one, but there does seem to be disagreement as to what it tastes like.  As celery seemed to be mentioned most often, and I had celery in the fridge, I substituted celery for the alexanders.  It was still delicious.

Cheese Dumplings

1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp butter, melted
6 oz feta cheese, crumbled
3 eggs

In a bowl, mix bread crumbs, flour, and nutmeg together.  Stir in butter and feta, making the mixture as crumbly as possible.  Add the eggs, until a soft dough has formed. 

When the soup is just about done, make balls about 1 to 2 inches with the dough and drop them into the hot soup.  When they rise to the surface, the soup (and dumplings) are done.

Autocrat Gift for Lady Bryn Millar

For her fine works in organizing the Endewearde 25th Anniversary celebration, House Fulton presented Lady Bryn Millar with a small embroidered sachet.

This sachet was stuffed with lavender and dried strawberries for an early summer fragrance.  The embroidery was based on an Elizabethan carnation design and was done with cotton embroidery floss on linen.  The outline of the flower and the leaves was couched with gold thread and the design was filled with a simple satin stitch.  Freshwater pearls adorn the corners.

Two 14th century recipes for dinner

This week's medieval dinner comes courtesy of 14th century England.   The meal consisted of a fish dish, a bean and onion dish, and a green salad with a simple oil/vinegar/mustard/honey dressing.  With a sweet cake or some kind of fruit dish added, this would be a lovely first remove for a feast.

First up is A Dauce Egre or Fish in a sweet and sour sauce.  This is the sort of sauce that it's very important to taste and adjust the sweetness/tartness of it before putting on the fish. I used a cider vinegar for my first attempt and it definitely needed more sugar after the simmering/reducing. Good strong flavor though.   The beans and onions made a lovely accompaniment to the tart fish and had a much milder, more buttery flavor.

A Dauce Egre (Fish in a sweet and sour sauce)
Tak luces or tenches or fresch haddok, & seth hem & frye hem in oyle doliue. & þan tak vynegre & þe thridde part sugre & onyounnes smal myced, & boyle alle togedere, & maces & clowes & quybibes. & ley þe fisch in disches & hyld þe sew aboue & serue it forth.
Source: Hieatt, Constance B. and Sharon Butler. Curye on Inglish: English Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth-Century (Including the Forme of Cury). New York: for The Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, 1985.

1 lb haddock fillets (or any other fresh white fish)
olive oil
1 1/2 cups cider or red wine vinegar
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
1 medium sized onion, minced
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp clove
1 tsp ground black pepper

In a sauce pan, combine vinegar, sugar, onions & spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking until the onions are thoroughly soft and sauce is reduced. In a frying pan, heat a little olive oil. Fry the fish on both sides in the hot oil until a crispy light brown. Remove from the oil and drain. Place the fish in a serving platter and ladle the sauce on top.

Benes yfryed (Sauteed beans and onions)

Take benes and seeþ hem almost til þey bersten. Take and wryng out þe water clene. Do þerto oynouns ysode and ymynced, and garlec þerwith; frye hem in oile oþer in grece, & do þereto powdour douce, & serue it forth. Source: Hieatt, Constance B. and Sharon Butler. Curye on Inglish: English Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth-Century (Including the Forme of Cury). New York: for The Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, 1985.

1 can cannellini beans 
1 onion, chopped
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs olive oil or butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Drain and rinse beans. Saute drained beans, onions, garlic and spices with olive oil or butter. Serve warm.

Pikestaff cover

Back in January,  Lady Katerine atte Wyshe put out a call for Pikestaff covers.  She assigned me the May cover and this was what I designed.  I haven't done portraits in a long long time, but I'm not displeased with this one.  It's based on a photo taken by Lady Camille DeJardin at King Edward and Queen Thyra's Crown Tourney in Endewearde.  If I were to do this again, I would extend that background pattern under the two pointy bits on the top of the P.  I'd also remember that like hair, beards have a shape that should be drawn in, rather than drawing the shape of his face and adding the beard after.  Rookie mistake, but it did spawn my new favorite exclamation of frustration "Gregor's beard!"

Medieval meatloaf and buttered cauliflower

 This week's dinner was also served with a simple salad of greens tossed with an herbed and salted oil and vinegar dressing.

