Tinkling clay and tinkling glass

In 2013 I wrote on a curious 15th century French clay beaker with rings that made a tinkling sound. Supposedly this was to draw the attention of a barmaid to refill the beaker with whatever beverage that was in it. Some weeks ago I discovered some glass equivalents of the clay beaker. They date from the 17th century and now reside in the collection of the Corning Museum of Glass. Apparently this type of drinking vessel kept some popularity over the centuries.

 

An octagonal beaker made of colourless soda-lime glass with a thin trail wrapped around entire bowl; three loops are applied to alternating facets of the cup, from which movable rings are suspended. Origin Germany. Height: 8.8 cm, Width: 9.3 cm, Diameter: 8.5 cm.

 

(Left) A goblet made from heavily crizzled clear glass, producing a pale pink tinge. There are six loops applied around bowl of which three hold crimped rings. Height: 12.8 cm; Rim Diameter: 5.9 cm; Foot Diameter: 7.8 cm. (Right)  A goblet probably originating from the Netherlands dating between 1650 and 1700. The goblet is  made from colourless non-lead glass with six applied loop handles, four of them holding loose milled glass rings. Height: 17.6 cm; Diameter (rim): 8.4 cm, Diameter (foot): 9.1 cm.

Goblet made of clear glass with many minute bubbles with applied and tooled decoration. Three small loop handles arching over the rigaree band, three more loop handles holding rigaree rings applied to the top of the glass. Height: 16.7 cm; Diameter (rim): 7.9 cm, Diameter (foot): 8.9 cm.

Medieval mussels

It all began when we found a book on excavations in Arnemuiden, the town Anne was born. Among the finds at the harbours edge was a curious red earthenware pot, dating from the late middle ages. A similar pot had been found in the nearby city of Middelburg. As this type of pot was only found in  Zeeland, a delta province with (during medieval times) lots of small islands and fisher-folk, and plenty of opportunity to gather (free) mussels around the shore, it was thought to be a pan used to cook mussels. As we happen to like cooked mussels, and this was a medieval pot from Anne's home town, we wanted to add a replica of this mussel pot to our cooking inventory. We looked if there was a potter that was willing to make the replica and ended up at Atelier Jera, run by Elly van Leeuwen from Leiden, the Netherlands.

 A red earthenware 'mussels bowl' with lead-glazing inside standing on three rims. Dated around 1375-1450. 

Middelburg, Berghuijskazerne, now in the Zeeuws Museum, Middelburg, the Netherlands.

The red earthenware 'mussels bowl' with lead glazing found in Arnemuiden, the Netherlands. 

Dated around 1350-1450. The sizes are recalculated based on maximum diameter provided.

She made a very beautifully crafted replica of the mussels bowl, as well as a replacement for our jack-dawed milk bowl. Her bowl is slightly smaller, 28 cm diameter and 11 cm high. We tested our new mussels pot on our next event in Eindhoven. Of course using a medieval recipe for mussels. Below we provide the recipes for three different medieval dishes containing mussels.

Our mussels bowl replica made by Elly van Leeuwen.

You might wonder how mussels gathered around the shore would end up fresh in the mainland (e.g. around the Historic Open Air Museum in Eindhoven). There is some evidence that mussels were transported during medieval times in barrels filled with salt water. This prevented them from being spoiled.

Last weekend in the Historic Open Air Museum in Eindhoven we tried two of the three medieval mussels recipes that are provided below.

Cawdel of Muskels

This is an interesting recipe for mussels and leeks in almond milk, from 'the Forme of Cury' an English cookbook from the 14th century (recipe 127). The modern adaptation is from 'Pleyn delit' by Constance B. Hieatt, Brenda Hosington and Sharon Butler (ISBN 0-8020-7632-7).

Cawdel of muskels, a tasty soup-like recipe.

Take and seep muskels; pyke hem clene, and waisshe hem clene in wyne. Take almaundes & bray hem. Take somma of the muskels and grynde hem, & some hewe smale; drawe the muskels yground with the self broth. Wryng the almaundes with faire water. Do alle thise togider; do therto verjous and vyneger. Take whyte of lekes & perboile hem wel; wryng oute the water and hewe hem smale. Cast oile therto, with oynouns perboiled & mynced smale; do therto powder fort, saffroun & salt a lytel. Seep it, not to stondyng, & messe it forth.  

Add salt and saffron and boil the mussels. They are ready when they are open.

