7) The Helmeted Cock
See the image above? To source that, I just had to type “Helmeted Cock” into Google. So not only did I see some stuff that will stay with me for a while, but now that’s part of my history, and I’m soon going to be getting some strange algorithmically driven ads. Anyway, while we’re still in the Middle Ages we should spare a moment’s thought for the Helmeted Cock: the militarily outfitted equivalent to baby monkey riding on a pig. Both were designed to entertain; neither needed to happen.
The idea behind the Helmeted Cock is that the pig represents the noble steed while the cock—resplendent in military regalia—stands in for the gallant knight errant. Guaranteed to get a good laugh at banquets, it was served up as a companion to the Cockentrice (see the previous item). But unlike its more famous counterpart, the Helmeted Cock only appears in one medieval manuscript: a cookbook by the name of Le Viandier de Taillevent by Guillaume Tirel.
Guillaume Tirel describes the method for preparing the Helmeted Cock thusly: First, after roasting both pig and poultry, stuff the latter without skinning it and glaze it with egg batter. Second, sit the bird astride the pig and equip it with a glued paper helmet and a lance balanced on its breast. Finally, to add the finishing touches and put the royalty in the royal meat (or “ryl mete” as it was then known), cover the lance with coloured leaf to signify the bird comes from noble stock (gold or silver leaf should the cock symbolise a lord, otherwise white, red, or green tin).