Mortreus de Chare (Pork and Ale Loaf)

Take pork, and seth it ynow; and take it vppe, and bawde hit, and hewe it and grinde it, and in a morter; And cast thereto grated brede, and then drawe the same broth thorgh a streynour, And temper hit with ale, and do al into a potte, and lete boile, and aley hit with yolkes of egges, And then let it boile no more, And cast thereto powder of ginger, Salt, And put hit in disshes in maner of Mortrewes, And cast thereto powder of ginger, & serue it forth.
- Austin, Thomas. Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books.

1 pound ground pork
1 1/2 C ale or beer
1 C white bread crumbs
3 raw egg yolks
1 tsp. powdered ginger
1/4 tsp. salt

Sauté pork in a saucepan until brown. Add ale or beer. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about ten minutes.

Stir in bread crumbs, salt, ginger, and egg yolks. Continue simmering over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture is very thick.

Scoop mixture into a lightly oiled mold or bowl. Allow to cool, and turn out onto a plate for serving, and garnish with powdered ginger.

Serves six to eight.

NOTES: This dish tasted much better than it looked. It is not unlike a pork pate and I think would go really well with some crusty bread to spread it on. I think it's the sort of dish that would look better coming out of a fancy mold so that it looks like something more than a pile of goo. Failing that, serving it on a bed of greens would have been a nice touch.

Buttered Colle-flower (Cauliflower With A Sweetened Cream Sauce)

Take a ripe Colle-flowre and cut off the buddes, boyle them in milke with a little Mace while they be very tender, then poure them into a Cullender, and let the Milke runne cleane from them, then take a ladle full of Creame, being boyled with a little whole mace, putting to it a ladle-full of thicke butter, mingle them together with a little Sugar, dish up your flowres upon sippets, poure your butter and creame hot upon it strowing on a little slict Nutmeg and salt, and serve it hot to the table.
- Beebe, Ruth Ann . Sallets Humbles & Shrewsbery Cakes

1 lb cauliflower, chopped
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg or mace
2 tbs butter
1/4 cup cream
1/2 to 1 tbs sugar

Mix milk and nutmeg or mace and bring to a simmer. Add cauliflower and cook until cauliflower is tender but not mushy. Strain milk and set cauliflower aside in serving bowl.

In saucepan, heat butter, cream, and sugar until butter is melted and mixture is very warm. Pour over cauliflower and sprinkle the top with nutmeg. Serve warm.

A pair of recipes for a medieval flavored dinner

It's not hard to find or make medieval recipes.  A quick internet search uncovers hundreds of potential meals.  There are even whole menus online to draw inspiration for feasts.  Unfortunately, I've neither the time, inclination, or diners to create a medieval feast every Sunday night.  Heck, with the number of dishes found in most menus, I can't even really bring myself to do a single remove of a feast most of the time.   What I've started to do instead is base Sunday dinner on a modern "meat and vegetable" format but the dishes made are from medieval sources.  Tonight's mini-feast was roasted pork and an incredible asparagus salad that would be delicious served warm or cold and although the sources for these two recipes are separated by over 200 years, they made a lovely combination for an early spring feast.

Cormarye (Pork with red wine, coriander and caraway sauce)

 The original:  Take Colyandre, Caraway smale grounden, Powdour of Peper and garlec ygrounde in rede wyne, medle alle þise togyder and salt it, take loynes of Pork rawe and fle of the skyn, and pryk it wel with a knyf and lay it in the sawse, roost þerof what þou wilt, & kepe þat þat fallith þerfro in the rosting and seeþ it in a possynet with faire broth, & serue it forth witþ þe roost anoon.
Source: Forme of Cury, S. Pegge (ed.), 1390, London.

1 lbs. pork loin
3/4 tsp. coriander
3/4 tsp. ground caraway
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup broth

Mix spices and garlic with wine and pour over pork in a roasting pan. Prick the loin with a knife or fork, cover, and bake at 350°, basting regularly, until cooked to an internal temperature of 145, approximately 45 minutes to an hour. Strain the drippings from the roasting pan into a saucepan and add the broth. Bring to a boil and simmer until reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Serve sauce with pork.

 Diuers Sallets boyled (Warm asparagus and onion salad)

Diuers Sallets boyled. Parboyle Spinage, and chop it fine, with the edges of two hard Trenchers vpon a boord, or the backe of two chopping Kniues: then set them on a Chafingdish of coales with Butter and Uinegar. Season it with Sinamon, Ginger, Sugar, and a few parboyld Currins. Then cut hard Egges into quarters to garnish it withall, and serue it vpon sippets. So may you serue Burrage, Buglosse, Endiffe, Suckory, Coleflowers, Sorrel, Marigold leaues, water Cresses, Leekes boyled, Onions, Sparragus, Rocket, Alexanders. Parboyle them, and season them all alike: whether it be with Oyle and Uinegar, or Butter and Uinegar, Sinamon, Ginger, Sugar, and Butter: Egges are necessary, or at least very good for all boyld Sallets.
Source : A New Booke of Cookerie, J. Murrell. 1615. London.

1 lb fresh asparagus, chopped into 3 inch pieces
1/2 onion sliced into 1/4 inch rings
1/4 cup currants
2 tbs butter
1 tbs cider vinegar
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ginger
1/2 tsp Sugar
1 hard-boiled egg, chopped

Parboil currents, onions and asparagus. Drain. In a skillet over low heat, add butter and vinegar, ginger, cinnamon, sugar. When butter is melted and ingredients combined, add drained ingredients and toss to coat. Serve topped with chopped hard-boiled egg. Good warm or cold.

NOTE: The original recipe says this is a good method for many kinds of vegetables, and is written for spinach, but says this is a good method for cooking other vegetables like cauliflower, onions, rocket, and even leeks, for my Endeweardian cousins.

Birthday Gift for Lady Elgiva Wilhelm

Lady Elgiva's birthday was recently and to celebrate her day, I made this girdle book just for her.  The book is a standard sew signature type binding.  I had wanted to do the cover in leather, but I didn't have any thin enough nor do I own the kind of knife used to thin leather out for book covers.  Instead, I opted for a brown suede fabric that from a distance looks reasonably like leather.  Hopefully Lady Elgiva will like it well enough to forgive me the anachronism.

Once the book was done, I thought I'd decorate the front pages with her arms and a bit of colorful vinework.  I Googled the German for "This book belongs to Lady Elgiva Wilhelm, creator of beautiful things" and put that in a ribbon across the pages. 

Here's hoping she can make use of it for many notes about clever things.

Belt Pouch Mock Up

If I learned anything about my kit at Birka, it was that 1.  I do not need to bring my cloak since the event is inside all day and 2. I need a belt pouch.  Badly. 

So many little things - my phone, my keys, my wallet, any of the potentially dozens of little things the kidlet will inevitably ask for/ask me to hold - just need to have a home somewhere on my person.  My first time through the SCA, the belt pouch was about my only accessory.  I don't know why I haven't made one yet though.

I searched around for a design that intrigued me and found these.  They are beautiful, but the maker is in the UK and I have leather in the basement.  I haven't worked with leather in years, so rather than build something I dislike later, I figured I'd do a mockup.  Someone suggested using duct tape covered paper as a "leather substitute".  It's not as thick as leather, but it behaves in a roughly similar fashion. Good enough for doing a mockup of a belt pouch anyway.

Scroll for Johannes filius Nicholai

My first official kingdom-level scroll!  I was assigned a backlog AoA for Johannes filius Nicholai, a man from Bergental who was given a promisary scroll for an AoA at Bergental Yule.  The information I was given about him was that his persona was roughly 13th century.

Since All Things Scribal isn't until this weekend, I scooted over to Honig's for a quick lesson in proper gilding.  It's sooooo much easier with the proper tools and sizing!

The piece was inspired by a 13th century Bible, with select Masses, in Latin, Illuminated in the style of, and perhaps by, William de Brailes.  I was fortunate that this Lord had regestered arms already, and so was able to complete the scroll.  I remembered to "sign" it this time with my crane and martlet and hopefully, it will bring him much joy to look upon.

A Bevy of Swans Pluming Their Feathers For Aphrodite: A case for the elusive, yet tasty, period creampuff swan.

 My first A&S entry came as a bit of an afterthought.  You see, Endewearde's Tourney O' Love was yesterday and there was a call for desserts.  Then someone suggested that desserts that were period could be documented and entered in the A&S competition.  My original dessert idea had been to make cream puff swans to go with the romance angle of this very fun tournament and that made me wonder, are creampuff swans period?  It turns out, with a couple of very small changes to the recipe, they are.  Here, in all it's glory, is my documentation for my A&S entry at Tourney O' Love titled A Bevy of Swans Pluming Their Feathers For Aphrodite: A case for the elusive, yet tasty, period creampuff swan.

Entrant: Christiana Crane
Category: Food
Specific art form: Soteltie

Entry Contents: Six creampuff swans on a platter, plus more in reserve for dessert.

Background
    When the call went out for desserts for the Tourney o’ Love, I was more than happy to lend a hand.  Then, it was suggested that entries could also be submitted to the A&S exhibit.  My mind immediately went to the soteltie.  As I considered options for the dessert, I started thinking about swans.  Swans have long been associated with grace and elegance and love.  The Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, is often depicted with swans.  My original thoughts were of a dessert made from crisp merengue, but in researching the idea, I stumbled across a modern recipe for cremepuff swans.  It seemed like the exact sort of thing that would have delighted the medieval epicurean, and I began to wonder, could there have been such a thing as a period creampuff swan?

Description 
    Sotelties or Subtleties are a well documented part of medieval feasting. Early sotelties were simple, yet colorful and exotically spiced, filler dishes between courses.  By the 14th century, the soteltie had evolved into much more elaborate presentations, often putting the cooked animal into a lifelike pose, or redressing an animal, notably birds, in their original plumage.  English cooks were particularly fond of playing with pastry, using it to form all manner of objects for the delight of their diners. (1)

The Pastry: The invention of  Choux pastry is attributed to Pantarelli, the pastry chef of Catherine d’Medici, in 1540.  Pantarelli used the dough to make small cakes in the shape of women’s breasts, called Popelins.(2)  The dough was originally used to create a cake, called Pâte à Panterell, but chefs soon found other uses for the versatile dough.

    Head chef to Pope Pious IV, Bartolomeo Scappi published a series of seven cookbooks in 1570, which contained over a thousand recipes.  The fourth book, Quarto Libro, Dellimbandire Le Vivande is a collection of menus for each month of the year.  Among the menus for October, he mentions works of “empty pastry”. His fifth book, Quinto Libro, Libro Delle Paste, contained numerous recipes for pies, tarts, brioche, and fritters, but none specifically called “empty pastry”.  In spite of this, there are recipes which very closely resemble our modern choux pastry that he specifically notes can be baked instead of fried (see Preparations and Deviations below).

 The historical base for the swan pastry comes from the 1584 cookbook, The Book of Cookrye:

To to make Bennets. Put butter and water over the fier in a faire pain, and when it boyleth put therto fine Flower and Salte, and so let them boyle, but stir them well for brenning, and when it is wel thick, put it into an earthen pan, then break Egs into it and boyle them so togither, than boyle a good quantitye of Butter clarified over the fire, and with a spoone put in your other stuffe and so frye them till they be browne, and that doone, serve them foorth with Sugar on them. (3)

The Custard:  Both savory and sweet custards have a long and well documented culinary history.  Most recipes with custard were used to make pies or quiches, but there is a recipe for a non-baked custard in Two Fifteenth Century Cookbooks by Thomas Allen, called “Creme Boylede”.(4)

Take creme or mylke, and brede of paynemayn, or ellys of tendre brede, and breke it on the creme, or elles in the mylke, an set it on the fyre tyl it be warme hot; and thorw a straynour throwe it, and put it into a fayre potte, an sette it on the fyre, an stere euermore: an whan it is almost y-boylyd, take fayre yolkes of eyron, an draw hem thorw a straynowr and caste hem ther-to, and let hem stonde ouer the fyre tyl it boyle almost, an till it be skylfully thikke; than caste a ladel-ful, or more or lasse, of boter ther-to, an a good quantite of whyte sugre, and a litel salt, an than dresse it on a dysshe in maner of mortrewys.

    The ingredients and methods to create this pudding-like custard are not dissimilar to modern pastry cream.

Preparations and Deviations
Exact quantities of ingredients are not given in the above recipe for the bennets recipe, so a modern recipe containing the same ingredients and methods was used for correct proportions.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 425º. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a large saucepan, bring butter, water, and  salt to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove pan from the heat and add the flour all at once. Stir quickly until all the flour is incorporated, about a minute. Return to the heat and cook, stirring constantly, for another minute or two.

Transfer the dough to the bowl. Either by hand or with a mixer beat at medium speed for 1 minute to cool the dough down a little.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; beat until the dough loses its “slimy” look, and each egg is incorporated. The dough should be thick, too thick to be a batter, but too thin to be a kneedable dough.

Pipe into small balls (or in my case, the bodies and necks of swans) and Bake 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375º and bake until puffed up and light golden brown, about 25 minutes more.

Let cool on the baking sheet.

    Liberties were also taken with the cooking method based on alternative methods recommended by Scappi.  While doughs of this nature are often fried, he mentions in a couple of recipes that the dough can be baked, especially if forming shapes.  His recipe is as follows:

To make various types of fritters, and first to make Venetian fritters. Put to boil six pounds of goats milk, in a tin lined casserole, with six ounces of fresh butter, four ounces of sugar, four ounces of rose water, a little saffron and enough salt.  When it is boiling and starts to rise one adds to it two pounds of fine flower a little at a time, mixing constantly with a wooden spoon.  Mix until it becomes firm, like bread dough, then empty it from this pan and put it into a marble mortar.  And pestle it for a quarter of an hour then take it out and put it into a copper or ceramic  bowl.  Then mix it with a wooden stick or your hands until it is cool.  Then have 24 fresh eggs and put them into the paste one at a time, mixing constantly with the wooden spoon or with your hands, until this pastry becomes liquid.  When you have finished adding the eggs beat for another quarter of an hour, until it makes blisters (?).  Then let it rest for a quarter of an hour, covered, in a warm place and then beat another time.  Then have ready a frying pan with hot lard in it and take this mixture and put it over a knife, and with the mouth of a carafe, bathed in cold lard, or with a canon of white iron*4 cut the fritters and put them into the lard.  Give them a gentle heat and several times move the pan so that the fritters turn in the lard, without touching them.  And when the fritters begin to be cooked they will wrinkle, because by nature they expand and become like the skin of medlars, and many times they turn by themselves, and one can see that they have taken enough color.  And serve them hot with fine sugar above.  With this pastry one can make various works with the syringe but you want to make the dough a little firmer than that for fritters for it to be good with the syringe, let them cook in an oven which is not too hot for half an hour and serve them with fine sugar on top. (5)

    I chose instead to use the bennet recipe over Scappi because of the quantities of ingredients that Scappi suggests.  Six pounds of goat milk, two pounds of flour and two dozen eggs are a lot of ingredients for a first time experiment, and as such, I opted for the similar recipe.  When spring comes and I have access to goats milk, I will try scaling back this recipe and see how it comes out.

    The custard recipe used was a modern equivalent of the 15th century Creme Boylede recipe, found in Cariadoc’s Miscellany, a modern translation of Two Fifteenth Century Cookbooks by David Friedman and Elizabeth Cook.

5-10 slices torn-up white bread
1 quart light cream
8 lightly beaten egg yolks
6 T melted butter
1/2 c sugar
1 t salt

Soak bread in cream. Heat until hot to the touch but not boiling. Pass through a coarse sieve or mash thoroughly. Heat again, stirring constantly. When almost boiling, stir in egg yolks. Keep heating, stirring, not boiling, until it thickens. Stir in butter, sugar, salt. Serve in bowls.

    Instead of serving them the custard in bowls, it is, of course, served in the pastry.  In addition, I substituted the white bread for very fine bread crumbs, which were what I had on hand at the time.

    To assemble the swans, I used a sharp serrated knife and sliced off the top third of the pastry.  This top was then cut in half, so that each side formed a “wing”.  The bottom of the pastry was then filled with the custard and the “head and neck” were inserted into the custard and the “wings” were arranged on the back.

Closing Notes
    What began as a somewhat humorous exercise to justify creampuff swans revealed some decent evidence that such a soleltie could have existed in the later years of the SCA period.  Certainly, variations of the modern creampuff components were being prepared prior to 1600 and with the well-documented fondness for illusion foods, I think the creampuff swan would have been a not unfamiliar yet welcome addition to the medieval table.

