“Angelica, the garden kinde, is so good an herbe, that there is no part thereof but is of much vse, and all cordiall and preservatiue from infectious or contagious diseases, whether you will distill the water of the herbe, or preserve or candie the roots or the green stalkes, or vse the seede in pouder or in distillations, or decoctions with other things.”
Paradisi in sole, paradisus terrestris, John Parkinson, 1629
Part I: Growing, Harvesting and Preparing Horseradish
This project began with the horseradish. I’ve been growing it in my garden for several years at the base of my hazel tree and it is now well established enough to lift and split a root, ensuring a future crop, with enough to use as an ingredient.
Horseradish does grow wild in the UK, including in urban spaces such as parks and cemeteries. However, it is difficult to forage for roots because you would need permission to dig them up, so it is a useful plant to grow in the herb garden.
This is the plant at full height in the summer (picture, left). According to the River Cottage Hedgerow Handbook, it is best harvested in early November, just as the leaves have died back. This provides a large root for using, and is good timing for making sure the plant recovers in the spring.
Here is what the root looks like after it has been split and washed.
Next, I peeled and grated it. Grating is not a pleasant experience as it releases the volatile compound allyl isothiocyanate, which is responsible for the pungency of the flavour but is also a vicious eye-irritant. Grating is best done outdoors or in a very well-ventilated space.
Part II: Making Mustard Balls
Looking for a period recipe to use my horseradish, I discovered “Tewkesbury mustard balls”.
In The Tudor Kitchen, Terry Breverton dates Tewkesbury mustard as “Fifteenth century to present”, mentioning that: “Legend has it that Tewkesbury Mustard Balls covered in gold leaf were presented to Henry VIII, when he visited Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire in 1535. The women of Tewkesbury gathered the ingredients from the field and the Severn riverbanks about the town.”
He says horseradish should be soaked in cider or cider vinegar and combined with mustard flour “then forming the mixture into balls which were then dried to aid preservation”.
Several companies sell Tewkesbury mustard or mustard balls, claiming to be using period information. One says: “Based on a traditional 15th century recipe… this is a perfect mustard/horseradish blend.”
I added a splosh of dry cider to the grated horseradish and left it to soak in. Later that day, I added mustard flour to the squishy horseradish/cider mix, adding a large spoonful at a time and stirring it in.
Theoretically, I would have done this until the mix was firm enough to be rolled into balls that held their shape, but I ran out of mustard flour, so the balls were slightly gloopier than ideal. This did not appear to affect the end result.
I put the balls into the oven on a very, very low heat. Checking on them frequently, it took around 8 hours for them to be mostly dry. After that I left them in an unlidded container in a dry environment to finish drying.
They become solid balls, from which flakes can be cut/scraped with a sharp knife.
Finally, some weeks later, I tried rehydrating with cider and tasting the mustard with some cold beef and salat
Yum – very pungent… and very portable!
Part III: But are they really Period?
There is certainly evidence that a product called “Tewkesbury Mustard” existed in period.
“Falstaff: He a good wit? Hang him baboon! His wit’s as thick as Tewkesbury mustard!”
Henry IV, part II. Date of writing approx. 1596-99 (first performed 1600)
There is evidence that dried portable mustard balls existed in period. Recipes suggesting spices and other ingredients to include in the mix exist from the 15th and 16th century, in more than one country. No pre-1600 recipe I’ve found includes horseradish. Here is Bartholomaeus Platina’s recipe from 1465, in De Honesta Voluptate Et Valetudine:
“Mustard Sauce in bits
“Mix mustard and well-pounded raisins, a little cinnamon and cloves, and make little balls or bits from this mixture. When they have dried on a board, carry them with you wherever you want. When there is a need, soak in verjuice or vinegar or must.”
In John Gerard’s Herball of 1597, in the entry on horseradish, he mentions that the German people use horseradish sauce:
Horseradish stamped with a little vinegar put thereto is commonly used among the Germans for sauce to eat fish with, and such like meats, as we do mustarde; but this kind of sauce doth heat the stomach better, and causeth better digestion than mustard.
The History of the County of Gloucester notes that there is evidence from the Calendar of Patent Rolls (the administrative record of letters patent issued by the Crown):
“… a hint that mustard was made in the town in the 15th century comes from the record of financial links of inhabitants of Tewkesbury with grocers and spicers of London and elsewhere.”