• 1/2 cup of ground almonds
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1-1.5 kg mussels in shell
• 2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
• 3-4 leeks, washed and thinly sliced
• 1 bottle of dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon each ground ginger, all spice, and pepper.

Take the mussels out of their shell and chop them to pieces.

Draw thick almond milk from the ground almonds and water. Soak mussels in cold water and discard those that open prematurely. Put them in a large pot with leeks, onions, wine, vinegar, salt and saffron. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer until the shells open (about 5 minutes). Stain broth through a cheesecloth and reserve. shell mussels and discard the shells. Chop onions and leeks and sauté them them gently in oil for a few minutes. Meanwhile grind (blend) half the cooked mussels with a small amount of the broth. Chop the remaining mussels more coarsely with a knife. Combine all of these ingredients with the almond milk, adding broth if more liquid seems needed. Simmer gently to reheat, stirring constantly; do not overcook. Season to taste.

Saute the onions and leeks.

Mussels in the shell

The following is a recipe for cooked mussels from Manuscript M.S. B.L. Harleian H4016, recipe 106 of around 1450. Taken from the book 'The culinary recipes of medieval England' by Constance B. Hieatt (ISBN 978-1-909248-30-4).

Take and pick over good mussels and put them in a pot; 
add them to minced onions and a good quantity of pepper and wine, and a little vinegar. 
As soon as they begin to gape, take them from the fire, and serve hot in a dish with the same broth.

The mussels in the shell were made using the new mussels bowl.

This recipe is, in fact, much alike the modern cooked mussels. Mussels are boiled in white wine, together with a drop of vinegar, some vegetables (for example onions) and spices (pepper). When the shell is open they are ready to eat. You can use an empty open shell as pincers to pry another mussel out of its shell. The use of vinegar and pepper gives it a interesting twist from the modern cooked mussels.

'Ein hofelich spise von Ostren' (jugged mussels)

This mussels recipe stems from medieval France and was taken from the German book 'Wie man eyn teutsches Mannsbild bey Kräfften hält' by H.J. Fahrenkamp (ISBN 3-89996-264-8). The recipes in this book seem genuine, but the author is lax in providing the exact sources.

• 1.5 kg mussels
• 3-4 tablespoons oil
• 1 medium sized onion 
• 100 g breadcrumbs
• 1/2 l dry white wine
• 1-2 tablespoons wine vinegar
• some bay leaf, parsley and tarragon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• a bit of saffron
• white pepper, salt

 Wash the mussels and throw away the ones with an open shell. Put the rest in a large pan with some oil and heat strongly for around 5 minutes, while shaking the pan, until the shell have opened. Throw away the unopened ones. Take the pan from the fire and put through a sieve, catching the mussel-oil liquid in a bowl. Take the muscles from the shell and set aside. Cut the onion in fine pieces and stir fry them in a little oil. Add the breadcrumbs and stir. Add the wine and vinegar and the herbs and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the herbs and use a mixer to make a smooth purée. If necessary add the mussel-oil liquid. Add the spices, keeping in mind that none should give a dominant flavour. Add the mussels to the sauce and reheat the mixture slowly.








Medieval mussels with St. Ambrose in the Book of Hours of Catherina of Cleves, by the Utrecht Master of Catherina of Cleves, Ms. M. 917, page 244. Note that the crab has too many legs.   

Medieval table manners

When you attend a feast at the lords castle, you will need to behave and show that you have table manners. One of the things was (and still is) that you had to wash your hands. From the 12th until the late 14th century, an aquamanile was used to hold and pour water (aqua) over the hands (manile), although the name aquamanile for the vessel was invented in the 19th century. The real name of the vessel was lavoratorium, and the bowl receiving the water was called manilia. The aquamanile was a heavily decorated vessel, often cast in bronze or brass in the form of animals like lions, griffins, stags, or men. They were a luxurious show-piece on the lords table. For more humble lords (or guild-masters) less expensive aquamaniles were made from baked clay. That aquamaniles were also used by medieval citizens is shown by the fact that they were mentioned in two (of sixty) inventories of the city of Deventer, the Netherlands. One of such a stoneware aquamanile we encountered during a visit to the Kolnischen Stadtmuseums in 2012.

The Kolner aquamanile is 16.2 cm high and 17.5 cm long. It has a light yellow glaze with orange-brown spots. The inside is also glazed orange-brown. Dated 13th century. 

