Four and Twenty Blackbirds

[AHunter3]

By coincidence, I have read two totally different authors' historical fictions both set in Tudorian times in England, and both mentioning royals feasts that featured live birdies baked into large fancy pies, and which would fly up into the air when the pie crust was cut, to the delight of the banqueters.

Question the First: Is this nonsense? Did these authors just get overexposed to 'Sing a Song of Sixpence' as little kids and the improbable event worked its way into their respective tales? If not, additional questions...

Question the Second: I would not think little birdies covered up with pie crust for more than a moment or two would continue to be live breathing birdies. I would not think little birdies under pie crust being baked at 400° until pie crust is done would be live birdies either. Obviously I'm unclear on the concept. OK maybe the idea was to lower an already-cooked pie crust down over the heads of little birdies and quickly cart the thing out to the dining table -- ? OK little birdies, y'all just sit tight, stay right there, don't freak out, I'm about to lower this here pie crust over your head, don't fly away or anything...

Question the Third: Live little birdies, whether massively freaked out by being covered up with a ceiling of pie crust or not, are likely to add some rather unsavory elements to the recipe, aren't they? Even if it were 4 of them, never mind 4 and 20. Please tell me the guests didn't dig in with knife and fork after their delighted applause and actually eat, right? Hmm, OK, if the pie were never intended to be eaten, it's just a pie crust and some birdies.... well I still don't easily see how to solve the logistical problems. If you superglued their little footsies to the bottom of the pie shell, that would keep them from flying away when you lower the pie crust down over their heads, but it would also keep them from flying up merrily when you cut into the thing.

[Paul in Qatar]

Davidson (Oxford Companion to Food, 1999 p79) mentions few important food uses for Turdus merula but does address the pie issue.

"... the allusion must be to the medieval conceits known as subtleties, which often featured such surprises. "

The discussion of Subtleties (pp 760-761) describes them as between-course entertainments ranging from food sculptures to actors or singers.

[Tapioca Dextrin]

The master (or a minion, anyway) speaks (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msixpence.html).

[CalMeacham]

The same thing shows up in two movies set in ancient times -- Fellini's Satyricon shows them opening something (not a pie -- I think it's a cooked carcass) at Trimalchio's Feast, and birds flying out. It's been too long since I read the Satyricon, and I can't recall if it's described in the extant chapters. All I can think is: 1.) Why aren't those birds dead? and 2.) That cooked thing might be full of bird poop.


Something similar shows up at the court of the Agamemnon/Minos/Theseus character played by Sean Connery in Time Bandits. I'll bet Terry Gilliam lifted it from Fellini.

[C K Dexter Haven]

Tapioca Dextrin (no relation) already mentioned my Staff Report: What's the nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence" all about? (http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msixpence.html) which, I think, covers it pretty well. The birds were not intended to be eaten, but to fly around to entertain and delight the guests. One imagines the server pulling off the top of the pie and yelling "Surprise!" as these birds madly try to escape.

My guess, based on parakeet and canary behavior: when it gets dark, birds tend to go to sleep. So, putting the birds into the pie crust and covering them up would make them think, "Oh, it's night time!" and slip into Zzzz's. Thus, they wouldn't be noisy and squirming when the pie is brought out, but would panic at the first rays of light coming in when the crust is removed. As to how to bake a pie with the birds inside, I didn't research that far since I was trying to explain the nursery rhyme, and it seemed sufficient to verify that it was a known practice without trying to replicate. ;)

[APB]

The text of the 1598 English version of the recipe mentioned in the Staff Report can be found here.

http://www.thousandeggs.com/gretepye.html

(I've checked Epulario on EEBO and the transcription is accurate.)