Book of Days Tales

Today is Epiphany or Three Kings or some such, but I covered end of Christmas on Twelfth Night (yesterday), so we can move on. But . . . we can also keep the kingship theme alive by talking about Richard II of England.  Richard was born on this date in 1367 and certainly comes under the rubric of a “bad king.” Richard of Bordeaux was king of England from 1377 until he was deposed on 30^th September 1399. Richard, a son of Edward, the Black Prince, was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III. Richard was the younger brother of Edward of Angoulême. Upon the death of this elder brother, Richard—at four years of age—became second in line to the throne after his father. Then, upon the death of Richard’s father prior to the death of Edward III, Richard, by primogeniture, became the heir apparent to the throne. With Edward III’s death the following year, Richard succeeded to the throne at the age of ten.

Richard’s posthumous reputation has to a large extent been shaped by Shakespeare, whose play Richard II portrays Richard’s misrule and his deposition by Bolingbroke as responsible for the 15^th century Wars of the Roses. Modern historians do not accept this interpretation, however, but neither do they exonerate Richard from responsibility for his own deposition. Most scholars agree that, even though his policies were not unprecedented or entirely unrealistic, the way in which he carried them out was unacceptable to the political establishment, and this led to his downfall. He was a fatal mix of brutal and incompetent.

Our main source of 14^th century recipes is Forme of Cury (Forms of Cooking), an extensive recipe collection whose authors are given as “the chief Master Cooks of King Richard II.” The original roll was written in late Middle English (circa 1390) on vellum and gives 205 recipes. You can find it here:

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8102/pg8102-images.html

It’s a great resource to peruse at leisure. I do notice that more often than not recipes for roast poultry or small animals begin by roasting the bird or animal whole then disjointing it and finishing the cooking by simmering in broth. The resultant broth is then made into a sauce to accompany the meat. Saffron, pepper, and cloves are very common spices. Here’s one I like:

CAPOUNS IN COUNCYS. XXII.

Take Capons and rost hem right hoot þat þey be not half y nouhz and hewe hem to gobettes and cast hem in a pot, do þerto clene broth, seeþ hem þat þey be tendre. take brede and þe self broth and drawe it up yferer [together], take strong Powdour and Safroun and Salt and cast þer to. take ayrenn [eggs] and seeþ hem harde. take out the zolkes and hewe the whyte þerinne, take the Pot fro þe fyre and cast the whyte þerinne. messe the disshes þerwith and lay the zolkes hool and flour it with clowes.

Easy enough to understand, I hope. In simple language – roast the capons halfway, then chop them in pieces and simmer them in broth until tender. Remove the meat from the broth and keep it warm. Thicken the broth with breadcrumbs (other recipes call for rice flour), and season it with “strong powder,” saffron and salt. Strong powder was variable, but a mix of pepper and ginger (or cinnamon) was common. Hard boil some eggs, remove the yolks whole, and mince the whites. Mix the whites into the sauce. Serve the capon with the sauce, garnished with whole egg yolks and sprinkled with powdered cloves. Nothing to it.