And there is evidence of mustard balls made in Tewkesbury in 1639. Peter Mundy mentions them in his Travels:
The first off August 1639. I sett out from Glocester towards Worcester. Thatt night I lay att Tewkesbury. The mustard off this place (for want off other matter) is much spoken off. Made upp in balles as bigge as henns egges, att 3d and 4d each, although a Farthing worth off the ordinary sort will give better content in my opinion, this being in sight and tast much like the old dried thicke scurffe that sticks by the sides of a Mustard pott.” [spelling sic]
He does not mention horseradish. However, a Victorian editor of the Travels, folklorist and anthropologist Sir Richard Carnac Temple made an attempt to trace the history of Tewkesbury Mustard, with a lengthy “footnote” (attached here as an appendix).
There is evidence that Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn visited Tewkesbury for several days in 1535 during the progress of the royal court. The state papers and letters between Henry and his advisors contain scant evidence of where exactly they stayed, let alone what they ate.
I wrote to the company that claims to be following “a traditional 15th century recipe”. Here is their reply:
“Thanks for the enquiry!
“We have been making Tewkesbury Mustard for many years and have using this description for at least 10 years. It would be difficult for us to trace the source of the recipe due to personnel changes within the business.”
Ah.
IV Conclusion
I think it’s plausible that horseradish and mustard balls were made in Tewkesbury in period, but that it is nowhere near as certain as local town legend or the many modern sources citing that local town legend imply.
Bibliography
Wright, John. The River Cottage Hedgerow Handbook. Bloomsbury, 2010.
Breverton, Terry. Tudor Kitchen: What the Tudors Ate and Drank. Amberley Publishing, 2015.
Platina, Bartholomaeus, and Mary Ella Milham. On Right Pleasure and Good Health. Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies, 1998.
Gerard, John, et al. The Herball Or Generall Historie of Plantes. Iohn Norton, 1597.
Mundy, Peter, and Richard Carnac Temple. The Travels of Peter Mundy, in Europe and Asia, 1608-1667. Kraus Repr, 1967.
Elrington, C. R. A History of the County of Gloucester. Published for the Institute of Historical Research by the Oxford University Press, 1968.
Henry VIII: July 1535, 1-10.” Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 8, January-July 1535. Ed. James Gairdner. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1885. 379-402. British History Online. Web. 25 May 2019. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol8/pp379-402.
Appendix – Richard Carnac Temple’s 19th Century Mustard Investigation. A “footnote” that runs for several pages.
* Tewkesbury mustard was famous in Shakespeare’s day and maintained its popularity until the 18th century when it was superseded by the so-called Durham mustard, said to have been introduced by a Mrs Clements of that City. In spite of such celebrity, no record has been discovered of any of its manufacturers nor of the site of their works, nor have I been able to ascertain the exact date of the discontinuance of the manufacture. In these circumstances, although entailing a long note, it seems advisable to print some of the information that I have succeeded in collecting on the subject.
To make the Tewkesbury mustard balls, the seed of the Brassica Nigra was pounded in a mortar, sifted, moistened with an infusion of horse- radish, and again pounded. The resultant mixture was so pungent that it gave rise to the proverb noted below.
The following are the most important references to the condiment, given in their chronological order:
1597: His wit is as thick as Tewkesbury mustard. Shakespeare, Henry IV, Pt. 2, II. 4.
1605: Tewkesbury… famous for… excellent mustard. Fynes Moryson, Itinerary f iv. 148.
1634: We did not will to goe out of our way to be bit by the Nose at Tewkesberry. Lansd, MS. 213, fol. 334. a,
1660: Tewkesbury hath a name for excellent mustard. Childrey, Britannia Baconica, p. 72.
1662: Gloucestershire,… Mustard…. The best in England (to take no larger compasse) is made at Tewkesberry…. Proverbs: “He looks as if he had liv’d on Tewkesbury Mustard.’ It is spoken partly of such who always have a sad, severe and tetrick [gloomy] countenance… partly of such as are snappish, captious and prone to take exceptions, where they are not given, such as will crispare nasum, in derision of what they slight or neglect. Fuller, Worthies of England (1662), ed. 1811, i. 374, 377.
1670: Proverb as above. Ray, Collection of… Proverbs, The proverb is found as late as 1855 in Bohn’s republication of Ray’s collection.
1679: The Deponent. . .met with Blundell and… asked him what he had, and he replied Tewkesbury Mustard balls, a notable biting Sawce, and would furnish Westminster when he had enough of them. Deponent saith that by Tewkesbury Mustard-balls we are to understand Fire-balls. Titus Oates, Narrative of the Horrid Plot and Conspiracy, &c., p. 48.
