Medieval Cooking

This is my very early research for the feast that will be served on 25 October 2009 at the Agincourt event that will be held in the Greater Pittsburgh area (Barony Marche of the Debatable Lands). Not everything here will be 100% accurate, and will be supplemented with subsequent research.

There is a story that says that in the few days prior to the battle at Agincourt the French held a feast to celebrate their upcoming victory over the English. The French were not entirely out of line by doing this, their army was tens of thousands strong, while the English Army numbered in the thousands and had been engaged in a battle at Harfleur. The English Army was also suffering from dysentery, which they had picked up in Harfleur. Additionally, the English Army’s route to Agincourt had taken a significantly longer time than originally expected due to the river near Abbyville had flooded and they were not able to take that as a direct route to the field at Agincourt. This extra time had significantly depleted the food supply of the English, who were on enemy soil and unable to supplement their rations.

The French Army were well supplied and somewhat rested as they hadn’t been marching miles out of their way and had not been engaged in a recent battle. The French supply line included the bounty of the French countryside and the assistance of the French people. They were also unaffected by dysentery, increasing their chances of winning. I was unable to find if the French were aware of this physical advantage, but considering that Harfleur had been lost to the English and the disease was ravaging the residents of that city, it is not out of the realm of reason to assume that the French would have known that there was the possibility.

Both armies brought with them a number of servants to attend to them during campaign and those servants would have been employed in the amassing of supplies and the preparation and service of the food. The presence of these servants would have left the soldiers free to focus on fighting, rather than in the acquisition of supplies.

During the Autumn months, the countryside itself would have been in a state of harvest, increasing the availability of a variety of foods for the French Army. The countryside would also have a number of wild animals that could have been hunted for such a feast. The variety of animals that they would have had available to them include: deer, rabbits, and wild pig. There would have also been the availability of vegetables such as parsnips, carrots, and other autumn vegetables.

My focus for this feast is to provide a sampling of the bounty of the French countryside befitting the station of not only the attendees, but for the presence of the people who will be King and Queen. This event is particularly special because the King and Queen have Fourteenth Century personae and I have heard that the King’s persona died at the battle of Agincourt.

I am relying greatly on James Prescott’s translation of Le Viander de Taillevent (http://www.telusplanet.net/public/prescotj/data/viandier/viandier1.html) and Janet Hinson’s translation of Le Menagier de Paris (http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Menagier/Menagier_Contents.html) for the recipes for this feast as well as information from “Medieval Hunting” by Richard Almond for information about hunting during that period of time.

I am still in the process of setting the final menu, but these dishes are ones that I will be including at this time:

Roast Hares
Without washing it, lard it and roast it; eat it with Cameline [Sauce] or Saupiquet [Sauce] (to wit, add some finely chopped onions, wine, verjuice and a bit of vinegar to the drippings in the pan). Throw it on the hare when it is roasted, or put it in bowls. Some baste them when they are roasting with the same sauce as for a Bourblier of Boar. In a pie, parboil them in large pieces and lard them. Eat them with Cameline [Sauce]. (Trans. Prescott)

Decorated Rice for a Fish Day
Pick over the rice, wash it very well in hot water, dry it near the fire, and cook it in simmering cow’s milk. Crush some saffron (for reddening it), steep it in your milk, and add stock from the pot. (Trans. Prescott)

Pipesfarces (breaded, fried cheese)
Take egg yolks and flour and salt, and a little wine, and beat together strongly, and cheese chopped in thin slices, and then roll the slices of cheese in the batter, and then fry in an iron skillet with oil in it. This can also be made using beef marrow. (Trans. Hinson)

This is a thin offering for now, but I will be updating with more detailed information as I select the dishes for the feast. My greatest hurdle is the absence of vegetable dishes in the primary sources I am using and will require that I reach outside of those references for recipes.