potage bourgeois

Okay. Let's get this party started.

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 19:40:53 GMT

I have a serious question for folks, formulated after reading some discussion in another journal.

How do you folks deal with the (several many) people who like to point out that the SCA technically represents landed nobility pre-17th century? or rather (in addition to, perhaps), how do you reconcile an interest in the middle class with this particular SCA guideline?

excerpt from a letter

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 16:23:46 GMT

From the Lisle Letters, written in the 1530s:

"pleaseth your lady to understand that here is a priest, a very honest man, which would gladly do service to my lord and your ladyship. And these properties he hath: he writes a very fair secretary hand and text hand and Roman, and singeth surely, and playeth very cunningly on the organs; and he is very cunning in drawing knots in gardens, and well seen in graffyng and keeping of cocomers and other yerbes. I judge him very meet for to do my lord and your ladyship service."
Lisle Letters (abridged) p.61

Greetings!

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 20:42:27 GMT

Just to kick this thing off, a little background. I've been gravitating toward a middle/gentry class persona impression for some time now, for several reasons. One, it's hard to pull off a believable noble on a limited budget (I was a grad student for ages), and I personally don't have much luck faking it.

Two, I've always had an interest in the "gaps" in history. Whether it's 16th century Portuguese costuming or the typical jewelry of a middle class Elizabethan woman, I'm fascinated by the details that aren't as well-documented as we might like.

So while I do splash out and make fabulous clothes sometimes, for everyday I prefer to do a lower class impression. I think it adds something to SCA events, to see a few extra social classes.

The name of the community is a nod to the 18th Century Cooking blog, which recently presented a recipe that just caught my eye. I'm not aiming to make this focused on any particular region or time period; rather, I thought it might be nice to have a place for people working on the same social class to have a place to mix and mingle and share ideas.

If you can think of any more interests to add to the list (I made this late at night, under the influence of sleepy meds) please comment. Feel free to introduce yourself, post pictures (though for kindness' sake, large or numerous photos should go behind a cut), etc.