The Honorable Lady Elisabetta Foscari details her recent intimate Italian dinner for friends in her entry in the category Do you think because you are virtuous, that there shall be no more cakes and ale? In her words:
“I chose to cook a dinner party for some friends using recipes from Scappi. Below are the pdfs of my write up of the meal.
Introduction and Course one: cena1
Course 2: cena2
Course 3 and Reference list: cena3“
Solvi shares a hand woven front dress that her persona may have worn in the category “with silken coats, and caps, and golden rings, with ruffs, and cuffs, and farthingales, and things.”
Materials and techniques:
Using a rigid heddle loom and some wool given to me I wove a front panel of a dress.
The rest of the dress is fabric that was also given to me. My challenge to myself was to make a wearable garment with that fabric and since the fabric wasn’t enough I decided to have a go at weaving a front panel.
Persona Inspiration:
My persona is from the early Viking age.
Solvi enjoys weaving and exploring possible fashion looks and enjoys wearing her creations. She is a creative type and often wears out of the ordinary viking fashion making the locals talk – “Well that isn’t traditional” and “That’s different”
Solvi has two pairs of shoes to enter in the category “with silken coats, and caps, and golden rings, with ruffs, and cuffs, and farthingales, and things.” In her own words:
“Iron age shoes – for summer
Viking shoes – for winter
Materials and techniques (how was the item made and what materials were used):
My iron age shoes and Viking shoes were made using
Based on the pictures I have seen on pinterest while doing a quick search for viking/middle age shoes. These shoes are based on those looks.
Because of my high arch I also made myself some arch supports with leather and leather leftovers. Custom made is so awesome.
I added the rope soles as the leather was a bit slippery on a lot of surfaces and the last thing I wanted was to end up on my bottom at events. 😉 and the rope soles add grip as well as helps the shoes last a little longer. Sisal rope is hard wearing. That technique of adding rope soles is used in the 13th century. Its origins can be traced to the Occitania and Catalonia areas of the Pyrenees on the Spanish and French border. Ref: https://startupfashion.com/fashion-archives-a-look-at-the-history-of-espadrilles/ As most things ended up on the silk road I thought that these type of “technologies” would have been combined sooner or later, in true viking form…. Not necessarily documented in texts and in visual arts which we often refer to.
I have tested both these pairs of shoes on most surfaces…. Tarseal, shingle, gravel, wood walkways, carpet, lino and grass. All but lino are great and safe to walk on – Lino is still slippery but I could add some silicone to the bottom if I am too worried about it.
Persona Inspiration (when and where is the persona from, and how might they have
used / experienced this item):
My persona is from the early Viking age.
Solvi’s husband is a merchant on the Silk Road, is away for many months, and often brings home goods for the love of his life. Sometimes in the form of leather, fabrics and other useful items. Solvi needs shoes for both summer and winter to keep her feet protected from the elements. So she made these shoes for her own comfort to wear. Solvi likes combining different techniques to improve comfort, safety and practicality…. Sometimes looks…. May be one day those plain winter shoes could be altered with a pretty design on the top, when she figures out how, and when she has the time.”
Solvi enters two ancient games she has made in the category of “What revels are in hand? Is there no play, To ease the anguish of a torturing hour?” Solvi has this to say of her creations:
“Project
Royal Game of Ur and Hnefatafl
Both Games from ancient times. Largely found on the silk road and in viking homes.
Materials and techniques: (how was the item made and what materials were used):
Royal Game of Ur:
After watching a video on youtube by the British Museum I was intrigued by the game named above. I searched for a copy to buy but unfortunately everywhere was sold out. So after i was given some wood (MDF) i had decided to give wood working a go and make one.
My version of the Royal Game of Ur is made by hand, sawn and carved and coloured (with inks) the game pieces are wood circles that I found in the cheaps shops ($2 type ones – laser cut circles) and the dice were ones bought and I altered the according to the dice that were used on the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHjznvH54Cw As often as I do I did add some runes for my viking persona… a personal touch.
Hnefatafl:
Being more curious and loving board games I searched up more medieval games and came across a viking game. I saw it played on a program “vikings” (on netflix) looked it up and it was an actual game! So excited I started planning on how I was going to make it. I was given some leather so went ahead and made a board that converted into a pouch to hold all the pieces.
The Board itself is a leather round piece drawn together with a wooden toggle (wooden button) and waxed cording. The pieces once again were glued together laser cut circles from the shop. The board was drawn on with permanent ink pens.
Both games were recently played during a down time at Golden Flight 2019 by various people.
Persona Inspiration:
My persona is from the early Viking age.