1699: Tewkesbury… is famous for its Mustard-Balls. Ogilby, Travellers’ Gtdde, p. III.
1712: Similar remark. Topog, Desc of Glocester shire, p. 12.
1720: Tewkesbury… the Town is famous for its excellent Chephalick [cephalic] Mustard Balls, which occasioned the Proverb for a Sharp fellow : “He looks as if he lived on Tewkesbury Mustard.” Owen, Britannia Depicta, p. 153.
1774: Tewkesbury…. It has been long noted for mustard-balls made here, and sent into other parts. Postlethwayt, Diet, of Trade and Commerce, i. s.v. Glocestershire.
1779: Tewkesbury…. The making of mustard-balls, as taken notice of in every book that treats of this place, has been so long discontinued as not to be within the remembrance of any person living. Rudder, Hist, of Gloucestershire, p. 738.
1787: Tewkesbury… famous for its mustard which is extremely hot and pungent, and therefore, by this property, supposed to communicate its qualities to persons fed with it. [Proverb, as above, quoted.] Grose, Provincial Glossary, s.v, Gloucestershire. See also 2nd ed. 1790.
1790: Tewkesbury was… remarkable for its mustard balls, which… occasioned this proverb &c. Dyde, Hist, of Tewkesbury, p. 63.
1830: Bennett, in his History of Tewkesbury says (p. 200 and note) that in his day the Tewkesbury mustard manufacture might have been easily revived since abundance of mustard, like that cultivated in Durham, was then growing wild.
1841: Tewkesbury has been long noted for its mustard, but it is at present chiefly distinguished for its manufacture of stockings. Pop, Encyc.y s.v. Tewkesbury.
1845: Tewkesbury. This town was once noted for its mustard. Encyc, Metropolitana.
By the “ordinary sort” Mundy probably meant used in the “ordinary” way at that period, that is, consumed whole not crushed and made into balls.
I decided to take stock of what I’m currently growing/trying to grow.
Herbs
Angelica Archangelica
Arnica – hopefully, it self-seeded well last year.
Borage
Calendula
Chamomile
Chives
Comfrey
Fennel (bronze)
Garlic
Goat’s Rue. Very healthy plant, trying to spread. Lack the goats to use it!
Good King Henry
Hyssop – Lovely purple plant.
Lavender – English, six dwarf plants. One older and somewhat woody plant in a pot.
Lavender – French, one medium-sized plant. Somewhat squished by cat liking to sit on it.
Lemon balm
Lemon verbena
Marshmallow
Mint – four varieties
Nettles (actually next door but growing through/over the fence and they don’t want them…)
Nigella
Oregano (golden)
Rosemary – two healthy bushes
Sage – green and purple, oodles of it
Sorell (buckler leaf)
Sweet Cecily
St John’s Wort – healthy plant, cut back for winter, some small volunteer seedlings to lift & gift.
Thyme
Winter savory
Fruit
Alpine strawberry – one cluster doing well, the other is in too much shade.
Blackcurrant bush
Elderberry
Pear tree – I’m 99% sure it’s Conference. Suffers from rust, which may be inevitable in a suburban London garden as even if I got rid of our own juniper, the neighbours have it. Fruits moderately.
Plum tree – Thames
Quince (dwarf flowering)
Redcurrant bush
Rhubarb
Spices
Horseradish
Juniper
This was the documentation for my (winning) entry for the A&S Open Competition at Michaelmas. I have added the two missing pieces of information mentioned in the judging notes (ie. why did you use almond oil and how did you decide on proportions of wax/oil).
Comfrey Salve
This is my second year of growing comfrey in my garden. From a 2 inch tall purchased seedling in spring 2015 it is now a substantial and healthy plant.
It is not a difficult plant to grow (indeed it’s more difficult to stop it from growing everywhere). In John Gerard’s Herball (1597), from which the image below is taken, he notes: “Comfrey joyeth in waterie ditches, in fat and fruitful meadowes. They grow all in my garden.”
Comfrey was a common plant listed in monastery and infirmary gardens. Its common names of knitbone and bruisewort point to its uses to treat injury.
Gerard recommends several approaches to ingesting comfrey: crushed roots with wine for inward wounds, boiled to clear the lungs of phelgm, and “the slimie substance of the roote made in a posset of ale, and given to drinke against the paine in the backe, gotten by any violent motion, as wrestling, or over much use of women.”
Modern science revealed that the healing power of comfrey is due to its high allantoin and rosmaranic acid content, which promote cell growth and have anti-inflammatory properties. Unfortunately science also found that comfrey also contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids which can potentially cause severe liver injury when taken orally. It is thus only recommended for short-term topical use. Hence my decision to create a salve.
