The Legend of King Sheaf

The legend of King Sheaf comes down to us in three primary sources: Williams of Malmesbury's Gesta Regum Anglorum; Aethelweard's Chronicle; and Beowulf.  It is a Germanic legend and is especially tied to the Danes and the Lombards.  The story goes roughly thus:

A young beautiful boy arrives at a harbor of a kingless people, sleeping alone in a gold-gilt boat.  At his head there is a sheaf of wheat and on either side is a harp and a golden cup.  Amazed at his beautiful singing, the people make him their king and he teaches them to till the soil, husband flocks and how to sing.  This brings great peace and prosperity to the land.

This legend is especially fitting to this project, because it speaks of someone bringing the culinary arts to a people.  That is precisely what we are trying to do ourselves, though not in a golden boat.  Our goal is to create finely prepared food, fully informed with modern culinary advances, but which reaches back to the past for its story.  The history of the dish can affect the ingredients, presentation or even the inspiration for the modern dish.  Any of these three aspects adds, in our opinion, to the enjoyment of the dish.

Recipes which are from literary sources will be noted at the beginning with a reference and a quotation from the source.  Recipes from historical sources will either be reproduced, if copyright permits, or our modernized version will be given along with the reference.  Recipes which are neither literary or historical will be marked under the heading,  "Cafe Saint George."  Such recipes will usually be restaurant-style, fine foods intended for special occasions or romantic dinners.  The serving size of most recipes will be 2 or 4.

For anyone further interested in the legend of King Sheaf, you can of course pursue the sources I mentioned earlier.  If, however, you do not read Latin or Anglo-Saxon you may be longer than expected.  Tolkien did a re-telling of the legend in plain English which you can find in the History of Middle Earth(1).
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1) Tolkien, Christopher, ed. History of Middle Earth: The Lost Road and Other Writings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. London: Harper Collins, 2000. p85