With four and twenty black-and-white birds, here's the history of the pie
November 22, 2011 12:01 PM Subscribe
NPR's food blog gets wordy:
for the origins of "pie," look to the humble magpie. Though the
etymology of pie doesn't present one clear path, the possibilities are fascinating. English surnames point to pie and pye as a baked good in the 1300s, with
a Peter Piebakere in 1320 and Adam le Piemakere in 1332. Chaucer referred to "pye"
as both a baked good and a magpie (Google books). Or perhaps the fillings were like a magpie's collection of bits and bobs, similar to haggis. You know,
like the French "agace," or magpie (Gb), and similar to
chewets, those baked goods, or
another name for jackdaws (Gb),
relative of the magpie.
One additional tangent is the possibility that the contents of medieval pies could be seen as light crusts and dark filling, as
"pied" refers to a jumble of colors, like the
Pied Piper of Hamelin (1842) (Gb). Jump ahead to the 1850s, and
piebald appears, blending (mag)pie and bald, meaning spotted or white.
If all this talk of pastries filled with whatnot,
Gode Cookery has medieval recipe translations for your perusal and enjoyment.
Another tangent: Sing a Song of Sixpence is another interesting story.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:03 PM on November 22, 2011