Fren-Bird-Pie-art - 4/18/20

A 14thC French bird pie recipe.  From Le Menagier de Paris (circa 1393).

NOTE: See also the files:  meat-pies-msg, Ital-Stuffing-art, meat-stuffed-msg, Parthian-Lamb-art, rabbit-dishes-msg, stews-bruets-msg, fish-pies-msg, duck-goose-msg.

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    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1998 12:15:13 -0500
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - translation please (Long!)

Hello, all!

Here I am in my Captain Ahab aspect, determined to slog through this passage from a language I know very little about. For those interested in how it was done, first I ran the passage through Power Translator F.E., and got certified gobbledegook. I then ran the gobbledegook through  a paperback Larousse French-English/English-French Dictionary, and then through Terence Scully's glossary from his translation of Taillevent. A couple of judgment calls were made based on a fair basic culinary knowledge, which by then had the passage looking vaguely like a recipe. Then I ran it by my EXTREMELY patient wife, who speaks French and has far more common sense than I ever will, and got this. First the French, again:

On Tue, 3 Mar 1998, Cindy Renfrow wrote:
> Hello!  I found this interesting tidbit in the footnotes to Le Menagier de
> Paris (circa 1393),  Jérome Pichon, ed.,1846.  The recipe is given in 2
> facing columns - I can't tell whether we're to read down or across.
> Translation please anyone?

"De service, à servir en grand repas? - Gaces de la Bugne, premier chapelain des rois Jean, Charles V et Charles VI, mort en 1383 ou 1384, a donné dans son Livre des déduits, commencé en 1359 et fini entre 1373 et 1377, une recette de pâté assez détaillée pour figurer utilement ici.

Si puis dire que grant profit
Peut bien venir de tel déduit,
Car on peut faire un tel pasté
Qu'onques meilleur un fut tasté;
Et pour ce ne me vueil pas taire
Qu'au jeune ne l'apreigne à faire.
Trois perdriaulx gros et reffais
Ou millieu du pasté me mets,
Mais gardes bien que tu ne failles
A moy prendre six grosses cailles
De quoy tu les apuyeras:
Et puis après tu me prendras
Une douzaine d'alouetes
Qu'environ les cailles me mettes.
Et puis prendras de ces machès
Et de ces petis oiselès:
Selon ce que tu en auras,
Le pasté m'en billeteras.

Or te fault faire pourvéance
D'un pou de lart, sans point de rance,
Que tu tailleras comme dés:
S'en sera le pasté pouldrés.
Se tu le veulx de bonne guise,
De verjus la grappe y soit mise,
D'un bien poy de sel soit poudré,
Si en sera plus savouré.
Se tu veulx que du pasté taste
Fay mettre des oeufs en la paste;
Les croutes, un poi rudement,
Faictes de flour de pur froument,
Et se veulx faire comme saige,
N'y met espices ne fromaige:
Ou four bien à point chaut le met,
Qui de cendre ait l'atre bien net;
Et quant sera bien à point cuit
Il n'est si bon mengier, ce cuit."

And now the English:

"What courses, to serve in great repasts? -Gaces of the Bugne, first chaplain to Kings John, Charles V and Charles VI, died in 1383 or 1384, has written in his Book of Conclusions, begun in 1359 and finished between 1373 and 1377, a receipt for exactly as much pie as will be useful here.

So then to tell that great profit
Can well come from such conclusions,
Because one can make such a pasty
The best that was ever tasted;
And for this don’t make me wait
Lest the inexperienced not learn how to make it.
Three partridges large and plumped [scalded?]
Placed in the middle of the pasty
But be sure you do not fail
To take six large quail
Lay them thereon as you wish:
And then after that you take
A dozen larks
And put them in around the quail
And then take of these tidbits
And these small birds:
According to whatever you have,
Roll out the dough.

Whereupon you should purchase
A bit of fat bacon, not at all rancid,
That you will carve as dice:
So it will be sprinkled on the dough.
If you want it in good form,
Verjuice of grapes is put there,
A good kernel of salt is powdered,
So it will be more savory.
If you wish that the pastry should taste of it,
Make the dough with eggs;
The crust, coarse as peas,
Made of flour of pure wheat,
And if it is to be made properly,
Do not put in spices nor cheese:
When it is good and hot, put it in the oven,
Whose hearth has been well cleaned of ashes;
And cook it until perfectly done
As good a food can’t be cooked.

There are probably some errors in the translation, but I think they are minor...I don't suggest anyone base a PhD thesis on it. I'd say its accuracy is mostly more colloquial than literal. If there are any specific complaints, perhaps a letter to your congressman would help ; ) .

Thanks for your time and patience...
Adamantius


Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1998 12:23:54 -0500
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - translation please [addendum] Re: SC - translation please Re: SC - translation please

It's me again...

It occurred to me it might be helpful to mention a couple of known rough spots in the translation I posted earlier.

Basically they are these:

1) Due to differences between old and modern French, it wasn't really clear to me which times the recipe referred to the dough, and which time it referred to the final construct, or even a construct in progress. Basically the same word was used for both paste and pasty.

2) As a result, I'm still not sure whether the pastry dough is to be made with eggs, which would make some sense, or the pie is filled with eggs to bind the other filling ingredients, which would also make some degree of sense.

Maybe someone else can clarify these points...

Adamantius

[Stefan - If someone has or would like to write up a redaction for this recipe, I'd love to add it to this file.]

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Edited by Mark S. Harris	Fren-Bird-Pie-art	4 of 4