NOVEL THOUGHTS
………
CROWN, 1996
(available in paperback from Ballantine, 1997)
DONNA WOOLFOLK CROSS, an English professor and author of books on language, became fascinated by references to a female pope in a French novel and spent seven years researching accounts of Pope Joan in ancient manuscripts. Although the Catholic Church denies it, Cross found a solid historical record of Pope Joan, a woman who disguised herself as a man and became Pope in the ninth century. It was impossible, however, to determine details of Joan’s life. Cross chose to write a fictional account of Pope Joan, interweaving historical events and figures of the Middle Ages.
Joan, the daughter of a tyrannical canon and his pagan Saxon wife, shows an early intelligence and aptitude as a scholar. At a time when a learned woman was considered to be unnatural and even dangerous, and when women were forbidden to learn how to read and write, Joan persists in her quest for an education. Her older brother, Matthew, teaches her basic skills, and a visiting Greek scholar, Aesculapius, recognizing Joan’s gifts, instructs her in languages and in the classics. Aesculapius also arranges for Joan to be schooled along with another brother, John, at the palace of the bishop of Dorstadt. At Dorstadt, Joan meets and falls passionately in love with Gerold, a knight.
When John is killed during a Viking attack at Dorstadt, Joan assumes his identity and is initiated into the brotherhood of the Benedictine monastery of Fulda in his place, taking the name Brother John Anglicus. Joan distinguishes herself as a scholar and a healer at the monastery. When an outbreak of plague strikes, Joan escapes and survives. She is drawn to Rome, where she becomes enmeshed in the religious conflicts and political battles of the day. In Rome, she is also reunited with Gerold, unleashing a struggle between her passion for Gerold and her faith.
For her bravery, wisdom, and determination, Joan, in her male identity, is made Pope and sits on the papal throne for two years.
Donna Woolfolk Cross meticulously researched details of culinary life in the Middle Ages for Pope Joan. She suggested we include a medieval pork roast recipe, cormarye, to accompany a discussion of her novel, a recipe based on the meal Joan’s family serves to Aesculapius, an honored guest in their home. “The meal was splendid,” writes Cross in Pope Joan, “the most lavish the family had ever prepared for a guest. There was a haunch of roast salted pork, cooked till the skin crackled, boiled corn and beetroot, pungent cheese, and loaves of crusty bread freshly baked under the embers.”
Cross explained to us her decision to use meat in this important scene:
The presence of meat reflects the visitor’s great importance, for in the ninth century meat was not an everyday item on the tables of poor families. Note that the pork is salted, a common method of preservation back then. Salted meat could be stored for several months, guaranteeing a supply of food during the lean winter months.
I get more reader feedback than most authors, for I chat by speakerphone with reading groups all over the country several times a week. During these fun and lively conversations, someone inevitably comments on the inclusion of corn in the meal, pointing out that corn is a New World, not an Old World, food.
But in truth, what we Americans refer to as corn is actually maize—a grain that is indeed native to North America and not Europe. Corn, on the other hand, is an ancient word that means grain or seed.
However, considering the number of readers I have confused in this way, I certainly wish I could go back in time and write that the dish was boiled barley!
Our recipe for cormarye is based on a fourteenth-century English recipe and adapted from Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks, by Constance B. Hieatt (University of Toronto Press, 1996). Cross suggests preparing any grain, such as barley, to accompany this medieval pork roast, should readers wish to reproduce the entire meal. You may prepare this dish using a larger roast—just increase the amount of marinade proportionately and allow a longer cooking time.
|
1 teaspoon caraway seed 5 cloves garlic, pressed or mashed 1 cup red wine |
½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 3-pound boneless pork loin roast Pork or chicken broth for deglazing pan juices Dry bread crumbs (optional) |
Grind the coriander and caraway seeds as finely as possible, using a spice mill or mortar and pestle, and place in a medium bowl. Add the garlic, wine, and salt and pepper and stir to combine.
Prick the pork loin all over with a fork and place in a resealable plastic bag. Pour the prepared marinade into the bag, squeeze out as much air as possible, and seal. Make sure the marinade coats the meat well. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 325°F. Place pork loin in a metal roasting pan with half the marinade, and roast until done, basting occasionally with remaining marinade and pan juices. Cooking time should be about 1 hour, but will vary with the size and shape of the roast. A meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the roast should register at least 160°F. (Some people prefer a more well-done roast, up to 180°F. At 160°F, the roast should be done but slightly pink in the center.)
Transfer the roast to a serving dish. Place the roasting pan on a burner over medium heat and add a small amount of broth. Bring to a boil, scraping browned bits from bottom of pan with a spatula. Thicken with bread crumbs if desired, and serve as a sauce alongside pork.
Yield: 6 servings
NOVEL THOUGHTS
A Room of Her Own Book Group is named for a separate section of the Frugal Frigate Bookstore in Redlands, California, a room dedicated to books by, for, and about women, where the book group meets monthly.
Store owner Katherine Thomerson says many members enjoy historical fiction, and they loved Donna Woolfolk Cross’s Pope Joan. “What I love about literature is when the author gives you fiction that causes you to talk about truth, and this was the case with Pope Joan,” says Thomerson.
Pope Joan provoked a “hot discussion,” says Thomerson, as many members didn’t realize it was a fictional episode until they read the author’s notes at the end, and some felt they had to reread the book.
“This was a period of history members were unfamiliar with,” says Thomerson. “We were amazed that this episode was passed over in Catholic history. During the ensuing discussion of religion and politics, we explored what other events the Church might have hidden.”
More Food for Thought
“I wanted to include a few items that were on the feast table,” says Myra Anderson of the snacks she prepared for her book club, Wine, Women, and Words, when they discussed Pope Joan at her home in the Boston suburbs. Anderson served chicken drumsticks from a local grocery store, dried figs, apricots, dates, and spiced nuts. “There were several places in Pope Joan where the author described food on banquet tables such as fruits and nuts,” says Anderson. “While I couldn’t exactly put out a stuffed goose or suckling pig, chicken drumsticks seemed a symbolic substitute.” Anderson did devise an appropriate table centerpiece: a stuffed animal in the form of a moose with a pig’s nose.
Wine, Women, and Words enjoyed having author Donna Woolfolk Cross join them via speakerphone. “Her enthusiasm and wit sparked quite a lively conversation,” said member Ann Marie Gluck. “We came into the meeting somewhat skeptical that Joan could have hidden her gender for decades, but after speaking with Donna Cross, we were convinced that a woman could indeed have successfully deceived so many people by hiding her gender in the ninth century.”