Imperial Legionnaire's Cookbook
... Bring the water to a rapid boil before adding the sliced vegetables, as well as the herb blend to season them. While that is cooking, take the time to ensure the haunch on the spit isn't burning and collect the drippings in whatever vessel you have handy.Common folk do not usually possess a great many books, as good books which last long are slightly more expensive and lacking a use most times. However, the Imperial Legionnaire's Cookbook is one of the few which is almost guaranteed to be among the meager collection of tomes in an average household. The authors ("The Culinary Association") have made great efforts to keep the book continually being written, updated, and with different or new content each edition. Because it's been in circulation for the last three hundred years in various states, in twelve editions, finding an affordable copy is not difficult. It's finding one which is complete and lacking edits or handwritten notes in the margins from previous owners which is extremely difficult.
Historical Details
History
The book was conceived by a couple travelers, and written with the aid of several others who would meet with them over the course of a year. According to the principal authors, they met with a Legion veteran along the road and camped together for security. After he cooked them a simple stew which tasted amazing, they inquired about where he learned the recipe. After arriving at the city they were all headed to, many days later, the two realized they certainly could write about their experience on the road with a veteran cooking dinner. This became the driving force to seek out other veterans and ask about their cooking habits as well.
Over the course of research, it became clear the task would be enormous and likely to consume a large portion of their lives. Unless they asked for help, getting the information was going to take the better part of a decade. And so the travelers began forming a guild ("The Culinary Association") with the idea of sharing credit for the work through the members. Over a dozen travelers signed the charter in total, as well as many of the veterans approached for significant parts of the book's contents. After the collection of information was finished, writing on the manuscript began. This itself took almost a year, as two major changes happened during this period.
First, for a lesser issue, many of the veterans insisted on leaving their names out of the book while still being given proper payment for their information. According to them, it was more important the knowledge about those recipes was saved than who got credit for making them up - and as with many things developed in a group of people, it was difficult to say who had an idea first. The authors and other researchers in the Association wound up fielding a great many of these requests which delayed the book's final writing.
Secondly, a far greater issue arose as during that year a number of the veterans perished and left their descendants to deal with the guild. Sorting out these issues wound up delaying the book's release for several years, during which more veterans passed away and complicating the issue further. It took almost an entire decade to fully arrange the book from concept to a final writing, and two more years for scribes to make enough copies for "The Imperial Legionnaire's Cookbook" to be first distributed.
Over the course of research, it became clear the task would be enormous and likely to consume a large portion of their lives. Unless they asked for help, getting the information was going to take the better part of a decade. And so the travelers began forming a guild ("The Culinary Association") with the idea of sharing credit for the work through the members. Over a dozen travelers signed the charter in total, as well as many of the veterans approached for significant parts of the book's contents. After the collection of information was finished, writing on the manuscript began. This itself took almost a year, as two major changes happened during this period.
First, for a lesser issue, many of the veterans insisted on leaving their names out of the book while still being given proper payment for their information. According to them, it was more important the knowledge about those recipes was saved than who got credit for making them up - and as with many things developed in a group of people, it was difficult to say who had an idea first. The authors and other researchers in the Association wound up fielding a great many of these requests which delayed the book's final writing.
Secondly, a far greater issue arose as during that year a number of the veterans perished and left their descendants to deal with the guild. Sorting out these issues wound up delaying the book's release for several years, during which more veterans passed away and complicating the issue further. It took almost an entire decade to fully arrange the book from concept to a final writing, and two more years for scribes to make enough copies for "The Imperial Legionnaire's Cookbook" to be first distributed.
Public Reaction
The book's first edition was released during a time of relative peace, with many veterans having retired from active service. As there was some friction happening due to their return from active duty to 'normal life', the book was originally thought of as an attempt to poke fun at those people. Once it was realized the contents were honest, thorough, and helped show there was more to the Legion than war there was a re-evaluation of matters.
Veterans who were not involved in writing the book, and read it, wound up sending letters to the Culinary Association offering more anecdotes and recipes in case there was ever a second book. Citizens who read it often cited it as being extraordinarily interesting, and several of the methods used in the book for old standard recipes became the new standard as knowledge of the book spread. With such a positive reaction, the Culinary Association extended their charter to produce a second edition with two volumes.
Veterans who were not involved in writing the book, and read it, wound up sending letters to the Culinary Association offering more anecdotes and recipes in case there was ever a second book. Citizens who read it often cited it as being extraordinarily interesting, and several of the methods used in the book for old standard recipes became the new standard as knowledge of the book spread. With such a positive reaction, the Culinary Association extended their charter to produce a second edition with two volumes.
Legacy
Do you know how hard it is to find a fourth edition with all the pages intact? I mean, most people do agree the chapter on making waybread is as useless as dried water, but still!The Imperial Legionnaire's Cookbook was reproduced for twelve editions, and had several companion books which were either "only the recipes" or "only the tales about the veterans". The Culinary Association wound up becoming loosely affiliated with the Legions living in the Sanguine province, due to the increasing attention of the book and its contents. The tenth edition (in five volumes) is still the most popular version, as it contained all the recipes and vignettes together, while the two subsequent versions began omitting several things for space. While it is popular, many people own only the portion of the five volumes which they use most often for reference.
Additionally, the fifth edition was first collected by the Sages of Myrisic to add to their collection as a "significant work". This wound up spreading awareness of the cookbook much further than it had until that point, even if it remains more popular inside the Imperium than elsewhere.
Have to admit, I like how in-depth you went with this article. I like the use of quotes, as I myself have not yet mastered them. Other than that, I like the origin story, seems like a very down to earth thing that could definitely happen. Two questions; one, what happened to the couple original travelers that started the organisation? Also, over how much time are the 12 editions spread out in?
Hmmm, the original authors' fates are likely unknown outside of "legends say", and usually I try to keep the articles based in "what the people would know" rather than a completely truthful recounting. As for the time, I'm wondering if the editing from draft to release lost it'd been in publication/circulation for several centuries. (Had to remember old time books were not quickly made without a printing press. Which I'm not putting into the world yet.)