Viandier of Taillevent

Viandier of Taillevent is one recipe book of kitchen which would have been written by Guillaume Tirel (1326 - 1395) known as Taillevent, which was child of kitchen of Jeanne d' Évreux, Queux of the king Philippe de Valois and of the duke of Normandy, first hone and Sergent of weapons of Charles V and first rider of kitchen of the king Charles VI.

Description

The oldest version in existence is dated from the 15th century, but the original would have been written at the 13th century. It is with the Mesnagier of Paris a reference book for the French medieval kitchen.

The kitchen then started to emerge from the Gallo-Roman traditions. Before Taillevent, the hones had like guides only rare copies, often faulty and mutilated, manuscripts of Apicius whose language was less and less understood the vulgar one. One century after its death, printing works will spread the receipts of Taillevent. The kitchen will seek to become a science, with its rules and its laws. That of Taillevent rich, was very spiced and abundant, as rich as the prolix accounts of the chansons de geste and the tales of chivalry of the Moyen-âge. Several chapters relate to the Vin and the Verjus.

The word “meat” is used with the Latin direction of vivenda : the food in general. Four manuscripts of Viandier are known: oldest is preserved at the National library of France, the three others being with the Bibliothèque Mazarine, the files of the English Channel with Saint-Lo and with the the Vatican.

The oldest known edition gone back to this work was printed in 1515; but there are some several, without date, which appeared of 1490 with 1500 and it work was several times reprinted at the current of the 16th century and even in 1604. The oldest editions, become of an extreme scarcity, are very required bibliophiles. They are described with detail in the Manuel of the bookseller of Jacques Charles Brunet.

The book is presented as follows:

“Cy after sensuyt the viandier to install all manners of meats that Taillevent hone of the roy nostre lord fist so much for abiller and to install bouilly, rousty, fish of sea and eaue doulce, saulces, espices and other things with this suitable and necessary as cy after will be known as” .

Here a small extract drawn from the edition of the 15th century:

“TARTRE DE POMMES. Despecés by well nectoyés parts and settings figs and grapes and mys parmy the apples and figs and very meslé together and is there mys onion fried with butter or uyle and wine and it by apples crushed and destampés of wine and are assembled other apples broiés, put with the surplus and of the saffron dedens ung few small espices, synamome and white ginger, anys and pyguriac, which will have some; and are faictes two grans undercrusts of paste and touts the mistions put together, extremely broiées with the hand on pasté well the espès of apples and aultres mistions and after is put the lid above and well covered and gilded saffron and setting at the furnace and fact cuyre. ”

The kitchen of the Viandier is often depicted like a succession of heavy mets, complicated or too richly spiced but one finds nevertheless among the receipts of the simpler finishes, in particular in the part of the dishes of “thin” Lent.

Receipts

  • Brouet of ruails

Editions

  • Viandier of Guillaume Tirel says Taillevent , ED. Paul Aebischer, Lille, Lehoucq, 1991 ISBN 2906595047

  • Viandier… published on the manuscript of the National library, with the alternatives of the ms. Library Mazarine… preceded by an introduction and accompanied by notes by the baron Jerome Pichon and Georges Vicar, Paris, Techener, 1892; 2 volumes

External bonds

  • downloadable Viandier on the site of the BNF
  • Viandier (Handwritten of the Vatican)

References

  • Bruno Laurioux, the reign of Taillevent: culinary books and practices at the end of the Middle Ages , Paris, Publications of the Sorbonne, 1997 ISBN 2859443193
  • Jean-François Revel, a Feast in words. Literary history of the gastronomical sensitivity, Antiquity at our days , Paris, Plon, 1995 ISBN 2259181422

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