Altra importantissima fonte documentaria sono i manoscritti del "Liber de coquina" (dal latino: Libro di cucina) che, assieme a quelli dell'Anonimo Meridionale, redatto presso la corte Angioina di Napoli, tramandano il testo del più antico ricettario di cucina dell'occidente cristiano, giunto fino ai nostri giorni. Redatto in latino volgare, il Liber rappresenta una delle più importanti testimonianze sulle abitudini alimentari presso le corti italiane ed europee del tardo medioevo.
In questi manoscritti si parla per la prima volta della pasta al parmigiano (probabilmente antesignana ricetta degli odierni "maccheroni al formaggio" d'oltremanica) e delle lasagne così come le conosciamo oggi.
Il testo di questo ricettario si è
conservato in due manoscritti pressoché identici, attualmente in
possesso della Biblioteca Nazionale di Francia, e collezionati (con
altre opere), in due distinti codici, diversi per fattura ed
argomento.
Alla stessa famiglia del Liber, ma
copie successive, appartengono il ms. Pal. Lat. 1768 (oggi conservato
presso la Biblioteca apostolica vaticana) e i due ricettari presenti
nel ms. 158 (Anonimo Toscano) conservato nella Biblioteca
universitaria di Bologna.
I manoscritti del Liber de Coquina
presentano notevoli tratti in comune con quello dell'Anonimo
Meridionale, un tempo in possesso della Fondazione B.I.N.G.
(Bibliothèque Internationale de Gastronomie) e databile alla prima
metà del XV secolo.
Tacuinum Sanitatis Casanatense - XIV° secolo |
The first illustrated appearances of
the pasta refer to the "Tacuina Sanitatis", manuals of
medical science written and illuminated from the second half of the
14th century to around 1450, which described, in the form of short
precepts, the medical properties of vegetables, fruit trees , spices
and foods, but also of seasons, natural events and movements of the
soul, reporting their effects on the human body and the way to
correct or favor them.
These works based their content mainly
on an original text by the Arab physician Ibn Butlan, active in
Baghdad around the middle of the 11th century and died there in 1052.
Another very important documentary source are the manuscripts of the "Liber de coquina" (from the Latin: Cookbook), together with those of the Southern Anonymous, also written at the Angevin court in Naples, handing down the text of the oldest cookbook of the Christian West, which has come down to our days. Written in vulgar Latin, the Liber represents one of the most important testimonies on the eating habits of the Italian and European courts of the late Middle Ages.
In these manuscripts, parmesan pasta is mentioned for the first time (probably the forerunner of today's overseas "macaroni with cheese") and lasagna as we know it today.
The text of this recipe book has been preserved in two almost identical manuscripts, currently in the possession of the National Library of France, and collected (with other works), in two distinct codes, different in invoice and subject.
To the same Liber family, but successive copies, belong to the ms. Pal. Lat. 1768 (now kept in the Vatican Apostolic Library) and the two recipe books in ms. 158 (Anonymous Tuscan) preserved in the University Library of Bologna.
The manuscripts of the Liber de Coquina have significant features in common with that of the Southern Anonymous, once owned by the B.I.N.G. (Bibliothèque Internationale de Gastronomie) and datable to the first half of the 15th century.
Another very important documentary source are the manuscripts of the "Liber de coquina" (from the Latin: Cookbook), together with those of the Southern Anonymous, also written at the Angevin court in Naples, handing down the text of the oldest cookbook of the Christian West, which has come down to our days. Written in vulgar Latin, the Liber represents one of the most important testimonies on the eating habits of the Italian and European courts of the late Middle Ages.
In these manuscripts, parmesan pasta is mentioned for the first time (probably the forerunner of today's overseas "macaroni with cheese") and lasagna as we know it today.
The text of this recipe book has been preserved in two almost identical manuscripts, currently in the possession of the National Library of France, and collected (with other works), in two distinct codes, different in invoice and subject.
To the same Liber family, but successive copies, belong to the ms. Pal. Lat. 1768 (now kept in the Vatican Apostolic Library) and the two recipe books in ms. 158 (Anonymous Tuscan) preserved in the University Library of Bologna.
The manuscripts of the Liber de Coquina have significant features in common with that of the Southern Anonymous, once owned by the B.I.N.G. (Bibliothèque Internationale de Gastronomie) and datable to the first half of the 15th century.