I’m still editing my newest book, That Wylde Woman! When
writing historical fiction, I constantly learn new facts. In one of the party
scenes, I described a lovely spread of foods the characters were munching.
During editing this week, I had to ask myself, is that possible? Was it a tasty
condiment two hundred years ago?
It turns out Dijon mustard is far older than 200 years! It dates back to the Romans. Dijon mustard entered mustard history in the 13 century. Pope John XXII of Avignon doted on his idle nephew who lived in Dijon. A mustard lover, he created a position for his cherished but lackadaisical nephew as the “Grand Moutardier du Pape,” meaning the grand mustard-maker to the pope. From this title comes the French idiom: “he thinks himself the head mustard-maker to the pope,” a laughable censure meaning someone thinks too highly of himself.
It turns out Dijon mustard is far older than 200 years! It dates back to the Romans. Dijon mustard entered mustard history in the 13 century. Pope John XXII of Avignon doted on his idle nephew who lived in Dijon. A mustard lover, he created a position for his cherished but lackadaisical nephew as the “Grand Moutardier du Pape,” meaning the grand mustard-maker to the pope. From this title comes the French idiom: “he thinks himself the head mustard-maker to the pope,” a laughable censure meaning someone thinks too highly of himself.
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