A meal for the forgiveness from marriage

A meal for the forgiveness from marriage

 

Many bizarre stories have been woven into Varaždin's history. One of them is definitely the story of the butcher Martin Miklec from the late 17th century.

This dedicated bachelor bought an expensive meal to the „noble guild“ in exchange for his bachelorship.

In 1692 Martin Miklec asked the guild-master if he could be accepted into the guild so he could become a butcher in Varaždin. He proved that he had fulfilled all the conditions, promised to pay the fee. However, there was a serious obstacle standing in his wax to owning a butcher shop.

All the butchers in the butcher guild had to be married! So Miklec asked the guild to forgive him this condition for some time, and he will pay a rich meal for all the guild members. However, he did not fulfill this condition so he had to pay 1 golden coin every year to the guild.

The meals prepared by the butcher guild were described by Rudolf Horvat in his book „Povijest grada Varaždina“ (a book on the history of Varaždin). For example, guild-master Možar bought a vast amount of meat for the pre-Chtistmas meal; 22 hens, 6 ducks and 3 geese, one wild goose and duck, one calf, 2 turkeys, two chickens, two pigeons, some beef, bacon, pork jerky, ox tongue, partridges and „other birds“. The guild-master also got hold of some sausages of different kinds, snails, cheese and butter, vegetables and other food.

155 pints, or 434 litres of wine were bought for this occasion. Even though the members of the butcher's guild were known as big eaters and gourmets, it is unclear how only 17 butchers managed to eat all that food and drink all that wine.

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