Solvi’s husband is a merchant on the Silk road, is away for many months and often brings home goods for the love of his life. Solvi when not weaving or sewing goods to sell or give to the local populace, enjoys a good board game with close friends in the evenings.”
I do remember an apothecary…
And in his needy shop a tortoise hung,
An alligator stuff’d, and other skins
Of ill-shaped fishes; and about his shelves
A beggarly account of empty boxes,
Green earthen pots, bladders and musty seeds,
Remnants of packthread and old cakes of roses,
Were thinly scatter’d to make up a show.
Mistress katherine kerr’s printers’ mark is an item used in an occupation, trade, or task, e.g. a tool, equipment, etc, and she describes it purpose and developmet:
“Father was always interested in Things Mechanikal and invested some money in a printing operation in Venice. When we returned to Scotland, he brought a small press with him and I grew up watching the activity in the workshop. It stood me good stead for taking over the operations, and I now have a printers’ mark of my own which will appear on my works.
Printers’ marks arrived with the birth of printing as a means of identifying the printer responsible for the works. The most famous is that of Aldus Manutius, the anchor and the dolphin of the Aldine Press in Venice (Williams pg 220-222). Many examples of printers’ marks bear a close resemblance to each other (eg Georg Wolf Paris 1494; de Bougne Angers 1500, Julian Notary London 1507, Jean Granjon Paris 1517).
They include a tripartite circle standing for the globe (being Europe, Asia and Africa), and a 4; the meaning of the latter is not definitively known. I have heard it said it is the alchemical symbol for antimony, the “magic” substance which made lead type functional, but it doesn’t match the symbol I’ve seen for the substance.
I’ve based my printers’ mark on the extant example, with some subtle references. It has the tripartite world containing my initials (as per Wolf, Notary and Granjon); the K is taken from the first Roman type used, the 1470 Venetian type designed by Nicholas Jenson.
The 4 comes from the Aldine typeface Bembo, made by Francesco Griffo in 1495, and used in the fabulous Hypnerotomachia Poliphi, still considered one of the most beautiful examples of the printers’ art ever.
The flowery cross is a reference to the map convention of pointing towards a cardinal point (typically a cross for East and Jerusalem, a fleur-de-lis for North); cartography is a strong interest of mine. The actual cross artwork is based on the croce used on the obverse of the Venetian scudo coin, this particular one having been issued by Doge Andrea Gritti (in office 1528-1538, or for most of katherine’s time in Venice 1526-1536)”
An entry by Master Brian, in the category of “Is this a dagger I see before me?” He provides this video and accompanying explanation:
https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwFEj7Dpysaud7CX-y1751xpv6GmTozC51yLK0VozDPjaMxZ5BcWcOcThkktTICED6vS0pA8mmZ521NOYQRAqLhHONd3XEaXIjLHcFbSJFzWmlMDZK_sBsuOxjOlqTJSiCzEOtn
“This is a Chinese repeater crossbow. Due to the relatively low poundance of the crossbows they were not so effective against armoured opponents. However, with poison tipped bolts it was suited to home defence by the lady of the house, or to deter brigands from a merchant caravan.
Trading in the Mongol controlled port of Caffa, oriental items like this would show up, and were good to keep on hand when relations with the mongols went sour.”
What revels are in hand? Is there no play, To ease the anguish of a torturing hour? Mistress katherine kerr enters a box of “games, toys, and other such entertainments”. In her own words:
“To keep me amused as a child, my father would play dice with me, using the games common in the Venetian lands in which we lived. I have a set of dice, as well as some French playing cards and jetons and other tokens to play the Game of Goose, Marienbad and other games, though of course I do not gamble when playing.
I have made up a small box of games of the kind Katherine may have played, including rules for various dice and card games; a set of Pierre Marechal’s playing cards (France, 1567); a set of juggling balls and some dice and throwing sticks presented to me by the very creative Lord Ronan mac Briain.”
Baronessa Isabel Maria enters her games box in the category “What revels are in hand? Is there no play, To ease the anguish of a torturing hour?”
Purpose
“At longer events it is not unusual to find yourself with nothing specific to do. While many times a pleasant conversation can be found, sometimes it is necessary to find a way to while away the time. As a child, I was usually directed towards board or card games, so I was curious to know what similar pastimes Isabel Maria might be familiar with. Once I started looking, I found there was a variety of amusements from the 16th century, many of which I have slowly been collecting.
Game Box Contents
Alquerque board (not shown), Gluckhaus board (based on the one found here), chessboard, decks of cards (in both the German and Spanish styles), pewter dice, knucklebones (my childhood set), Nine Men’s Morris (a gift from my parents), noughts & crosses (a gift) and dominos, as well as some instructions for various games – particularly card games.
