Note: Items that appear as RED LINKS are topic pages that have yet to be created
After being waylaid by the discovery of actual extant copies of some of our ‘most wanted’ books, let’s refocus on the gamelle… by looking at one of the books, of course! No, we didn’t spring for overnight international shipping – not one hour after boasting of my discovery and proclaiming it’s import due to the lack of a digital verson…. Kori pops in with a digital. And then a high-res one a few hours later.
Without further ado… Règlement provisoire sur le service de l’infanterie en campagne, 1778 edition
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k9744279x and http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k97522147 both of same printing office, one may have better resolution….
So there are two immediate results for a keyword search (I love you, BNF and your above average OCR!) on pages 4 and 5, respectively:
“LES marmites de cuivre étant sujettes au vert-de-gris, elles seront désormais de fer battu, & il en sera donné une de huit en huit hommes, ainsi qu’une gamelle”
“CHAQUE chambrée sera pourvue d’une gamelle, d’un bidon , ainsi que des fourches , travers brifés & piquets nécessaires pour dresser les tentes”
Roughly:
“The pots of copper being subject to verdigris [corrosion], they will be henceforth made of beaten iron, and will be given one of eight in eight men, as well as a bowl”
“Each chambree will be provided with a bowl, a [water] jug, as well as
forksfourches*, travers brifés, and stakes needed to set up the tents.”*Turns out, I’m an idiot at the wee hours of the morning, and/or was too set in my view of the French being the type of army to have civilised cutlery…. more detail in a future post
Known/Assumed known:
- Definition of chambrée (noun) Ensemble de personnes qui partagent la même chambre. or, a group of people who share the same room.
- A gamelle is a metal bowl / mess tin, this occurence likely being the ancestor of the gamelle known throughout the next 200 years.
Understood that:
- A forged iron pot and a metal bowl will be given one each to every group of eight men
- Each chambree will be given a bowl, a jug, forks, travers brifés, and the stakes needed to set up the tents.
Assuming that…. (Let’s jump to) Conclusions:
- The bowl referred to on pg 4 (first exerpt) and on page 5 (second exerpt) are the same bowl, THUS a chambree likely consists of eight men.
- The tents referenced are for the men to sleep in, THUS the most likely occupancy of a tent is 8 men.
Suspicions to look into:
- what is/are travers brifés and what purpose do they serve?
OCR of first http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k9744279x/f1n236.texteBrut and second http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k97522147/f1n236.texteBrut