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With these words begins the last chapter, or Book XII, of ''Pan Tadeusz''. Its creation must have been overseen by no fewer than 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: The Perfect Cook|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 entirely 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 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
| tytuł = Pan Tadeusz, or The Last Foray in Lithuania: A Tale of the Gentry during 1811-1812
| url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170707131534/http://www.antoranz.net/BIBLIOTEKA/PT051225/PanTad-eng/PT-Start.htm#CONTENTS
}}, Book XI, verses 153–154</ref> Mickiewiczologists can't entirely agree as to the identity of this Catholic solemnity. Some say there is no such holiday, so the poet must have meant Our Lady of the Herbs, that is, Assumption Day, observed on 15 August. They propose various arguments, from historical (in real life, Napoleon invaded Russia only on 24 June 1812) to climatic and botanical ones (the spring of 1812 came late, so no flowers were yet blooming in March). But the poet was quite unequivocal in Book XI that the action was taking place in the springtime rather than in the summer. Besides, Our Lady of the Flowers does existsexist, as this it is an old folk name for the feast of Annunciation, observed on 25 March. On this day, the mother of Jesus gets herself knocked up, while Napoleon (according to Mickiewicz) begins his campaign to knock the Russian tsar down. The former brings hope for salvation of all humanity from sin, while the latter brings hope for resurrecting Poland as an independent state. The poem makes no mention of the disaster that Napoleon's invasion of Russia would turn out to be; the mood is full of joy and hope until the end.
The second occasion is a triple betrothal; Thaddeus proposes to Sophie, the Notary to Telimena and the Assessor to Tekla Hreczecha, the daughter "not too young, of some at least fifty years,"<ref>A. Mickiewicz, ''op. cit.'', Book XI, verse 669</ref> of the master of today's ceremonies. And finally, the third occasion is the presence of Polish soldiers serving in the French army, including Gen. Dąbrowski, whom the Judge wishes to honour by inviting them to dinner. In line with the general's request, the dinner will feature "Polish cooking", reflecting Old Polish cuisine as imagined by Mickiewicz.
