Hello!

This time I have a real difficulty. The second book of the three I am translating right now (a history of the oceans) contains a list of medieval English goods, or, rather, foreign products arriving to England from Spain, Italy and other Mediterranean regions:

The fragment is part of the Libelle of Englyshe Polycye:


"Bene fygues, raysyns, wyne, bastarde and dates, And lycorys, Syvyle oyle and also grayne, Whyte Castell sope and wax is not in vayn…"

I guess fygues are figs; raisins are dryed grapes; bastarde is, perhaps, a bad-quality wine (?); dates are dates (from date palms); lycorys is, probably, the red spider lily or hell flower (of medicinal uses); Syvyle oyle is oil from Seville, olive oil; grayne is not grain but grana, a red dye (as explained by the author); Whyte Castell sope is just unknown to me (could it be the blancmange?), and I hope all this "is not in vayn" (I mean vain, I gather…).

I would be really happy if you can illuminate my lantern with the items in bold characters; I've been trying to find everything out there but I don't think these are not merchandises included in contemporary medieval videogames and all that (which is usually all what the Google lamia finds in her astonishing searchs).

With my perennial gratitude,

CM

Comic Monster,

having always trouble to translate my Dutch dialect in "deftig Engels" (genteel English?),

I try nevertheless and "take a guess?"...

"whyte Castell sope"

[url=http://www.finedictionary.com/castile soap.html]http://www.finedictionary.com/castile%20soap.html[/url]



And soap: etymology:
https://www.etymonline.com/word/soap
And yes also: German: Seife, Dutch: zeep, French: savon, Spanish: jabon...
Kind regards, Paul.

I see, but why "Castell"; does that mean it came from Castile?

Hi CM

"Lycorys" is liquorice, or more correctly dried liquorice root. In 15th century England it was primarily regarded as a medicinal plant, though it also had culinary uses. In powdered form it was used to "liven up" drinks, mostly cheap wines but also some beers.

The white "Castell" soap (the best stuff still came from the Castile area in Spain) was still more usually called "Aleppo" soap in England and had become popular after the crusades. Its blend of Spanish olive oil and laurel oils made it far superior to the local stuff and highly prized among those who could afford it - it was still very much a luxury item.

Bastarde, despite the unfortunate name, was originally just a sweet wine from Portugal (more usually called "bastardo") and either got its name from a small village near Lisbon (as Johnson claimed afterwards) or probably more likely because it didn't have a fixed colour due to the wide variety of different grapes that could be used in its manufacture.

Castile soap - hard soap from olive oil. It was made in Castile copying Levantine recipes. Bastard - sweet, rather than low quality, wine. Lycorys- probably licorice, for medicinal use.