Tag: history

hungrylikethewolfie:

dduane:

wine-loving-vagabond:

A loaf of bread made in the first century AD, which was discovered at Pompeii, preserved for centuries in the volcanic ashes of Mount Vesuvius. The markings visible on the top are made from a Roman bread stamp, which bakeries were required to use in order to mark the source of the loaves, and to prevent fraud. (via Ridiculously Interesting)

(sigh) I’ve seen these before, but this one’s particularly beautiful.

I feel like I’m supposed to be marveling over the fact that this is a loaf of bread that’s been preserved for thousands of years, and don’t get me wrong, that’s hella cool.  But honestly, I’m mostly struck by the unexpected news that “bread fraud" was apparently once a serious concern.

gunhilde:

thebritishnobility:

Richard III : The twisted bones that reveal a king

  • When Richard was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, he was said to have been buried in Greyfriars church, Leicester. But this church was lost until archaeologists excavated a car park and discovered medieval remains. Victorian foundations had almost destroyed the entire grave and the feet were lost, but the bones still promised to provide a treasure trove of information – would they also reveal a king?
  • Richard III was portrayed by Shakespeare as having a hunched back and the skeleton has a striking curvature to its spine. This was caused by scoliosis, a condition which experts say in this case developed in adolescence. Rather than giving him a stoop, it would have made one shoulder higher than the other. Highlighted are the facing sides of the 10th and 11th thoracic vertebrae, showing uneven growth as the spine bent.

 

  • Evidence of a number of wounds were found on the skeleton but the face area was largely unmarked, apart from a sliced cheekbone. The skull has undergone a CT scan and the results will be used to reconstruct the king’s appearance. No portraits made during his lifetime have survived and some later copies show signs of having been altered to make him appear more sinister.
  • The back of the skull shows dramatic injuries. One consists of a hole near the spine, where a large piece of bone has been sliced away by a heavy bladed weapon such as a halberd. This, along with a smaller wound opposite, may well have been a fatal injury. A smaller dent which cracked the inside of the skull, is thought to have been caused by a dagger. There are a further five wounds on the skull, all inflicted around the time of death.

 

  • The teeth of the skeleton have provided important information. As well as evidence of disease and tooth decay, calcified plaque can be analysed for evidence of diet and environment. He had lost several of his back teeth before he died, probably due to dental caries. DNA samples were extracted from the teeth and the right femur to compare with known descendants of Richard’s family. Despite the potential for DNA to degrade, a match was found.

  • Interactive feature produced by Greig Watson, Christine Jeavans, Mick Ruddy, Sophia Domfeh and Paul Kerley.

    Photographs by University of Leicester and Jeff Overs. Portrait of Richard III: Collection of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

I’m sure you’ve all heard lots about this already today, but it’s very exciting, and I couldn’t let the day go by without saying something about the confirmation of the discovery of Richard III’s skeleton, even if it’s just a reblog. As a bone specialist, this is probably my favourite post I’ve seen on the topic so far. So in honour of today’s historic news, here you are. I also saw a very interesting reconstruction of Richard’s face based on his skeleton, which I might try to post up later.

A Fourteenth Century Apple Pie

elvisgrace:

image

From The Forme of Cury: XXVII For to make Tartys in Applis.

Tak gode Applys and gode Spycis and Figys and reysons and Perys and wan they are wel ybrayed colourd with Safron wel and do yt in a cofyn and yt forth to bake wel.  

Modern Redaction:

Filling:

8 large Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced

4 Bartlet pears peeled, cored and sliced

½ cup of raisins

½ cup of figs, sliced

2 tsp cinnamon,

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ginger

¼ tsp cloves   

a pinch of saffron

Pie Shell (modified slightly from “Raising a Coffin”):

2 cups of wheat flour

1 tsp salt

1 cup of butter

½ cup of milk

egg yolks for glazing

Rub a tablespoon of the butter into the flour and salt with your fingertips. Take the remaining butter, and add it to the liquid. Heat the liquid over med. heat until it just breaks a boil, and the butter is melted. Make a well in the flour, dump in the liquid and melted fat, and stir quickly with a wooden spoon to combine. Cover with a cloth to keep it warm, and let the dough rest for 10 minutes or so in a warm place. 

Pinch off two thirds of the very warm dough. Reserve the remaining  third for the lid, in a bowl with a cloth covering it. We will aim for a six- inch base, with sides approx. 4-5 inches high. Pat the dough into a circle. With knuckles, thumbs, palms, and any other means possible, mold the dough into a bowl shape or cylinder. Splay out the top edges slightly. 

Roll the remaining dough into a circle. Flatten out into a seven-inch circle. Cut a one-inch circle in the center. If you have any excess dough, use it to decorate the lid or sides with rosettes, leaves, vines, etc. Score the bottoms of these with a fork, and moisten, then attach to a scored section of the lid. When the pie has been filled, moisten the edges of the base. Put the lid on top. Pinch the edges together. Using a small knife or kitchen shears, cut small, inch deep cuts into the edges, making an even number, all around the edge. Fold every other “notch” down, to make a crenellated edge. Pinch the crenellations to ensure they stay down.

Mix all of the pie filing ingredients together. Pour into the pie shell and cover with the pie lid. Bake at 350º F for one hour. After one hour, glaze the pie shell with the egg yolk for a lovely golden brown color. Return to the oven for another twenty minutes. 

B. Discussion

The pie shell in this recipe is a coffin. The coffin itself was generally not meant to be eaten, as the taste was very bland and only a container for foodstuffs. As Scully suggests, I slightly modified Lis Herr-Gelatt’s coffin recipe to use whole wheat flour. I also do this because the whole wheat flour I use has high protein and gluten amounts so it will hold together well and keep the pie from spilling. Also, while Scully suggests not using butter, I find butter makes the pie easier to form.  

A major difference between this pie and subsequent pies is the lack of sugar in the recipe. While sugar was available in Europe in the 14th century, it was extremely scarce in England and the cost was extremely prohibitive, and even King Henry III had trouble obtaining sugar.  Instead, the pie is somewhat tart as it relies on the sweetness of the fruit and the spice mixture. Since the spices are not clearly indicated, I use cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves as my spice mixture as they are my favorite period spices. The amount and types of spices in the pies would have also been different each time the pie was made in period, depending on the cooks’ preferences and the availability of the spices at hand.

While there are surviving period apple varieties, I am usually unable to obtain any. Instead, I use Golden Delicious apples that are thought to be a descendant of Golden Reniette, a known period sweet apple variety. I use Bartlett pears that may or may not be a period variety of pear. The raisins and figs that I use are also modern varieties.