In the days before the internet, before phones, before industrial revolutions, the Medlar was a rich source of entertainment. In medieval times, being edible only after rotting (known as ‘bletting’), it was linked to sexual looseless, moral decay and ageing desire. The open, puckered end of the fruit did little to improve its reputation.
Shakespeare mentions it twice. In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio mocks Romeo’s lovesickness with
“𝑂 𝑅𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜, 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒, 𝑂, 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 / 𝐴𝑛 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛-𝑎𝑟𝑠𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢 𝑎 𝑝𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑟!”
In Timon of Athens
“𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟, 𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛.”
It was not just the Bard who was taken with this literary tool. Francis Beaumont & John Fletcher in 1607’s The Faithful Shepherdess noted
“𝑆ℎ𝑒’𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑙𝑎𝑟, 𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛.”
The Elizabethan pamphleteer Thomas Nashe thought much along the same lines. In 1596 he recorded
“𝐿𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑙𝑎𝑟, 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛.”
In England, some common names for the fruit included ‘Dead man’s bum’, ‘Old whore’s fruit’ and ‘Tinker’s Arse’.
So much food for thought and I’ll be mulling on those lines tomorrow as I prepare Medlar Cheese tomorrow ready for a Christmas pairing with Farmhouse Cheddar and some Stilchester. Tune in tomorrow for details.