[MR] BBC: How The Turkey Became an Xmas Staple

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

At first I turned up my nose at this BBC piece, but when Lady Sarah called
it to my attention, I found story filled with interesting information about
English medieval diets and holiday eating habits, particularly of the
uber-classes. The article's particular focus is at first on a modest 1406
Christmas banquet (for just 97 forkless guests) hosted by Richard Mitford,
Bishop of Salisbury. His table's centerpiece was a pickled boar's head,
probably chomping on an apple in the approved manner.

The New World turkey came into the picture in 1526 when the first of the
birds were imported by one William Strickland and . . . uh . . . invited to
Christmas dinner. It was so exotic that the bird quickly replaced
the unfortunate decapitated pig. So it was during Tudor times that the
turkey became the unwilling star of Christmas dinners across the land.

You can find the whole story at
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20211214-how-the-humble-turkey-became-a-christmas-staple
.

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