tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34814646.post1527391807425168557..comments2023-04-02T03:59:31.936-04:00Comments on The Belfry: Boiled to a tender mess'norahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04673994227824410949noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34814646.post-44797664228651104332010-10-12T02:08:55.132-04:002010-10-12T02:08:55.132-04:00What's weird about our modern use of the word ...What's weird about our modern use of the word "byzantine" to connote an absurdly large and complex bureaucracy is that the actual Byzantine administrative system probably consisted of no more than 1,000 people, including church officials. Byzantine politics were nasty, but it's sort of a shame that the word has come to imply needlessly inscrutable rules.Jeffhttp://www.quidplura.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34814646.post-50833014597025630942010-10-07T12:38:21.557-04:002010-10-07T12:38:21.557-04:00Hmm. As a mediaevalist I'm not sure I wholly ...Hmm. As a mediaevalist I'm not sure I wholly approve of your characterisation of food in the 'Dark Ages,' though certainly the average peasant probably did eat a lot of gruel, if it was what they had to eat. Chickens were probably worth more alive and laying eggs.<br /><br />Nevertheless, by the time cookery books reappear in western Europe in the 14th C., we're well beyond gruel (no comment on the boiling). I've cooked some lovely things out the recipe section of <i>Le Menagier de Paris</i>.<br /><br />You're right about the joys of being a liberal arts major. Being able to see and do things from different perspectives is I think the real value of a university education, not just getting a diploma so you can 'get a good job.''norahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04673994227824410949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34814646.post-71539661321541852532010-10-07T10:21:25.874-04:002010-10-07T10:21:25.874-04:00Nora, while I was in Philly this weekend visiting ...Nora, while I was in Philly this weekend visiting my son, he showed me one of his recent finds--a cookbook of ancient Roman food. The recipes were really good! It made us wonder how the culture ever descended to eating gruel and boiled chicken in the Dark Ages.<br /><br />Your education has made you flexible and conversant with many different ways of seeing and doing things. What a great thing, to be a liberal arts major!Charlotte Holmeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09584389308420834826noreply@blogger.com