Are Finger Guns Period?

At our Baronial Investiture, I had convinced my peeps that our Barony's new "gang sign" should be finger guns. Someone told me that finger guns aren't period because pistols aren't period. "Really? You think," I responded, "finger guns weren't used until someone invented the pistol? I say to you that pistols were invented because of the existence of finger guns."

So, is there any evidence of finger guns pre-dating pistols?

Take a gander at this image of Marpesia and Lampedo (BNF Fr. 599, fol. 12). A clearly defined finger gun from the end of the 15th century.

Here we see another finger gun from 1440, from Le Champion des Dames, » par « MARTIN LE FRANC, prevost de l'église de Lausane.

Here we see Roberte from the 1564 "Roberte the Deuyll: A Metrical Romance" with a rare double-barreled finger gun.

Here is another 15th century image, although I was not able to track down the source.

Here is Christine de Pisan (1363?) with an over-the-breast finger gun.

Here is a silver arm reliquary of Saint George, the rootinest tootinest saint who ever lived. This is dated to the 13th century and can be found at Conques, at the Trésor De L'Eglise Sainte-Foy

Here is a 14th century Irish reliquary of St. Patrick held at Ulster Museum. 

And, finally, a 14th century Swiss Reliquary Arm of St. Valentine in the now familiar pose. You can visit this item at the New York Met.

So, it would appear that finger guns were relatively common in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. The word pistol didn't appear in the French language until around 1550 and in English around 1570. The first firearm small enough for us to call a pistol didn't appear until 1605. So, I am confident in saying that the pistol was invented due to the common practice of finger guns.

 Scroll Text - Padraig O'Branduibha  - Step Down Scroll 2022

Kingdom of AEthelmearc - Service Award

Padraig O'Branduibha is mighty and did hold Our Lands fast. Fending off foe and strife and plague these last few long years, so we have Herd. Yet the winter storms Bleat against the walls and it is his time to travel home, and make way for new blood as Spring and a new Sun will come. Yet before We release him from Our Service and Our Bonds, We would add one gentle balm for him to take along to ease his weary Hide. And before he Goats away, We wish that all shall know and see Our Will, thus do We give by Our Hands a Coronet and Grant unto him a Court Barony. For now, this great Baron, no longer with lands to hold for Ram-some, should retire and Hoof it along the long trek to home, hearth, cats, and wife. Done by Our Hands and Our Will this 17th Day of December, AS57 at Investiture in the Barony of the Rhydderich Hael. 

Scroll Text - Eleanor Godwin - Tangled Rose 2022

Barony of the Rhydderich Hael - Service Award

Proclaim to all peers, nobles and gentles these present letters hearing or seeing, Padraig and Juliana, otherwise called Baron and Baroness of the Barony of the Rhydderich Hael and the Canton of Beau Fleuve, send humble and due recommendation. As it appears for so much as the Tangled Rose, right noble Order, is, before this day, short of a full compliment, we have been moved to take action upon this day. We have been informed, by peers, nobles and gentles beyond reproach, of the decades of service that Eleanor Godwin has done for ourselves and for our forebears. We are well pleased by the diverse acts of service that she has performed that we are moved to add her name to the rolls of the said noble Order which they and their successors might boldly and vowably occupy challenge to our will and desire for evermore without any rebuke of any estate or gentle of this Realm or any lesser Realm. Thus is our will made into law on this 17th day of December, AS 57, at our final Court, at the Investiture of Magnus and Thalia. 

inspired by Grant of Arms to the Carpenters Company of London, 1466

 More notes on Mad Cheese Science

Just some further notes on my mad cheese science experiment. This is basically to help me codify my mental notes for my next batch, so that I don't have to sort through pages of notes looking for the oven temperature I used.

I made a double batch of tarts for Baronial Investiture this weekend. I plan on foisting them on several people to get their opinions. I think that I have a winning combination of flavor and texture and I don't think I need to make any more changes. The goal was produce something that met the guidelines of the following recipe:

For flaunes.
Take new chese and grynde hit fayre,
In morter with egges, with out dysware;
Put powder þer to of sugur, I say,
Coloure hit with safrone ful wele þou may;
Put hit in cofyns þat bene fayre,
And bake hit forthe, I thee pray.

For tarts.
Take new cheese and grind it fair,
In [a] mortar with eggs, without doubt;
Put powder thereto of sugar, I say,
Color it with saffron quite well you may;
Put it in coffins that are fair,
And bake it forth, I thee pray.

And be a luxury treat for the upper crust of society. It needed to be made with ingredients found in the 15th century and could be made entirely by hand: no modern electronic devices. I think that I hit every check box on my list. 

For a batch of 40 using 2" x 1" tart pans.

Fair coffins:

2 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 cup of sugar

16 ounces salted butter, melted. 

4 tablespoons hot water with a pinch of saffron added.

I let the saffron steep for ten minutes or so while I mixed the flour and sugar together. Then I added the saffron water and the melted butter. I mixed everything together by hand until all of the flour was integrated. The dough wasn't really colored by the saffron. I guess I will need to use more, for the next batch.

Then I lubed up my tart pans with some Pam and packed the dough into the pans with my fingers. I did two batches of 20, because that is how many tart pans I have. I docked the bottom of the shells and I baked at 400F for 8 minutes, until they just started to brown. I let them cool for 15 minutes before coaxing them out of the pans. Then I loaded up the pans with the remainder of the dough and repeated the process.

This was done a couple of days before I planned on filling the shells, so I parked the shells in the fridge.

Filling:

Two beaten eggs

An equal volume of basket cheese

Half that volume of sugar.

2 tablespoons hot water with a pinch of saffron added.

I added the cheese and sugar to a zip top bag and mushed them together into a paste. I found that this method works just as well as using a mortar and pestle but faster and with less mess. And I can use the same bag and not wash another bowl. I then added the saffron water and mushed them together. Then I added the eggs and, again, mushed them together. 

Then I loaded up the shells on a baking sheet, and filled them with as much filling as would fit in each. Maybe a half tea-spoon's worth in each. I baked them at 350F for 11 or 12 minutes, until the filling had set, then let them sit on the counter for 10 minutes before touching. The ones that had their shells fall apart in the oven were disposed of in a humane fashion. 

They came out great.