5,079
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
no edit summary
With these words begins the last chapter, or Book XII, of ''Pan Tadeusz''. Its creation must have been overseen by at least three muses: Calliope (who presides over epic poetry), Thalia (responsible for the comic relief) and Gastronomia (not listed among the classic nine). As [[Epic Cooking: In the Tribune's Kitchen|we've seen in the previous post]], Adam Mickiewicz, the epic poem's author, took inspiration from two old Polish cookbooks. From one (''The Perfect Cook'' by Wojciech Wielądko) he took the title, from the other (''Compendium Ferculorum'' by Stanisław Czerniecki), everything else.
Book XII is almost all about a fictional banquet, said to be the last truly Old Polish feast. It is held by Judge Soplica in an abandoned castle about a mile away from his own manor called Soplicowo. Tribune Hreczecha, ever the Renaissance man, who served as the master chef in Book XI, now replaces his flyswatter with a ceremonial staff indicating that he is now the master of ceremonies. It is him he who, in the Judge's name, welcomes and seats the guests, and decides what dishes, in what order and on what tableware are to be served.
There are as many as three occasions for the big ceremonial dinner. First, it's a religious holiday, "the most solemn day of Our Lady of [the] Flowers".<ref>{{Cyt