Also in the Netherlands medieval stoneware aquamaniles were found: a very beautiful one in Castle Hoensbroek and two others are on display in the Booijmans van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam. These are shown below as well as some other from the Victoria and Albert museum in London.

Two aquamaniles from the Booijmans van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Left: An aquamanile dating around 1200-1300, made from white earthenware and glazed with a copper-oxide leadglaze. Size 18 cm. Right: A stoneware aquamanile dating from 1400-1500 with a saltglaze. Size 13 cm. Images from the museum database.

The aquamanile from Castle Hoensbroek which was found in the castle moat. 
The figure is supposed to be a ram. The aquamanile is dated mid 14th century and decorated with green-tin glaze. 
Image from internet.

Aquamanile of red earthenware in the form of a stag covered with a yellow glaze tinged with green. It has a tubular body and the antlers lie back to form the handle. The hind legs are missing. Found in Rye, UK and dated  around 1300-1399.  Sizes: Height: 24 cm, Length: 35.5 cm. Victoria and Albert museum, London, UK.

Late medieval / early renaissance aquamanile from Pesaro, Italy and dated 1490-1500. Tin-glazed earthenware, painted with colours. Height: 41.5 cm, Length: 36 cm - twice as large compared to the other ewers. 

Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK.

It may not come as a surprise that we  liked to have an aquamanile on our table as well, especially during visits to chic places, like castle halls. Anne has made a lion-shaped aquamanile from white baked clay and glazed it with a green glaze both in- and outside. The pouring spout is at the lion's mouth, while the vessel can be filled with water through a hole in the middle of its back.

 

The Lion aquamanile on the dressoir in the castle hall of Castle Loevestein.

And of course we (do have table manners and) used it at our dinner in the castle hall of Castle Loevestein a few weeks ago. In the 'Mesnagier de Paris', a 14th century cook- and housekeeping book, a description is given for the water used to wash the hands:

'Pour faire eaue a laver mains sur table, mectez bouillir de la sauge, puis coulez l'eaue et faictes reffroidier jusques a plus que tiede. Ou vous mectez comme dessus comomille et marjolaine, ou vous mectez du romarin, et cuire avec l'escorche d'orenge. Et aussi feuilles de lorier y sont bonnes.'

This has been translated into the following recipe:
Boil 1 litre water with 2 branches of sage or 1 branch chamomile and 1 branch of marjoram or 1 branch of rosemary and strips of untreated peel of two bitter oranges. Infuse, pass, and serve in an aquamanile over a washing basin.

 

Sources used:
Mittelalter in Koln - eine auswahl aus dem bestanden des Kolnischen stadtmuseums. W. Schafke and M. Trier (editors). Emons:, 2010. ISBN 978-3-89705-654-1.
Huusraet - het stedelijk woonhuis in de Bourgondische tijd. B. Dubbe. Uitgeverij Poldervonsten, 2012. ISBN 341-5688-943-1.
Fêtes gourmandes au moyen âge. J-L. Flandrin and C. Lambert. Imprimerie Nationale, 1998. ISBN 2-7433-0268-2.

A tinkling piece of pottery and a tinkling ring

 

A tinkling piece of pottery

A reader suggested that the rings on the curious piece of pottery described in a previous post was meant to attract the personnel at the bar to refill your cup. We tested this out and our cup made a nice tinkling sound. So nice that we decided to make a (half a) minute movie of it.

A 'tinkling' medieval finger ring

The style of the ring on the hand holding the beaker very well suits the tinkling cup. It is a replica of a medieval ring, of which we also posses the original. We bought this ring through internet, but unfortunately we did not record the accompanying information. The only thing we remembered is that it dates (according to the seller) to the 13th-14th century. The original ring is made of bronze, the replica of silver. The bead of the replica ring is turquoise, the bead of the medieval ring is either a blueish turquoise or coloured glass. Turquoise is a gem that was known during the middle ages. It originated from the orient and travelled trough Turkey to Europe, hence its name Turq-uoise.The rings have a decorative spiral groove on the outside. Spiral grooves are more often found on finger rings of the 14th century, for instance on the golden ring from the Fishpool hoard (Nottingham, United Kingdom) which has a beaded spiral groove.