Method
The creation of salves and creams using infused olive oil and beeswax dates back to at least 2nd century Greece, when Galen is credited with “inventing” cold cream. Galen writes about the use of oil and wax salves 200 years earlier at the court of Cleopatra.
Gerard says that many beneficial plants can be “stamped and boyled with oyIe, wax and Turpentine” and applied to injuries. As turpentine can cause contact allergies for many people I have left it out to avoid itchy A&S judges!
I followed the simple guidance of the book Beeswax Alchemy, by Petra Ahnert for making salves. She suggests using 4 parts infused oil to 1 part beeswax. I did this by eye rather than exactly.
I dried and crushed comfrey leaves, then slowly heated them in almond oil for 12 hours in a slow cooker. Almond oil was chosen because it was available in period and has minimal scent of its own (and also because I had some left over from making rose and lavender oils). The filtered oil was a deep green.
I grated beeswax, melted it, then added the infused oil. I poured into glass jars to cool and set.
The Herball, or, Generall historie of plantes, John Gerard, 1597
http://blog.english-heritage.org.uk/grow-medieval-herb-garden/
Herbs and Healers from the Ancient Mediterranean through the Medieval West, Essays in Honor of John M. Riddle, Edited by Anne Van Arsdall, Timothy Graham, 2012 – Routledge
Beeswax Alchemy, Petra Ahnert, 2015, Quarry Books
The United States National Library of Medicine: https://livertox.nlm.nih.gov/Comfrey.htm
University of Maryland Medical Centre: http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/comfrey
The Silly Revel this month included the inaugural Thamesreach Golden Ninny contest, an event imported from An Tir and this year contested in the field of silly hats.
In search of inspiration, I did some image searches on terms such as – “manuscript awesome hat”, finding this image from Bologna, about 1460 – 1480:
This small blue gentleman with a very useful hat.
A hat for reading in the dark! Well, obviously I need one of those.
Alas, my hat is not made from period materials. For reasons of fire safety and weight the candle is battery powered. The metal is cut from an aluminium ready meal container and the bright yellow felt is cheap man made stuff, given rigidity by buckram and kapok stuffing. It is only really at all convincing by candlelight (including its own).
Luckily however, the competition was held by candlelight, and although there was a fantastic array of silly hats, including a googly-eyed squid creature, capsizing ship and bird cages with tiny birds I get to look after the Golden Ninny for the next year!
This was the project I entered at Michaelmas – my first A&S competition.
It was a bit of a rush job, since I only got back from traveling the day before the event and nothing that I’ve already made since joining SCA last year seemed quite up to the task (there are many hidden machine seams in my garb…).
A 16th century Italian pocket
Cloth pockets, such as the one pictured above, from Woman at her Toilet by Alessandro Allori, begin appearing in Italian art from the 1570s onwards, attached to the outside of women’s dress or fastened with ties around the waist.
There are a number of 17th century English and German pockets at the V&A, of a very similar shape and function. Some are plain, and some very decorated. Some come in pairs on one waistband. The V&A has helpfully provided a “Make Your Own Pocket” guide based on these slightly later examples.
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/m/make-your-own-pocket/
This, combined with a tutorial produced by Drifa at lækjamóti of Avacal (whose blog reveals that she produced a plethora of pretty pockets for largesse), provided ample guidance for construction.
https://dawnsdressdiary.wordpress.com/2015/02/22/1480s-florence-saccoccia-pursepouch/#more-6873
Materials
Outer: Red and gold wool/silk left over from the sleeves/placard of my Tudor garb.
Inner: Lining is a small piece of brocade from a curtain sample book, fabric content unknown, but a burn test suggests the gold is natural and the red is man-made fibre (the red pretty much just whooshed up in flames, leaving all of the gold behind).
Ribbon: Cheap satin ribbon, which really lets the whole thing down. Will be replaced before wearing.
Technique
All hand sewn with simple running stitch, as per V&A instructions.
Time taken
All of the sewing was done on the Friday morning of Michaelmas weekend, on the Tube to and from my skating lesson – so about two hours.
Lessons learned
A&S competitions are awesome! Judges write lovely things about your work and feedback on how it could be even better. And I now have a “personal best” score (83/100) to improve on.
It is possible to produce a useful object that I’m not embarrassed to display in less than 24 hours from concept to completion. But with a bit more time and planning, I’d have had nice ribbon ties too.
Cecily in Tudor Thamesreach 