I'm doing some research for a novel set in 16th century France, where the protagonist is a fictional chef similar to Taillevent. I've done some cursory readings into this- books about spices, fasting, international food influence, etc. Would you know of any particular texts that would be useful for writing about this time and place? I want to know more about
>Kitchen structure
>Societal structure
>Manners
>Poisoning
In particular but I'd be interested in reading anything you have to suggest.
I'm entirely aware that Taillevent isn't 16th c.
>>1215748
Question, what's the story about, like give me the broadest stroke about the plot you got down in your head.
>>1215762
A chef working for a minor- but still quite wealthy- noble who is morally compromised when he is offered a vast sum of money to poison a foreign guest of his lord.
Bump for interest
Seems to me that you need to familiarize yourself with Norbert Ellias, probably the most important historian-sociologist whose life work dealt with the question of the development of Europe's standards of behavior.
See this, (especially the first book which is called The History of Manners)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Civilizing_Process
It is not an easy read (translated from German as well) but it is consider to be very important among scholars of Medieval culture.
Too bad it's not set in the 18th century, there's a perfect book for that: The Expert Cook in Enlightenment France.
>>1216918
Thanks, I'll check it out!
Texts I've read are
>Food in the Middle Ages- A book of essays, edited by Melitta Weiss Adamson
>Curye on Inglysch edited by Constance B Hieatt and Sharon Butler
>Spices and Comfits by Johanna Maria van Winter
Books I plan to read
>Arranging the Meal:A History of Table Service in France by Jean-Louis Flandrin
>Banquetting Stuffe: The fare and social background of the Tudor and Stuart Banquet
>At the Table: Metaphorical and Material Cultures of Food in Medieval and Early Modern Europe edited by Timothy J Tomasik
And then a slew of primary and supplimentary texts
>>1216946
hi anon, this >>1216918 poster has also made me think of a book that you might find valuable. Edward Muir's "ritual in early modern europe" is a great resource for learning about all kinds of rites and practices in Europe during your period of interest. each chapter is followed by large lists of books on the subject covered. One section on the reformation of manners is very valuable for your endeavor. I can post pics of the bibliographies if you so desire
>>1217013
moreover, this huge annotated bibliography on 16th century France:
http://pastebin.com/1p5dy7Ff
>>1217013
>Edward Muir's "ritual in early modern europe
Thank you! I am blessed with access to the British Library so that won't be necessary, but it will be extremely useful. Tyvm
>>1217019
more:
nobility in early modern europe
http://pastebin.com/npw7WSdW
early modern catholicism
http://pastebin.com/aBKZcCP8
Persecution and Martyrdom in the Early Modern Period
http://pastebin.com/naBPsbM3
>>1215748
The and I mean THE book to court manners was written by Olivier de la Marche, shit was so popular Charles V forced it on most of his subjects and the English adopted it too.
Essentially the Duke guy had a 180 strong waiting staff composed entirely out of nobles and gentry, 60 were responsible for bringing food from kitchen to table, 60 were responsible for pouring wine and another 60 were responsible for cutting meat into bit sized chunks so the guests wouldn't have to bother with it. Food was typically served on tin, silver or metal platters at this point, lower class guests (mere mayors, barons and whatnot) had to share a platter between 2 or four of them while those on the high table had one platter per person. All guests had a metal dish or plate though.
Now of course the leading noble always got way to much food, he couldn't finish his entire platter and it was this platter that typically had the most expensive and delicate food. A high honor would be to give or hand out some of the food on your noble platter to other people present during a feast. It would be a good gesture and perhaps more importantly it would be visible for everyone present. I am not sure if handing out wine was done like this too, however you could simply have one of the five or ten servant in your small household poison a bit of wine couldn't you?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnXUMNEGNvE
>>1217054
I read an account of the Vow of the Pheasant by la Marche, it was absolutely bizarre.DO you have a link to his book? Or his works in general?
>>1217062
No sadly I do not.
I have yet to find a new translation of it, specifically one that I can afford.
I do agree that his description of court stuff makes GoT look downright peasant tier.
>>1217054
but castiglione tho...
>>1217046
np. back with more recs on the reception of Castiglione's best seller "the courtier" among the nobility
>The Courtier is one of the most influential of all Italian Renaissance literary texts. Its influence extended across all Europe and was far-reaching in the early modern period. The book has been republished on innumerable occasions, commented on, translated, and adapted to changed historical circumstances. Burke 1995 provides the most accessible general account of this influence. Other scholars have studied the ways in which the Courtier was adapted to particular national cultures. Gosman 1997 discusses the Spanish connection in relation to Boscán in a comparative context. Hinz 2009 examines Castiglione and Boscán as the founding authors of European notions of civility. Ley 1990 provides a thorough survey of the German reception of Castiglione in the early modern period. Merolla 1994 and Salvadè 2006 trace the changes to the ways in which the Courtier was interpreted and rewritten in 17th- and 18th-century Italy. No English translations of the foreign-language citations in this section are available as of the early 21st century.
Burke, Peter. The Fortunes of the “Courtier”: The European Reception of Castiglione’s “Cortegiano.” Cambridge, UK: Polity, 1995.
>A lucid introductory account of the Courtier, particularly outside Italy (although its history inside the peninsula is not completely ignored). Burke covers translations into the major European languages, as well as adaptations of the text to different cultures throughout the early modern period.
>>1217191
Gosman, Martin. “Obedience and Social Identity: Some Treatises on the Perfect Courtier (ca. 1530–1630).” In The Propagation of Power in the Medieval West: Selected Proceedings of the International Conference, Groningen, 20–23 November 1996, 35–63. Groningen, The Netherlands: Egbert Forsten, 1997.
>Gosman examines conduct books by Baldassarre Castiglione, Giovanni Della Casa, Nicolas Faret, and Baltasar Gracián. His study shows how these authors, each in his or her own fashion, cemented the position of the nobility. This was achieved through creating the criteria by which the elite could distinguish themselves from other social categories.
Hinz, Manfred. “Castiglione, Gracián, and the Foundations of Gentlemanly Manners in Early Modern Europe.” In Civilizing America. Manners and Civility in American Literature and Culture. Edited by Dietmar Schloss, 1–18. Heidelberg, Germany: Universitätsverlag Winter, 2009.
>The author argues that the irony and ambiguity of the Courtier are erased in later works on manners (Della Casa, Gracián, and Matteo Peregrini).