References
(1) Scully, Terence. The Art of Cookery in the Middle Ages. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge. 1995.  pg. 104-109
(2) The Chefs of Le Cordon Bleu. Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie and Baking Foundations. Delmar, Clifton Park, NY. 2012.  pg 7
(3) A.W. The Book of Cookrye. Edward Allde, London. 1584.  Online source used. http://jducoeur.org/Cookbook/Cookrye.html
(4) Allen, Thomas.  Two Fifteenth Century Cookery-Books. N. Trubner, London.  1888  Online source used.  
      http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=cme;cc=cme;rgn=main;view=text;idno=CookBk
(5) Scappi, Bartolomeo, Quinto Libro, Libro Delle Paste, translated June 2006 by Mistress Helewyse de Birkestad.
      http://www.medievalcookery.com/helewyse/pastavoto.html

Tourney O' Love - Endewearde

With an old Unitarian church as the backdrop for this event, I have to say that it's come a long way from the Tournament De L'Amore  from my youth.  Not only do people competing for the time-honored pink baldric have to win at both heavy list and rapier combat, they must now also submit an Arts and Sciences entry - and Endewearde is not fooling around with the A&S. 

I had a small entry which was really more for dessert than to take home any prizes.  Some of the items put out on display were just amazing.

My contribution to the event was this scroll, based upon this 15th century Rosary with Virgo Lactans that really caught my eye.  The latin text is from a work by Thomas a Kempis, a late 14th/early 15th century German copyist and writer.  The translation reads: Love flies, runs, and leaps for joy; it is free and unrestrained. Love gives all for all. Love knows no limits, but ardently transcends all bounds. Love feels no burden, takes no account of toil, attempts things beyond its strength; love sees nothing as impossible, for it feels able to achieve all things. Love therefore does great things; it is strange and effective; while he who lacks love faints and fails.

This year's Champeen O'Love was Master Julien de la Pointe.

Unfortunately, the weather took a nasty turn and we had to leave before we were snowed in for good.  We missed out on what was sure to be a delicious feast.  Hopefully my cream puff swans were well received.

Autocrat gift - Lady Agatha Wanderer

Lady Agatha Wanderer of Endewearde is the autocrat of Tourney of Love in a couple of weeks.  House Fulton is giving her a gluckhaus board complete with snail themes as we have been informed that she is quite fond of snails.

Gluckhaus is a late mideval German gambling game.  Directions for how to play can be found here.

Toys For The Royal Toy Chest

Queen Thyra put forth a request for toys for the Royal Toy Chest.  As the kidlet has been given the opportunity to choose a toy donated by some generous individual, I felt like I should create something to give back.  Plus, I really like making toys.

I made these wooden soldiers.  The knights are dressed in the colors of the east, but the one in green is based off pictures of King Edward at his crown tourney.  Her Majesty later commented that she really wanted to keep that one for herself, so there are plans to do another one for Her amusement.

I also did a soft doll with a lovely embroidered face and a simple dress and, much to my dismay, I  didn't get a picture of it.  I hope that whichever child received her will think she's pretty cool for a toy that doesn't light up.

Period Gift Giving

This is a bit of art and an article I wrote for the December 2012 issue of Northern Watch, the newsletter of Endewearde.

With the winter holiday season now upon us, we find ourselves bombarded with advertising for gift-giving ideas. It can make these last months of the year a delight or a hectic nightmare. One of the great parts about the SCA, though, is just how easy it can be to find that perfect token of admiration and affection for anyone else who partakes of our hobby, and often without breaking the bank.

Gift Giving is Period

While Christmas as we celebrate it today is a decidedly modern invention, the roots of its gift-giving custom can be traced back to the Romans. Roman poet and satirist Marcus Valerius Martialis, known to English-speakers as Martial, wrote two books on the customs of the winter festival Saturnalia, one of which is solely on gifts. It was Martial's opinion that you could judge the quality of a friendship by the gifts that were given. Close friends were given token gifts of low value while more grand presents were given to those people with whom a friendship was not so intimate. 1

The practice of presents continued into the middle ages, with New Year's Day being a common day for gift-giving. The 14^th century poem, Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, begins on New Year's day as King Arthur and his court exchange gifts and wait for the feast to begin. On New Year's of 1376, King Edward III gave his daughter Isabella a complete set of chapel furnishings, two saddles, and a dozen ornamental bowls. ₂ It was during this time, however, that the practice of giving gifts also became corrupt. City officials would make the rounds to people in their jurisdiction to collect tokens of holiday “generosity”. Demands for presents were so bad that in 1419, Henry V of England issued regulations ordering sergeants, officers of the mayor, sheriff, and city not to beg for gifts. 3

By the 1600's, many of the Christmas traditions were discouraged or banned by Puritan governments. In the United States, the holiday fell out of favor until the mid-1800s, when Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol breathed new life into winter holidays.

