This is an excerpt from Du fait de cuisine
(France, 1420 - Elizabeth Cook, trans.)
The original source can be found at
David Friedman's website
45. And to give understanding to him who will make the pilgrim capon let him pluck his fat capons and prepare them very well and cleanly for spitting; and if it is in the season when one can get lampreys, for each capon which is ordered from you arrange that you have a lamprey, and if you are not in the season arrange that you have large fresh eels to make the staffs of the pilgrim capons; and when your capons are well spitted on fair and clean spits take your lampreys and clean the slime off them and clean them well and properly, and remove the tongue and wash well and cleanly. And then each capon should be belted and wrapped with its lamprey (if you could not get any do with large eels what you would have done with lampreys, and first let them be well cleaned and washed); and have them held all around the said capon with good, clean and pretty little skewers or ties and, being thus prepared, put them to the fire for roasting; and arrange that the space under is fair and clean and then put fair silver dishes to receive and gather the drippings which fall from the said capons and lampreys - and if you do not have enough dishes put fair and clean pans. And while you are preparing your capons, lampreys or eels put to boil well and cleanly good pieces of beef, marrow bones and mutton, and put some of the said broth in the said silver dishes and pans which receive the drippings and blood of the lampreys out of which will be made the daudine. And when your capons are well cooked check that you have a container which is very clean, either cornue or other container, to make sure that when your capons are well cooked and you take them off the spit none of them loses its staff, that is its lamprey. And when your capons are taken off take a fair pot which is properly clean and take a fair strainer and strain into your fair pot what you have received in the said silver plates and pans from the said capons and lampreys; and if you see that there is not enough broth to make the said daudine, stretch it with your fair beef broth; and take white ginger and a little grains of paradise and flavor it with verjuice - and let there not be too much of it - and with salt also; and arrange that you have good parsley and have the leaves taken off the stems, and take your fair white bread and make your fair slices to roast, and arrange that you have very good Crampone or Brie cheese or the best you can get; and slice each of the slices of your roasted bread into three slices and then arrange them on your dishes with the cheese on top, and then put your broth on top. And when this comes to the sideboard so should one serve the said sops and on other dishes put the said pilgrim capons.