The Book of Sent Sovi: Medieval recipes from Catalonia (Textos B) [Paperback]

Joan Santanach (Editor), Robin Vogelzang (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2008

The Book of Sent Sovi, composed around the middle of the fourteenth century, is the oldest surviving culinary text in Catalan. It is anonymous and, like the majority of medieval cookery books, is the product of a complex process of transmission, with multiple manuscript copies and readers who have left their mark on it. The contents are eminently practical. Successive cooks have recorded their own methods of preparing the dishes and recipes included, blending several culinary traditions in a single work. Sent Sovi­ is also a reliable source of information on the cookery of the territories of the Crown of Aragon before the revolution caused by the arrival of products from the Americas. This edition includes both an English translation, by Robin Vogelzang, and the original Catalan version. It has been the editor's aim to clarify the difficult passages in the book - sometimes corrupted because of the complex manuscript tradition - so that it can be understood as easily as possible by its twenty-first-century readers. Published in association with Editorial Barcino.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This English translation of the Book of Sent Soví provides an intriguing glimpse into the kitchens of the moneyed classes in fourteenth-century Catalonia; it should be of interest to anyone interested in the region and the period. BULLETIN OF SPANISH STUDIES As an artefact the first English translation of the Llibre is beautiful and simple. Robin Vogelzang's careful and thoughtful English rendering was made from the edition of 2006 by Joan Santanach and the Catalan text faces the translated pages. (A) welcome translation. THE MEDIEVAL REVIEW

About the Author

Joan Santanach lectures on medieval literature at the University of Barcelona.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Tamesis Books (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1855661640
• ISBN-13: 978-1855661646
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #652,240 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Book of Sent Sovia, another example of Catalan Culture, January 24, 2010

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Jorge Pique "free catalonia and tibet" (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Book of Sent Sovi: Medieval recipes from Catalonia (Textos B) (Paperback)

Catalonia had a parlament long before England, the first consulats in the world were and the first maritime law was created and written by Catalonians. The first UN originated in Catalonia; in the 10th century 100 wise men (consell de cent) would meet to talk against war and for peace in the world. Of course one of the oldest cooking books in the world had to be in Catalan.

Nowadays, 2 of the top ten Michellin restaurants in the world are Catalan (1st and 4th top wordl restaurants). The best chef and the best restaurant in the world has for the last three years been Catalan. Catalonia has survived 300 years of continous Spanish genocide, imagine how much would have Catalonia brought to the world if Catalonia was not longer strangled and empobrished by Spain. The book is interesting not to take recepies from it, but as to give you a look to middleages cooking.

Want to know more about Catalonia's contribution to the world read Colom of Catalonia. By the way, Colombus was an explorer never a soldier or a conquistador. The Spaniards paid for Colom's expedition, Spaniards were the famous conquistadores, inquisidores y matadores.