A gold finger ring from the Fishpool hoard dated 1400-1464. The ring has a beaded spiral groove on the outside. On the inside is an inscription in English 'Uphaf ye entier' with a heart between the last two words. (lift-up your whole heart). 23 by 6.1 mm. Image and object from  British Museum, London, United Kingdom. Hinton (1982) in the book Medieval Jewellery suggests that the ring has a religious context, however the text and the heart seem more reminiscent of  medieval love rings that show similar texts.

Our replica ring was constructed by taking a 0.8 mm thick strip of silver of 60.6 x 4.2 mm. While still flat, the strip was decorated with parallel diagonal grooves: first with a triangular small sweet file, later with a 0.8 mm joint file. After this the ring was roughly rounded on a triblet and the ends were soldered together. Next, the ring was rounded on the same triblet till it was completely round-shaped and had an inner diameter of 18.5 mm - the right size for my ring finger. A small ringlet made of 1 mm round silver wire with an inner diameter of 3 mm (and thus an outer diameter of 5 mm) was first soldered close, an then slightly flattened on one side with a file to create a larger contact zone. Next, it was soldered perpendicular onto the ring with the flattened side. The turquoise bead has a diameter of 5.3 mm with a drilled hole of only 0.9 mm. Like the original medieval ring, the wire for the eyelet to fasten the bead is slightly thinner than the ringlet connected to the ring. In this case, I used a piece of 0.9 mm silver wire to fix the bead neatly to the rest of the ring. Both wire ends are stuck inside the bead, so no soldering - with chances of cracking the bead - was necessary.

The silver replica and the bronze original side by side. 

The original measures 16.3 mm diameter inside, the bead is 5.3 mm.

The tinkling ring. Actually, the ring does not tinkle that loud and nice as the beaker.

The spiral groove can be seen nicely in both rings standing on their side..

A curious piece of pottery

The book 'Fêtes gourmandes au moyen age' is a delicious book. Not only for its recipes, but also for the eye (e.g. a gilded boars head!). All the dishes are visually presented in the correct medieval pots, plates and glasses, together with the correct table utensils. Not the replicas, but the real stuff, dug up by archaeologists and glued together. This makes the book not only a good reference book for recipes (well, if you read French), but also for what kind of tableware you should have as a re-enactor. The book contains many sidesteps discussing particular pieces of tableware.

One of the photos in the book (see above) shows a curious beaker with rings four sides. What was this type of beaker used for? Why the rings? The note in the book, alas, gives no clue; only that it is 'gres de Beauvais' (the place of manufacture in northern France and the clay type) of the 15th century. The beaker did inspire Anne, who is doing a pottery course at the moment, to make her own ringbeaker.

A re-enactors still life. The ring beaker is in the middle. From left to right: a pewter jug, a glass maigelein, a wooden plate (teljoor), a dripping pan (also by Anne) and a pewter spoon.

 Two views of the ringbeaker made by Anne.

Saulse Cameline

 

The recipe that goes with the photo is that of the Sauce Cameline, a very popular sauce during the 14th century:

Pour faire une saulse cameline, prenez pain blancq harlé sur le greil, sy le mettez temprer en vin rouge et vinaigre. Passé parmy l'estamine canelle assez, et gingembre, clou, graine, macis, poivre long, et saffren un poy, et sel. Faictez bouillir ou non bouillir, comme vouldrez. Aucun y mettent du chucquere.

Vivendier, ms. Kassel,  gesamthochschulbibliotek, 4e med. 1. fol. 154 verso.

 

20 cl red wine

5 cl verjuice

20 g bread

2 teaspoonfuls  ground cinnamon

1 teaspoonful rasped ginger

3 cloves

half teaspoonful grain of paradise (Guinea pepper), a popular substitute for black pepper in the 14th and 15th century)

half teaspoonful ground mace

1 long pepper spike

4 treads of saffron

one pinch of salt

1 or 2 teaspoons of sugar

Rasp the ginger. Mix and grind the other spices in a mortar. Add them to the wine and verjuice and let them macerate. After one hour, filter through a cheesecloth or a fine sieve. Toast the bread, cut it into small dice and add them to the sauce. Mix until smooth. You may cook for better smoothing. Add salt and sugar to taste. (Contrary to the Italians the medieval French did not add sugar to the sauce.) The cameline sauce can be given with fish, meat and game dishes.

Book: 'Fêtes gourmandes au moyen age' by Jean-Louis Flandrin and Carole Lambert. Imprrimerie nationale Editions, Paris 1998. ISBN 2-7433-0268-2. The book has much to offer, even if you do not read French.