Baronial 12th Night 1/5/2019 - Original Interpretations Harleian MS 279 - Fifteenth Century English Feast

Stanley, the guest of honor, created by Mary Dahlberg

Each January, the Barony Flaming Gryphon gathers for its annual Twelfth Night Celebration, where the Baronial Arts & Sciences and Gaming Champions are chosen. This banquet drew inspiration from Thomas Tusser’s 1573 poem, a lively account of good cheer and winter hospitality.

Good husband and huswife, now chiefly be glad,
Things handsome to have, as they ought to be had.
They both do provide, against Christmas do come,
To welcome their neighbors, good cheer to have some.
Good bread and good drink, a good fire in the hall,
Brawn, pudding, and souse, and good mustard withal.
Beef, mutton, and pork, and good pies of the best,
Pig, veal, goose, and capon, and turkey well drest,
Cheese, apples and nuts, and good carols to hear,
As then in the country is counted good cheer.
What cost to good husband, is any of this?
Good household provision only it is:
Of other the like, I do leave out a many,
That costeth the husband never a penny.

— Thomas Tusser, Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, 1573

Most of the recipes below are my own interpretations, adapted from Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books (Harleian MS. 279 & Harl. 4016) and other period sources. This menu honors both authenticity and approachability—offering a taste of the late medieval kitchen with modern techniques.

 Baronial Twelfth Night Menu (2019)

Soteltie

A Boar’s Head with sweetmeats and fine pies (here be the bean and the pea), served with Trayne Roast (mock entrails)

• For Pyes of Mutton or Beefe – Mincemeat Pies (1591)
• Trayne Roast – Mock Entrails (1450)

On Table

• Bryndons – a sweet and fruity sauce (Harl. MS 279, 1430)
• Mortrews of Chicken & Pork – early form of pâté (Harl. MS 279, 1430)
• Compost – pickled vegetables, olives, and capers (Forme of Cury, 1390)
• Let Lardes – herb custard cooked in bacon grease (Harl. MS 4016, 1450)

First Course

• Rastons – medieval white bread rolls (Harl. MS 279, 1430)
• Blawnche Perry – creamed leeks, onions & peas (Harl. MS 279, 1430)
• Beef-y-Stewed – stewed beef (Harl. MS 279, 1430)
• Brawn with Mustard – pork with mustard (The Good Husvvifes Jewell, 1587)
• Garbage – stewed chicken offal (Harl. MS 279, 1430)

Second Course

• Capon Farced – chicken stuffed with sausage, onion & grapes (Harl. MS 279, 1430)
• Pickle for the Mallard – onion jam (Harl. MS 279, 1430)
• Guissell – bread dumplings (Harl. MS 4016, 1450)
• Roasted Chestnuts, Turnips & Sage (Le Ménagier de Paris, 1393)
• Pickled Barberries – substitute blueberries or lingonberries (1682)

Third Course

• Cheese & Nuts
• Spiced Apples & Pears (Chiquart, 1420)
• Creme Bastarde (Harl. MS 279, 1430)
• A White Leach (Closet for Ladies & Gentlewomen, 1602)
• Jellied Ypocras

Issue de Table (After the Table)

• Gingerbread (Harl. MS 279, 1430)
• Marchpane (Book of Cookrye, 1591)
• Coriander Marzipan (Callishones, 1621)
• Candied Fruit Peels (Le Ménagier de Paris, 1393)
• Candied Fruit – Quince, Plums, Pears (English Housewife, 1615)
• Fruit Pastes – Plum, Fig, Walnut & Ginger (inspired by Rapeye)
• Comfits of Anise & Coriander (Queen-Like Closet, 1670)
• Manus Christi (Closet for Ladies & Gentlewomen, 1602)
• Kissing Comfits (Delightful Daily Exercise, 1621)

All dishes were prepared for the 2019 Baronial Twelfth Night Feast and presented as part of the Baronial Arts & Sciences competition. Each recipe page includes original text, modern redaction, and notes for feast-scale cooking.

Explore Related Feasts

🍞 Rastons – Medieval Bread

🍷 Compost – Pickled Relish

🍖 Brawn with Mustard

🍬 Comfits – Sugared Seeds