Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany - 129 Prmeroll at pasche

Recipes from the Wagstaff Miscellany (Beinecke MS 163)

This manuscript is dated about 1460.

The 200 (approx.) recipes in the Wagstaff miscellany are on pages 56r through 76v.

Images of the original manuscript are freely available on the Yale University Library website.

I have done my best to provide an accurate, but readable transcription. Common abbreviations have been expanded, the letters thorn and yogh have been replaced with their modern equivalents, and some minor punctuation has been added.

Copyright © 2014 by Daniel Myers, MedievalCookery.com

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129. Prineroll at pasche
Take blanch almondys & the floures of primeroll grynd hem temper hem up with swete wyne & with a perty of swete broth draw hit unto a thike mylke do hit in a pott sygure & salt & a lytyll safron that hit have the same colour as the primroll hath boyle hit & but hit be stondyng a ley hit with floure of ryse & serve forthe as stondyng potage & strew on primroll abovyn thu may yf thu wilt daperte hit in the disches dryssyng with rape ryall or with some othir stondyng sewe in.

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This recipe is a match for recipe 69 from A Noble Boke off Cookry.

To mak prymerolle in pasthe tak blanched almondes and flour of prymerose grind it and temper it with swet wyne and good brothe drawinge into the thik mylk put it into a pot with sugur salt and saffron that it haue colour lik prymerolle and boile it that it be stondinge and alay it with flour of rise and serue it as a standinge potage and strawe ther on flour of prymerolle aboue and ye may diaper it with rape rialle in dressinge of some other sewe.  [A Noble Boke off Cookry (England, 1468)]

There is also a recipe for primrose in Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books that is clearly related.

Cviij - Prymerose. Take other half-pound of Flowre of Rys, .iij. pound of Almaundys, half an vnce of hony and Safroune, and take the flowres of the Prymerose, and grynd hem, and temper hem vppe with Mylke of the Almaundys, and do pouder Gyngere ther-on: boyle it, and plante thin skluce with Rosys, and serue forth.  [Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (England, 1430)]

The description of the dish as "stonding" indicates an extremely thick dish, like very thick oatmeal. The instruction at the end of the Wagstaff and Noble versions to diaper (decorate all over) with a second recipe appears unique to these two cookbooks.  Note that this second dish, Rape Royal, is likely a sweet, thick sauce of raisins and figs.


The name of the recipes suggests a dish to me made around Easter (Pasch), which makes sense given the lack of eggs and the use of flower petals.