Tuesday 12 June 1660
Visited by the two Pierces, Mr. Blackburne, Dr. Clerk and Mr. Creed, and did give them a ham of bacon.
So to my Lord and with him to the Duke of Gloucester. The two Dukes dined with the Speaker, and I saw there a fine entertainment and dined with the pages.
To Mr. Crew’s, whither came Mr. Greatorex, and with him to the Faithornes, and so to the Devils tavern. To my Lord’s and staid till 12 at night about business. So to my father’s, my father and mother in bed, who had been with my uncle Fenner, &c., and my wife all day and expected me. But I found Mr. Cook there, and so to bed.
Alan Bedford Link to this
"The two Dukes dined with the Speaker...."
I know that currently, the Speaker (of the House of Commons) is not a member of Parliament. Was this also true at the time of the Restoration. Inquiring minds in the Western Hemisphere want to know.
Paul Brewster Link to this
More missing text per L&M: Wheatley wording. [] Missing from Wheatley. {}
So to my Lord and with him to the Duke of Gloucester. {So to Mr. Crews and look over my papers and business to set them in order a little; very hot weather.} The two Dukes dined at [with] the Speakers [Speaker] {this day} and I saw there a fine entertainment and dined with the pages.
Jim Baker Link to this
Alan, The Speaker is an elected Member of Parliament - see the background info annotation for a good link.
Alan Bedford Link to this
I stand corrected. (Memory can play terrible tricks!)
vincent Link to this
"and did give them a ham of bacon"
interesting how bacon started to have a dedicated different meaning from ham
see bacon : Bacon history
Until well into the sixteenth century, bacon or bacoun was a Middle English term used to refer to all pork in general. The term bacon comes from various Germanic and French dialects:
wembley Link to this
So how is this "ham of bacon" actually served? Just sliced on its own, like Spanish tapas? And are Pepys hours getting later as summer advances and the days get longer?
vincent Link to this
from painting I perused in an art book store, the ham appears to be very similar to those one enjoys in Iberia. You get these delicate but tasty slithers(a name presuntos) with ones vino de jour: The one Still Life Market Scene was
signed by Juan Esteban at Ubeda in 1606 and the Kitchen Scene (c. 1604) by a unknown... decoration
of the Prelate’s Gallery of the Palacio Arzobispal in Seville
also came up was back gammon (cribbage) . How did the 2 words back gammon and backgammon have such different meanings:
Jenny Doughty Link to this
I wonder if a 'ham of bacon' is what we would call a 'gammon' these days. That is, it would need to be cooked before it was served.
Grahamt Link to this
A Ham is a cut of pork:
a leg joint, I think. Bacon is a type of pork that has been salt or smoke cured but should be cooked before eating. Though bacon was originally from the side or back of the pig, a "ham of bacon" would be a leg of cured pork for cooking. In modern (British) parlance, ham is cured meat that can be eaten uncooked. A "ham of bacon" would now be called gammon usually. American bacon, we would call crispy streaky-bacon and cooked ham is similar to our bacon.
An informal (i.e. not checked against dictionary) etymology of ham:
jamb = leg (French)
jambon = a ham joint (French)
jamon = ham/bacon (Spanish, pronounced hammon with a hard "h". This might be heard as gammon to an English speaker)
I have never heard bacon used in French except as an English borrowing. Bacon is "lard" in French. Don't know about German (Schweinfleisch, nein?)
Hams or gams are old British slang for (womens) legs.
Wim van der Meij Link to this
Bacon in German is Speck; in Dutch spek. Schweinenfleisch is simply 'pig's meat'