Gift Ideas

The question of what to give for holiday gifts is an old one. Gifts were often of a practical nature. Pins, money, gloves, socks, food, and pomanders were all acceptable gifts throughout the years that make up the SCA period. The Romans also enjoyed joke gifts. Gaius Valerius Catullus, in his poem Carmen 14, laments a book of bad poems given to him as a gift. He writes, “If I did not love you more than my eyes, most delightful Calvus, I would hate you with a Vitinian hatred because of that gift of yours: for what did I do or what did I say, why do you ruin me with so many bad poets?” 4

History provides some great suggestions for gifts for SCAdian friends and family, and while an oil flask of rhinoceros horn might not be practical or easy to come by, the token gifts, the small things of no great monetary value, will bring a smile to just about any medievalist's face.

Food and Drink. As popular a gift now as it was hundreds of years ago, food and drink are great for giving because we've all got to eat sometime. Its enjoyment is fleeting, but the memory of a tasty morsel won't take up valuable shelf space and doesn't require dusting. Recipes for medieval fig tarts, savory hand pies, fried cracker-like breads, fruit puddings and sweet honey candies are all available online. Check medievalcookery.com and godecookery.com for historical recipes and innatthecrossroads.com for historical-ish recipes with drool-worthy photos inspired by George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire books. Brewers often have a ready stock of home-made gifts waiting on their shelves. For folks who love to cook, consider giving them potted herbs, nuts, or bottles of spices that they might not buy for themselves, such as saffron, grains of paradise, or cardamom. Though they have a shorter shelf-life, presents like sausages, roasts, fruits and vegetables are also interesting and period gifts for foodie SCAdians. Some of the larger grocery stores and many local farmers offer things like rabbit or duck, and fruits like pomegranate and orange are in season now and are perfectly period gifts.

Clothing. Very few of us would say no to a hand-stitched linen or wool heraldic garment, but that is a pretty serious time commitment. Still, there are lots of “detail” garments that are simple and quick to make that take the game to a new level. Headgear is not only a period gift but can improve the look of even the most basic t-tunic or gown. Coifs are useful for men, women and children and there is a great tutorial on making them at www.virtue.to/articles/coif.html. Headgear can be extended to veils for women - fashionable throughout much of our time period – and the unisex hood, which can be warm and worn in a multitude of ways. There is a basic hood tutorial at www.virtue.to/articles/hoodlum.html which has a pattern and some alternate ways to wear them.

Gloves, belts, hose, aprons, and shoes are all great gifts to consider for the holidays for both men and women and provide those little details that make a garment feel more like clothing and less like a costume. http://www.dagorhir.com/forums/index.php?topic=15949.0 provides a detailed walk-through of how to make a medieval turn shoe while earthandliving.blogspot.com/2008/08/viking-shoes-tutorial-sort-of.html has an earlier shoe design tutorial. Hose were worn from the 11^th to the 15^th centuries and have a fairly simple construction, provided you have access to your giftees leg. A basic tutorial for them can be found at historiclife.com/Essays/howto_hose.html. Smocked aprons may be more time-consuming than busy schedules will allow for, but they do look stunning: catrijn.blogspot.com/2009/05/smocked-apron-part-1.html and there are plenty of much simpler aprons for men and women. Of course, with cold weather here, who wouldn't like a pair of gloves or three fingered mittens? http://www.renaissancetailor.com/demos_gloves.htm has an interesting piece on making gloves which can be modified to make three-fingered mittens like those at http://thomasguild.blogspot.com/2012/01/winter-is-coming.html

Games. Much like today, people in period enjoyed boardgames and many of them are quite easy to make. There is a well-documented collection of period games from a lady from Meridies, as a part of the Arts & Sciences 50 Challenge. Her blog, http://janinwise.blogspot.com/2010/06/50-challenge-medieval-board-games.html, has great print outs of dozens of games that could be made of fabric, leather or wood.