Also included are jettons and limited numbers of various imitation Spanish coins of the 16th century, with which to better enjoy the period passtime of gambling, but without the attendant risk of financial ruin.
As many games and accoutrement as possible are stored in appropriate wooden boxes, metal containers or cloth bags of varying refinement.
Construction & Shopping
This project is more of a journey than a destination – this collection is constantly being added to, refined and curated to meet the needs of either my persona or various events. For example, a recent addition is the the alquerque board (see a forthcoming entry for that), and before that, a deck of late 16th German cards, (printed on card but without plastic coatings) to complement my Spanish deck (printed with modern finishes).
Verdict
I like having a variety of ways to pass the time between activities at events, or during the evenings at Canterbury Faire. Gluckhaus is a particular favourite.”
Resources
Not just an item of food or drink your persona may have grown, prepared, consumed, or known of, Meistern Christian has entered a whole feast in the category “Do you think because you are virtuous, that there shall be no more cakes and ale?”
Persona period inspiration and use:
A friend wanted to host a Christmas event with a meal (Southron Gaard, Festa de Natale, December 2018). He wanted a menu suitable for his Lady’s persona, i.e. late 1570’s Italian noblewoman. I chose to follow Scappi, a chef to various cardinals and pope’s, whose Opera dell’arte del cucinare was published in 1570.
I used Scappi’s recipes and menus to construct a feasibly accurate light summer celebration meal for Italy in the 1570’s.
Design, Materials and Construction:
I reviewed all the translated menus from Scappi I could find, and established the appropriate number of courses and dishes for a light feast. I reviewed the dishes on those menus, and arranged them as to the appropriate course in which they should appear (certain dishes appear only in certain courses). From those lists I selected a long list of the dishes I preferred. Christmas in Italy is obviously not in summer, so some flexibility was necessary in selecting recipes from both the summer and December menus.
I then narrowed down the long list of recipes balancing an authentic light Scappi summer menu with the modern constraints / considerations of the event: a menu of light dishes and salads appropriate for a warm summer evening, a balanced menu (for modern tastes), recipes I liked, available seasonal produce, preparation time and cooking facilities, recipes with a nod to Christmas (period or modern Christmas) and keeping a low ticket price in mind.
Here is the menu from the feast:
Primo servitio di credenza (First service from the sideboard):
Primo et ultimo servito di cucina (First and last service from the kitchen)
Secondo et ultimo servitio di credenza (Second and last service from the sideboard):
Here is a link to an article in FTT with some recipes from the event.
Reference:
The Opera of Bartolomeo Scappi (1570): L’arte et prudenza d’un maestro cuoco (The Art and Craft of a Master Cook), Lorenzo Da Ponte Italian Library, University of Toronto Press, 2011, Terence Scully.
As a companion piece to the “M&M” dress, Meisterin Christian enters a beaded brustfleck as an accessory her persona may have owned, made, used, or gifted in the category “With scarfs, and fans, and double change of bravery, With amber bracelets, beads, and all this knavery.”
Persona period inspiration and use:
Christian is a woman of the court in early 16th C Saxony. Clothing of women of this court are recorded in art of the time, most notably (but not exclusively) in the portraits of Lucas Cranach.
The Brustfleck (Breast piece) or Brusttuch (Breast cloth) is the decorated piece that covered the front openings of clothing, over the linen layer, found in many styles, in early to mid 16thC German women’s clothing, including the clothing of Saxony.
Brustflecks for Saxon court gowns of this period are generally made from brocade and are variously decorated with slashing, pearls, and embroidery. Pearl embroidery could be in geometric or floral/pictorial designs.
Christian has a number of brustflecks, but not a floral/pictorial one. I’ve been meaning to do one of these for ages, but I’m fairly inexpert at embroidery, and there were times in the past where obtaining small real pearls was difficult and expensive. This brustfleck was made for the M&M dress (one of the illustrated dresses has a floral/pictorial brustfleck, while the other has a geometric design).
Design, Materials and Construction:
Design: the particular design here is copied from the dress of Emilia in Lucas Cranach the Elder’s portrait of Sibylla, Emilia and Sidonia of Saxony, 1535. This is a fairly common design, with scrolling flowers and two heraldic dolphins. I am a member of the Order of the Dolphin of Caid, in fact I received two Dolphins, so this design seemed appropriate.
Materials: the Brustfleck is from made from a gold metal thread and black silk brocade (matching that of the dress guards), interlined with linen canvas, and is lined with fine linen.
Construction: the brocade was interlined with canvas. The design was simplified and modified to fit the size of the brustfleck and the available pearls. The design was transferred to the fabric, the embroidery is done in several sizes and shapes of freshwater pearls, and outlined in fine gold cord. The whole was then lined with linen.
Reference:
