Celebratory Drink
Mead has lost its
popularity over the years to the sweet taste of wine. When people think
of mead they often think of medieval men and women drinking down a rough
alcoholic beverage. We picture vikings, knights and kings toasting to success
and victory. What many people don't know is that mead is actually very
sweet and easy to make.
Mead dates back so far
that it is hard to pin point the exact origin of the ancient drink.
Historians believe that it was made accidentally discovered by the people of
early civilizations in Ancient India and is the very first known alcoholic
beverage. Mead is a very basic drink containing only fermented honey and
water. It is the only alcoholic beverage that can be created naturally
without the help of man. It is possible that man's first experience with
intoxication came from honey in an old tree trunk that was diluted by rain
water and fermented by wild yeasts.
Not only is mead
considered to be the nectar of the gods, but it is also the drink of love
and fertility. The phrase “honeymoon” comes from the consumption of mead
at wedding celebrations of the Norse (Scandinavians). They would drink
mead at wedding celebrations and if the beverage ran out before the last full
cycle of the moon the host would have bad luck from then on.
Although we picture the
rich and poor consuming mead in Medieval Europe, it was actually a drink only
for the wealthy. Mead is made easily after the honey is harvested, but honey
during the medieval period was rare and hard to yield. This is the main
reason why mead has grown out of popularity. It is much easier and
cheaper to plant rows and rows of grapes for wine, than to plant hundreds of
beehives.
During the Renaissance,
mead was often saved for special occasions as it was a celebratory drink.
Today it’s available at almost all Renaissance
Faire’s.
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