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Roasted Swan for Dinner? Oldest English Cookbook Reveals 200 Meals Fit for a King

Roasted Swan for Dinner? Oldest English Cookbook Reveals 200 Meals Fit for a King

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Created in September 1387, The Forme of Cury is the oldest written cookbook in the English language. The manuscript was commissioned by King Richard II of England, best known for his deposition in Shakespeare’s play, Richard II, and his uncle John Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who many believed was trying to usurp the English throne. The book contains the recipes the master of cooks used for their joint banquet of nearly 200 dishes. 

Grocery List

Sometime toward the end of September, Richard and John hosted a wonderful feast together for reasons not quite clear to historians. Some speculate that it was held to assure the nobles that there was no discord between the young king (then only 20 years old) and his Uncle. More likely it was an end-of-harvest feast for a particularly good year. The reasons behind the manuscript’s creation are more certain. Banquets and feasts were symbols of power and prestige. They allowed kings and nobles to show off their wealth by displaying fine cutlery, extravagant dishes, and a ridiculous amount of food. For the 1387 feast, King Richard II’s team of over three hundred cooks commissioned a grocery list that included:

“Fourteen salted oxen, two fresh oxen, one hundred and twenty sheep, twelve boars, fourteen calves, one hundred forty pigs, three hundred kegs of lard and grease, three tons of salted venison, fifty swans, two hundred forty geese, fifty high-fat capons, eight dozen capons, sixty dozen hens, four hundred large rabbits, four pheasants, five herons, six young goats, five dozen pullets for jelly, twelve dozen pullets for roasting, one hundred dozen pigeons, twelve dozen partridges, eight dozen rabbits, twelve dozen curlews, twelve cranes, wild fowl, one hundred twenty gallons of milk, twelve gallons  of cream, twelve gallons of curds, twelve bushels of apples, and eleven thousand eggs”

A large pig is being bled in preparation for slaughter

A large pig is being bled in preparation for slaughter (Public Domain)

Competition for the French

The Forme of Cury was doubtless a cookbook for the rich and famous. Along with the hundreds of animals needed, several rare and valuable (at the time) spices are called for that could only have been acquired through import or trade, such as nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, pepper, and caraway. Some recipes include ingredients strange even to modern readers, such as cranes, herons, curlews, whales, seals, and dolphins. The manuscript is also the first instance in English writing to mention olive oil and cloves.

In addition to impressing his subjects, King Richard II most certainly wanted to amaze the French, England’s historic enemy. In 1300, a French cookbook had been produced, Le Viandier of Taillevent, that quickly became the standard of fine Medieval dining. The Forme of Cury was intended to compete with the French cookbook. Yet, it still acknowledges French preeminence in the culinary arts in the title, which is French for The Proper Method of Cooking (cuire in Middle French means ‘to cook’).

Le Viandier de Taillevant, from a 15th-century edition.

Le Viandier de Taillevant, from a 15th-century edition. (Public Domain)

The Cookbook

The book was written on a scroll made of vellum, an expensive parchment made of fine calfskin. According to the preamble, the 196 recipes in the cookbook were written with the “assent and avysement of Maisters and phisik and of philosophie at dwelled in his court” (“approval and consent of the masters of medicine and of philosophy that dwelt in his [King Richard II's] court”).

Page from Forme of Cury

Page from Forme of Cury.  (Public Domain)

This statement attests to the ancient belief in the connection between food and medicine. The introduction also explains how the manuscript desires to teach the reader how to make ordinary dishes for everyday consumption - “Common pottages and common meats for the household, as they should be made, craftily and wholesomely” – as well as extravagant dishes for special occasions - “curious potages and meetes and sotiltees for alle maner of States bothe hye and lowe” (“sotiltees” or subtleties are the elaborate, edible sculptures that always feature on banquet tables. They are usually made of sugar pastes, jelly, and waxes). Many of the recipes include meat but 33 are for fish or for vegetarian meals that can be eaten during periods of religious fasting.

Remaining Recipe

King Richard II was eventually deposed by Henry of Bolingbroke, the Duke of Lancaster’s eldest son. The 33-year-old King died of hunger in prison in the year 1400. Many modern adaptations of the medieval recipes can be found, including this one of a dessert known as Pears in Confection, taken from Cook Books a-la-Carte.

Richard II King of England

Richard II King of England

Pears in Confection

 6 large firm cooking pears, peeled, cut in half, and cored

2 cups water or red wine

½ teaspoon red sandalwood powder [turns pears dark read and gives them a pleasant flavor]

1 1/8 cups good-quality Muscatel, Vernaccia, or any sweet heavy wine

½ - ¾ teaspoon powdered ginger

2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar (or more for a thicker syrup)

garnish: pomegranate seeds

 

1.            Boil pears in the water or red wine and sandalwood in a covered pot about 15 minutes or until soft but still firm.  Drain.

2.            Combine sweet wine, ginger, and sugar.  Bring to a boil and cook until syrup is slightly reduced and thickened.

3.            Pour syrup over pears.  Serve warm or cold, garnished with pomegranate seeds.

Serves 6.

Top image: King Richard II, enjoying a grand meal. (bjws.blogspot.com)

By Kerry Sullivan

Sources:

Bailey, Ian, and Leah Hunt. "Oldcook: Forme of Cury and Cookery Books in English." Medieval Cookery Books. Medieval Cookery Books, 2016. Web. 02 Oct. 2016. http://www.oldcook.com/en/medieval-cookery_books_english

Glynn, Fred. "To The King's Taste (The Forme of Cury)." Cookbooks A La Carte. Cookbooks A La Carte, 2009. Web. 02 Oct. 2016. http://www.cookbooks-a-la-carte.com/testbuild/content/kings-taste-forme-cury

The Master-Cook of King Richard II. "The Forme of Cury - Pygg in Sawse Sawge." The British Library. The British Library Board, 14 Aug. 2006. Web. 02 Oct. 2016. http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/texts/cook/medieval/pygghome/pygg.html

The Master-Cooks of King Richard II. "The Forme of Cury." Forme of Cury. Project Gutenberg, 1390. Web. 02 Oct. 2016. http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/foc/

 

Comments

Cindy Renfrew published a pair of cookbooks for people interested in this type of cooking called 'Take A Thousand Eggs' and there has been a group of people online working with these recipes since way back in the USENET days, many of the email conversations are archived at http://www.florilegium.org/ which is also searchable.

Kerry Sullivan's picture

Kerry Sullivan

Kerry Sullivan has a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts and is currently a freelance writer, completing assignments on historical, religious, and political topics.

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