Medieval Poles were often called beer lovers. The Anglo-Saxons, however, were able to consume many more liters of the brewery. Painting by Adriaen Brouwer "Drunken Peasants in the Tavern".
If we were to look at the map showing the medieval zones of influence of beer, the most popular drink at that time, it could only be found in Silesia (taking into account today's Polish borders). In Europe, dominated by this amber drink, there was one nation recognized as the greatest beer drinker of the Middle Ages. They were from England.
However, do not think about beer with the addition of hops. English brewery, or ale It was brewed with barley malt enriched with herbs. It was less often wheat or spelled. Hops were used as a spice in beer since the 8th century, but most brewers, discouraged by the Franconian mystic Hildegard of Bingen, replaced it with other spices. This great medieval dietitian claimed that after drinking hopped beer, human guts would feel heavy.
For medieval English peasants, drinking alcohol was part of the daily routine. Painting by Pieter Brueghel the Younger "Peasants in the Tavern".
For the inhabitant of medieval England but it was as common as bread, so much so that its price was regulated by statute. Everyone drank beer. Joseph and Frances Gies in their book " Life in a Medieval Village "They write:" If it was possible, every meal (including breakfast) was washed down with a weak but ". Beer could not be too strong as it would interfere with daily chores. Stronger species were used for feasting tables.
But for life
Richer peasant families avoided drinking water, which spread disease. They preferred beer. Milk was considered a drink for the elderly and children - but even they consumed but more often. because it was slightly sweet. Wine was the most frequent guest on your tables, although the English lords also did not shy away from the amber drink. Interestingly, medieval beer turned sour quickly. Back then, they were seasoned with honey and herbs - such as cinnamon, ground pepper or blue ginger - and egg yolks were added. If someone could afford it, of course. Joseph and Frances Gies in their book " Life in a Medieval Village ”They add that in poorer homes
barley grains for the glaze were germinated in a moist, warm place and then cooked in a pot. The water could then be decanted, sweetened with honey and drunk as "barley water" or allowed to ferment in the form of beer .
The staple foods for the medieval English peasant were bread, barley soup, porridge and just but which, in addition to being free from harmful bacteria, also provided vitamins.
In English monasteries there was a practice of a kind of retirement contract. It made it possible to take care of the needs of older monks who could no longer work for their livelihood. The lifetime benefits guaranteed by the monastery included a daily portion of bread and ale . As we can read in the book " Life in a medieval village ":" it was usually two loaves and (as much as) seven and a half liters "of beer a day, respectively! In addition, "one or two dishes cooked from their own kitchen." Later, similar benefits became available to lay people, including peasants. The poorest bought a portion of bread, soup and of course ale .
In but pay and get paid
In some cases in medieval England, beer was also treated as payment for work done. According to the Gies, on the basis of an "ancient contract," the secular or clergyman was obliged to feed the reapers during the work performed on his behalf. Most often he delivered wheat bread and large amounts of but . In the book " Life in a Medieval Village "We read:" According to one calculation, it was usually four liters per person per day. " There were also those who drank twice as much. Some lords allowed the villagers to play the "good chance" game while they were mowing. The winner was the one who managed to lift and not drop as large a pile of hay as he could fit on a scythe. But if he touched the ground or lost grass, he had to give his colleagues a "portion of but worth a pain ”(around PLN 1.20).
Although the Lord's table hosted various wines, care was also taken to ensure that there was a golden drink. In addition to working for the lord, tenants were required to pay remnants of old tributes or services. The gies report that instead of producing the malt for the abbot, a levy called 'maltsilver' or 'malt silver' was paid, and that another levy, called 'vineyard silver', was applied to work in the vineyard. Some of the liabilities were also paid by the tenants in kind, paying with bread, eggs, cheese and of course but . As you can see beer in England was literally everywhere…
Any occasion good for a drink of ale
The amber drink accompanied the inhabitants of medieval England on every occasion. On non-working days, games were played, meat and cakes were eaten, and ale was drunk . During the longest free period of the year - between Christmas Eve and Epiphany - some mansions invited two peasants to a feast:one more and one less wealthy. The first one came to dinner with two companions. All three were served as much beer with their meals as they could drink .
As the Gies write in their book " Life in a medieval village ":" Adult peasants' favorite leisure activity was ... drinking. Feasts, also peasants, could not do without but . It was commonly found not only on tables, but also in medieval nomenclature. "Brade ale" is the term for a wedding that took place in the bride's house or in a tavern. There were also villages where the wedding dinner was served by the groom, "he offered the guests bread, beer, meat or fish". There were also funeral banquets, although priests condemned such practices, saying that people "rejoice at death and view the funeral as an opportunity to drink but ”.
Drinking alcohol was a favorite pastime for medieval Englishmen. Henry Singleton's painting "The Ale-House Door".
The host, in whose house the beer had just been brewed, invited everyone from the neighborhood as if to a tavern and - as Joseph and Frances Gies report - sold the amber drink "at a fixed price - a penny for eleven liters" (about PLN 2.25). But it was served not only in the home taverns that gave rise to the English beer-drinking culture in pubs, but also in taverns, the oldest - dating from the 12th century - of the Crusader inn in Nottingham to this day.
Drunk like an Englishman
The abuse of alcohol, of course, carried the risk of self-mutilation, quarrels and other acts of violence, which are swarming with court and royal court records of the English Middle Ages. Once, in 1276, Osbert le Wuayl of Elstow was so drunk that while returning home he fell over, hit his head on a rock and died instantly. Another man - intoxicated but - fell into the well and drowned.
Worse, however, were fights or attacks under the influence of alcohol. During a sharp exchange of views after drinking a beer, two men struck a third sickle in the very heart. Another time, four drunk men accosted a bystander, asking who he was. Apparently they did not like the answer they heard because one of them hit a passerby in the head with an ax . As you can easily guess, the culprit of this meeting did not survive. These are just a few examples of medieval robberies following an overdose of ale .
Alcohol abuse was a serious problem in the Middle Ages which the Church tried to fight. One of the questions asked by the priest during confession was:"Did you spend Sunday shooting, wrestling or other games, or in the beer hall?" The sins of drunkenness and gluttony were also among those against which the clergy were especially warned.
Alcohol abuse has sometimes had dire consequences. There were not only fights, but also tragic crimes. Painting by Adriaen Brouwer "Fighting Peasants".
The inhabitants of the medieval village did not have many opportunities for joy. The daily struggle for survival, frequent crop failures bringing with them hunger and disease, duties and tributes to the lord were the everyday life of the medieval peasant. As we read in the book " Life in a medieval village ":" After all there was love, sex (...) holidays, games and sports and enough but ". The question is:did they have a chance to experience sobriety after all?
Bibliography:
- Joseph Gies, Frances Gies, Life in a Medieval Village , Znak Horyzont, Krakow 2018.
- Joseph Gies, Frances Gies, Life in a Medieval Castle , Znak Horyzont, Krakow 2017.
- Wojciech Lipoński, Birth of the British Isles civilization , BENE NATI, Poznań 1995.
- Ian Mortimer, In town, outside, in a monastery. How to survive in Medieval England , Astra, Krakow 2017.
- Michel Pastoureau, Everyday life in medieval France and England during the times of the Knights of the Round Table (12th-13th centuries) , PIW, Warsaw 1983.
- Mika Rissanen, Juha Tahvanainen, A foamy history of Europe. 24 pints that made beers , Agora, Warsaw 2017.