'We had not even finished our diner'
Week 7 of WolfCrawl
On the table in week 7
What´s one´s fool?
Valentine special
Food for the sick cardinal
I can already feel it now, with the death of the Cardinal I have lost a great ally when it comes to culinary matters. What can you expect from someone like Norfolk who indulges in cannibalistic fantasies? “I will chew him up, bones, flesh and gristle”. Or of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, who feels like he's in a rose garden when the pieces of meat are brought in for the dogs and it smells of blood1. Nothing. I don't expect anything from people like that.
My cardinal stops eating for a week, he's ill. George Cavendish2 is taking great care of him: a dish of warden pears3, roasted with spices, a bowl of chicken broth. But the cardinal feels something cold and hard inside him, he is beyond help. He is dying. Marble fruits: Pear and apples, 16th century
Small ray of hope
But like the pale Seymour girl (“send us some more of your orange tarts”- may I hope that the Seymour family share my interest in food?) I can still trust in Cromwell to bring something good on the table. This week he has the sensitive Cranmer as a guest and serves him “the delicate meat of a roe deer” (the Cromwell family is probably already sick of the game if he always has to go hunting with the king). One would hope that he would find a friend in Cranmer and he desperately needs a friend. On the other hand, what do you know? In that environment you're afraid for a friend that he'll fall with you when you are hunted down. Head of a Stag by Albrecht Dürer, 1504
What´s one´s fool?
Master Patch Sexton, the fool, is scary to me (like Clowns, i find them dreadful, too): “Have your own marzipan cardinal to eat after dinner”. “Come and meet me here, ten years today, if you are still alive”. I came across this picture of a dance of death: You can hear Death beating the drum relentlessly. Death takes them all, one after the other, cardinal, king, everyone - except the figure of the fool at the top right. He is the only one who is not led by Death´s hand. Scary. The Dance of Death, Anonymous, German, 16th century, Metmuseum.
Valentine´s special: A cookbook and a love story
It's been such a sad week, so here's something to cheer us up (plus it was Valentine's Day this week):
The Cookbook
Philippine Welser (1527-1580) came from a patrician merchant family from Augsburg. Her mother Anna had a cookery book written for her around 1543, when Philippine reached marriageable age. Additions and later entries by Philippine show that it was used by her. The book also contains recipes which are described as "they are good for all people to eat when they are weak". Cookbook of Philippine Welser, around 1543/44
Philippine and the Emperor´s son
It is not entirely clear when they met for the first time, but Philippine Welser and Archduke Ferdinand, nephew of Charles V, fell in love and married in secret in 1558. His father Ferdinand (since the abdication of Charles V. Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire) was not amused, when he found out a year later. It was agreed that the marriage must remain secret, the children were excluded from the succession4 and officially lived with their parents as "foundlings".
Their marriage was considered a very happy one.
The first picture probably depicts Philippine Welser, around 1557, anonymous. The second picture is Philippine Welser, attributed to Johann Bockberger, 1576
Last week´s chapter
I like him very much for this, staying and caring for Wolsey till the bitter end.
More information including a recipe: https://thetudortravelguide.com/tudor-pears/
But the grandfather did not have to worry about succession, as his eldest son Maximilian had children.
A much appreciated addition to the Wolf Hall canon.
Thank you.
Your research, wonderful as ever, Andrea. This is such a sensual read, thank you!