Dear Listers, I love the little Scottish history snippets but reading "A Scottish law of 1433 prohibited provision of pies to anyone under the rank of baron." Left me writhing with curiosity. What was so special about pies that only barons and above could have them? [Today we regard them as a handy way of using up odd bits of meat, etc. Were they different in 1433?] "Provision": Was it providing them that was illegal i.e. anybody could eat them but it was illegal to provide them to non-nobles? That law raises so many questions. Can anybody shine light on this odd little corner, please? Regards Trevor Agnew, Christchurch, New Zealand [or Brisbane, Queensland perhaps] -----Original Message----- From: sct-wigtownshire-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:sct-wigtownshire-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of DIANA HENRY Sent: Sunday, 10 June 2007 5:12 a.m. To: sct-wigtownshire@roots Subject: [WIG LIST] WFP 23 FEBRUARY 1888 LINDA has pointed out that of course Brisbane ,Queensland is not in New Zealand. It was in the original copy. Sorry I did not notice this, I am more concerned with getting the names correct! these copies are very black. Diana ------------------------------- == Scottish History == A Scottish law of 1433 prohibited provision of pies to anyone under the rank of baron. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SCT-WIGTOWNSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I dunno, but I'd like to hazard a guess that the "peasants" very rarely had meat, as only the upper crust could afford it, plus they were not allowed to hunt on land that they did not own. The highlanders, for example, kept scrawny cows, got the milk from same, then curds and whey, thence to cheese. They also lived on kale and cabbage. If the crofter helped himself to the land's bounty for rabbit and deer, for example, the consequences could be dire. Like meat, potatoes were considered to be a scarce commodity for the poor, but by the mid-1700s they were very much a part of the diet. Unfortunately, the Irish did not seem to have such a diverse "table," and when the blight hit in the mid-to-late 1800s it was disastrous. It is seldom mentioned that this blight also affected Britain and parts of Europe. I stand corrected on the above as I am not an agrarian and am just picking my brains as to why the barons and lords and ladies ate pies and the hoi-polloi did not. Maisie ----- Original Message ----- From: "T & J Agnew" <agnewtj@xtra.co.nz> To: "'DIANA HENRY'" <dianahhenry@btinternet.com>; "'sct-wigtownshire@roots'" <Sct-Wigtownshire@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, June 09, 2007 1:44 PM Subject: Re: [WIG LIST] Why Pies? Why providing? > Dear Listers, > I love the little Scottish history snippets but reading "A Scottish law of > 1433 prohibited provision of pies to anyone under the rank of baron." Left > me writhing with curiosity. > What was so special about pies that only barons and above could have them? > [Today we regard them as a handy way of using up odd bits of meat, etc. Were > they different in 1433?] > "Provision": Was it providing them that was illegal i.e. anybody could eat > them but it was illegal to provide them to non-nobles? > That law raises so many questions. > > Can anybody shine light on this odd little corner, please? > > Regards > > Trevor Agnew, Christchurch, New Zealand [or Brisbane, Queensland perhaps] > > -----Original Message----- > From: sct-wigtownshire-bounces@rootsweb.com > [mailto:sct-wigtownshire-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of DIANA HENRY > Sent: Sunday, 10 June 2007 5:12 a.m. > To: sct-wigtownshire@roots > Subject: [WIG LIST] WFP 23 FEBRUARY 1888 > > LINDA has pointed out that of course Brisbane ,Queensland is not in New > Zealand. It was in the original copy. Sorry I did not notice this, I am > more concerned with getting the names correct! these copies are very > black. > Diana > > ------------------------------- > == Scottish History == > A Scottish law of 1433 prohibited provision of pies to anyone under the rank > of baron. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > SCT-WIGTOWNSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > ------------------------------- > == Scottish History == > A Scottish law of 1433 prohibited provision of pies to anyone under the rank of baron. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SCT-WIGTOWNSHIRE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message --------------------------------------------------------------------------------