Cunnan - User contributions [en]

Cooking

2005-12-03T10:38:33Z

Eadmund:

[[Period]] style cooking is a big part of many [[SCA]] events ([[feast]]s being one obvious example :)

Many period dishes are simple to prepare and only require ingredients that can be found in any supermarket. Remember that many [[food]]s we eat today didn't exist during period and their presence is noticable (to some people at any rate)

There are many ways to participate in recreating medieval cooking. You can join your local [[Guild_of_Cooks|cooks guild]], cook for a few SCA friends after redacting a medieval recipe, or cook period food over an open fire at a [[camping event]].

= Books =

Several good books have been written with period and period-style (cf. [[Period vs. Period-Style]]) cooking. Among these are:

; [[Take a Thousand Eggs or More]] : An excellent source in two volumes. The first contains originals, redactions & recipes; the second contains originals with redactions, but no modern recipes.
; [[A Proper Newe Booke of Cokerye]] : Originals & redactions from a 16th century cookbook.
; [[Pleyn Delit]] : An excellent collection of originals, redactions & recipes. Highly recommended.

There is also the website [http://www.godecookery.com/ Gode Cookery], which contains many period, period-style and periodoid recipes.

''See also:'' [[food]], [[Recipe]]

Alchemy

2005-12-03T09:26:46Z

Eadmund:

'''Alchemy''' was a pseudoscience of [[medieval]] times, probably influenced by the [[Egypt]]ians and the [[Greek Philosophy]] of [[Democritus]].

It is based on the idea that the world is composed of the four elements [[fire]], air, water and earth. These elements are considered to be contained in all things, the most common example being wood which "obviously" contained earth (which was why it was hard) and water (sap when squeezed out) and air (smoke when lit) and fire (you could light it). It was a nice little theory...

The basic idea of the atom as the "smallest unit of divisibility" was also formed during this time - though this truly bears little relation to the present-day concept of the atom (which is merely named after the Democritian concept). Atoms were considered to be tiny, perfect spheres and made up of one of the four above-mentioned elements...considering the scientific state-of-the-art up to that point, not a bad theory, and one which lasted surprisingly long.

One of the concepts was that, because [[lead]] and [[gold]] (the perfect metal) were from the earth element, earth could therefore be turned into lead and gold using an "appropriate catalyst" known as the [[Philosophers stone|Philosopher's Stone]]. This was a magical substance which could turn water into [[wine]], heal the sick, and as mentioned, turn really boring lumps of metal into gold and [[silver]]. Most of it though was just processes like mixing [[copper]] with [[arsenic]] to give it a silver finish, or a philosophical trick by which the alchemist's [[apprentice]], through years of hard work and training, was turned from lead (i.e. an ignorant klutz) into gold (i.e. an alchemically educated klutz). :)

The quest to turn lead into gold was also a spiritual one, as it represented the change of an impure substance into a pure substance - the equivalent of returning Man from his current state of sin to a state of Grace last known before the Fall.

Despite never discovering the Philosopher's Stone, alchemists did come up with a number of interesting reactions and the knowledge gathered eventually led to the foundations of modern [[chemistry]].

Alchemy also gave rise to concept of the [[panacea]], the "[[medicine]]" to cure all illnesses - also never found, but a search for it led to an interesting number of ways to [[poison]] oneself (mercury, silver and lead poisoning being numbered under the chief ways that alchemists died).

== Links ==

; [http://www.alchemywebsite.com/ The Alchemy Website] (mirrored at [http://www.levity.com/alchemy www.levity.com/alchemy]) : A site for modern alchemists; do not expect that modern alchemy is necessarily related to period alchemy.

Period vs. Period-Style

2005-12-03T09:17:45Z

Eadmund: /* Period vs. Period-Style */

As a general term, something which is ''period'' is '''something directly attested by primary sources''', e.g. a recipe from a period source or an article of clothing which has been preserved; something which is ''period-style'' is '''something which attempts to be true to the style in primary sources''', e.g. a recipe which, while not found in any period source, uses the same principles of healthy eating, available & likely food-stuffs and so forth, or an article of clothing which is cut similarly to an actual artifact.

''Periodoid'' indicates '''something which is pseudo-period''', e.g. honey-butter or a cloak with a vampire's picture on it. Periodoid things are not mediaeval and never were, but to our eyes (or some of our eyes) they appear to be.

Cooking

2005-12-03T09:17:22Z

Eadmund: /* Headline text */

[[Period]] style cooking is a big part of many [[SCA]] events ([[feast]]s being one obvious example :)

Many period dishes are simple to prepare and only require ingredients that can be found in any supermarket. Remember that many [[food]]s we eat today didn't exist during period and their presence is noticable (to some people at any rate)

There are many ways to participate in recreating medieval cooking. You can join your local [[Guild_of_Cooks|cooks guild]], cook for a few SCA friends after redacting a medieval recipe, or cook period food over an open fire at a [[camping event]].

= Books =

Several good books have been written with period and period-style (cf. [[Period vs. Period-Style]]) cooking. Among these are:

; [[Take a Thousand Eggs or More]] : An excellent source in two volumes. The first contains originals, redactions & recipes; the second contains originals with redactions, but no modern recipes.
; [[A Proper Newe Booke of Cokerye]] : Originals & redactions from a 16th century cookbook.

There is also the website [http://www.godecookery.com/ Gode Cookery], which contains many period, period-style and periodoid recipes.

''See also:'' [[food]], [[Recipe]]

Period vs. Period-Style

2005-12-03T09:16:49Z

Eadmund:

= Period vs. Period-Style =

As a general term, something which is ''period'' is '''something directly attested by primary sources''', e.g. a recipe from a period source or an article of clothing which has been preserved; something which is ''period-style'' is '''something which attempts to be true to the style in primary sources''', e.g. a recipe which, while not found in any period source, uses the same principles of healthy eating, available & likely food-stuffs and so forth, or an article of clothing which is cut similarly to an actual artifact.

''Periodoid'' indicates '''something which is pseudo-period''', e.g. honey-butter or a cloak with a vampire's picture on it. Periodoid things are not mediaeval and never were, but to our eyes (or some of our eyes) they appear to be.

Cooking

2005-12-03T09:12:48Z

Eadmund:

[[Period]] style cooking is a big part of many [[SCA]] events ([[feast]]s being one obvious example :)

Many period dishes are simple to prepare and only require ingredients that can be found in any supermarket. Remember that many [[food]]s we eat today didn't exist during period and their presence is noticable (to some people at any rate)

There are many ways to participate in recreating medieval cooking. You can join your local [[Guild_of_Cooks|cooks guild]], cook for a few SCA friends after redacting a medieval recipe, or cook period food over an open fire at a [[camping event]].

= Headline text =

Several good books have been written with period and period-style (cf. [[Period vs. Period-Style]]) cooking. Among these are:

; [[Take a Thousand Eggs or More]] : An excellent source in two volumes. The first contains originals, redactions & recipes; the second contains originals with redactions, but no modern recipes.
; [[A Proper Newe Booke of Cokerye]] : Originals & redactions from a 16th century cookbook.

There is also the website [http://www.godecookery.com/ Gode Cookery], which contains many period, period-style and periodoid recipes.

''See also:'' [[food]], [[Recipe]]