Dear readers, I am very proud to say that the English translation of my Landsknecht Cookbook can now be pre-ordered through Kickstarter. The publisher is adding five more recipes not found in the German original and is asking for pre-print subscription to cover production costs.
Swaggering in their extravagant finery, Landsknecht soldiers are the stereotypical example of daring and rebelliousness, feared and admired in equal measure. Their contemporaries knew them as insatiable drinkers and demanding eaters. Officers were terrified of their anger when food ran short. Surviving songs tell us how they suffered hunger and cold and dreamed of roast chickens and cool wine. But what was actually on their plates?
This book tracks down the facts behind the legend. How were Landsknecht armies supplied? What foods did they know and how did they cook them? Based on a wide range of original sources from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the book begins with an extended essay on the history of Landsknecht soldiering and presents over 50 recipes for the foods that the Landsknechts knew in good and in lean times. Each recipe includes a translation of the original source text and a tested adaptation for the modern kitchen.
On June 30, 2021, we (Zauberfeder) published Volker Bach’s Landsknecht Cookbook in German. In 2022, we want to publish an English edition of the cookbook with the help of this Kickstarter campaign, and we need your support! The German edition of the book is published as a hardcover in a square format (21 x 20 cm) with 152 full-colour pages. There are professional photographs for many of the recipes.
The main goal of the Kickstarter campaign for the English edition is to fund the production of the book. We want to publish a book that will give Living History fans all over the world insight into the way of life, the traditions, and the unique cuisine of the Landsknechts!