The “Elements” of Projects. Anyone with an interest in the arts and sciences can be a very easy person to find gifts for since he or she will probably have nine or ten projects going at any given time. Calligraphers can always use paper, inks, pen nibs, and gouache. Fabric, cording, beads and trim are welcome gifts for any garb-maker. Period embroidery kits can be put together inexpensively as shown here, http://coblaith.net/PeriodPresents/SewingKit/ Brewers can always make use of ingredients and a beautiful golden jar of honey has a shelf-life of years. Experienced brewers can put together mead or beer kits as gifts for people who are just starting out. Blacksmiths using coal might be the only people to appreciate it in their stocking along with some steel rod, of course. Armorers never seem to have enough rivets or buckles and anyone who has ever tried their hand at chainmail will tell you that links are most welcome. No matter the craft, keep an eye out in workshops and sewing rooms and see what items get consumed frequently. Or make note of the projects that your gift-receiver mentions they'd like to start. The crafting side of the SCA is a gift-giver's blessing when it comes to ideas.

Bits and Bobs. The SCA is often a hobby about collecting gear for a whole second life in a different century. As events happen weekends and the occasional extended stay during the summer, the need to gather the trappings of a medieval life can proceed slowly when it's not vital to the modern world. Feastgear is one of the early acquisitions for most SCAdians, but table linens, candlesticks, candles, salt cellars and even small liquor cups for sampling offerings at events make excellent period and practical gifts. Arrow tips, sticks of rattan, and duct or electrical tape are less historically accurate, but always useful for folks interested in the martial pursuits. Combs, sealing wax, cloak pins, knives, veil pins, lamps, perfumes, fans, masks and jewelry are all historical gifts and can be made or purchased easily. Bards and musicians can make recordings of their best pieces to give on CD.

It seems likely that children have always been fond of winter gift-giving holidays. Why not give a period toy or game this year? Sure, most modern kids want something noisy and blinking but leather or cloth balls, toy swords, dolls, wooden soldiers or animals, rattles, and whistles are period gifts that even most modern children will enjoy despite the lack of “on” switches.

When all else fails, books are rarely a waste. From DIY to historicals, SCAdians are some of the most book-hungry people around and are forever adding to collections.

Let's Not Forget the Wrapping

So you've found or made the perfect gift for someone, but printed wrapping paper and tape are 20^th century inventions. Fabric and ribbon will certainly cover your gift, but consider that cloth or leather pouches, wooden boxes, and baskets can all do double duty as both wrapper and secondary bonus gift. If you aren't inclined to make boxes and baskets, the big-box arts and crafts stores often carry inexpensive models of both that will easily accommodate most small gifts.

Happy holidays!

1. Ruurd R. Nauta, Poetry for Patrons: Literary Communication in the Age of Domitian (Brill, 2002)
2. Barbara Tuchman, A Distant Mirror, (Knopf 1978)
3. William White, Notes and Querries, Vol 46 (John C. Francis, 1872)
4. Cataullus, Carmen 14, translated by David Kimmel, http://rudy.negenborn.net/catullus/text2/e14.htm

A Treasury of Winter Holidays

Winter has always been a grand time for holidays and festivals. With the harvest complete and short, often cold days, there is no better time for some lighthearted merriment. With this in mind, there is a day for gift-giving for every persona.

Saturnalia – A ancient Roman holiday celebrated beginning around December 17 and lasting a week.

Kalends – A Roman holiday from around 45 B.C. And celebrated beginning January 1 and lasting until January 5

Twelfth Night – The Twelve Days of Christmas begin December 26 and stretch to January 5, the day before Epiphany. Though the familiar gift-receiving carol was first published in 1780, the origins of the song are believed to be much older and suggest that presents were given every day from Christmas to Epiphany, as both an English and French custom. German tradition gives small gifts on January 5.

Epiphany – January 6 is the celebration of the visit of the Wise Men to Jesus and is a popular day for giving gifts, especially in Spain.

Saint Nicholas Eve – St. Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, thieves, children, and students and his feast day is celebrated on December 6. As a bringer of gifts, children in France, Italy, Croatia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium put out socks or shoes in hopes that he will bring presents.

Yule – The winter holiday celebrated by ancient Germanic people on or around the winter solstice.

New Years – January 1 has long been a traditional gift giving day across Europe.

Purim – While coins (or gelt) were given on Hanukkah, the giving of Hanukkah gifts is a new tradition. Purim, which falls sometime between the end of February and the beginning of March, was the more common day for gift giving in the period Jewish community.

Christmas Eve – Another popular time for the exchanging of gifts, particularly in France, Spain, Portugal, Scandinavia, Poland, and Belgium.