So, it may be a surprise that the Autumn is the time of plenty. I think, townies like me, would assume spring or summer. But in Autumn, not only is the Harvest in, but nuts and fruits are ripening and ready to pick. As we go deeper into Autumn, the livestock is culled to a level that can be sustained through the harsh winter. And so a lot of meat is also available. Truly a time of ‘mellow fruitfulness’.
A Surfeit of Autumn Peaches or Lamphreys
Anything with the word ‘surfeit’ in it must begin with the wonderful comic history of Britain called:1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England, Comprising All the Parts You Can Remember, Including 103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings and 2 Genuine Dates
Here we find that King Henry I died of a ‘surfeit’ of lamphreys’, which he indulged in against his Doctors’ advice. This was in November,. While his Great Grandson, King John:
‘finally demonstrated his utter incompetence by losing the Crown and all his clothes in the wash and then dying of a surfeit of peaches and no cider; thus his awful reign came to an end.’
He is a fine example of a ‘Bad King’. He died on the night of October 18th — 19th. So another King to leave this mortal coil by the means of an autumnal surfeit. Other accounts say his ale was poisoned or the surfeit was of plums. But he did have dysentery shortly before he died.
If you haven’t already it got it you probably, at this point, need to buy my book ‘Divorced, Beheaded, Died’. This is the best selling book about the Kings and Queens of England, told in bite sized chunks. It is always on sale at the British Museum.
‘No surfeit so evil as the surfeit of eating naughty bread’
Andrew Boorde in ‘Dietary of Health’ 1547 says that Wheat Bread makes you fat, particularly when made from new wheat. He says’Evil Bakers’ will add half of Barley. This is no good, nor is bread made from beans or peas. He continues:
‘hot bread is unwholesome to any man, for it doth lie in the stomach like a sponge: yet the smell of new bread is comfortable to the head and the heart. Old or stale bread doth dry up the blood or natural moisture in man, and doth engender ill humours; and is evil and tardy of digestion: wherefore is no surfeit so evil as a surfeit of eating naughty bread.‘
Lavendar Caps
Now is the time to protect your head with Lavendar as winter approaches, or so says William Turner’s Herbal of 1568:
‘I judge that the flowers of lavender, quilted into a cap and daily worn, are good for all diseases of the head, that come of a cold cause, and that they comfort the brain very well, namely if it have any distemperature that cometh of moistness.‘
If you remember, I wrote about Turner’s medical education in Ferrara in Italy in June. You can read it here.
Apples and Pears & No Cider
The fate of King John (above) shows the danger of running out of cider. But the apple trees are now groaning with Apples and Pears. So production can begin. I have been at my Father’s House picking up all the pears that drop every night. We have been cutting them up and putting them in the freezer, making purée and crumbles. Also, giving them to anyone who enters the house. But still not able to keep up with the Pears! Lots of Apples too, infact a bumper crop, many more than in any previous year. Earlier there was a host of plums from which I made my very first plum jam. I am looking forward to making a batch of Quince Jam, for the third year running.
Storing a Surfeit of Apples
Picking up windfall is problematic, as it was thought they would soften and bruise much easier than those picked from the trees. They would also contaminate other apples if laid with them. So it is best to pick apples before they are completely ripe. Then you can use Gervase Markham’s apple storage advice, which I wrote about in January and you can see here:
But:
A Surfeit of unripe fruit is a danger:
Green fruits make sickness to abound
Use good advice to keep thee sound
Give not thy lusts what they do crave
Lest thou unawares step in to thy grave.
Ranger’s Almanack 1627
If you do succumb, you need a medicine of nettle-seeds and honey.
A Surfeit of Filberts
As a caution to persons at this season, when nuts are so very abundant, we state that the sudden death of Mr Nunn of Cley, Norfolk is generally attributed to eating a great quantity of filberts and drinking pork wine therewith.’
York Current, September 1794
I do hope you have found this post fruitful and not too nutty. Please consult a doctor if you are having head or brain issues. The Lavender in your Peaky Blinders Cap may not do the trick
Acknowledgement
Again, I am very dependent on fruity tales from Charles Kightly’s A Perpetual Almanac of Folklore. It is worth buying as it also has many pretty pictures.