Were Medieval people in a constant state of inebriation

dttq

Have always been somewhat of a historphile with a particular focus on and interest in medieval history. One thing about reading up about medieval European history that caught my focus is that the people drank ale as opposed to water as it was safer to drink than water which was often contaminated. I realise that during the day, the people drank a weaker ale and at night the stronger stuff. However, given this constant state of alcohol intake, would it be fair to say that our medieval ancestors were in a constant state of inebriation?

Fratton Fred

It seems like it. London had a gin epidemic and the amount consumed was eye watering.

Not sure if you're aware, but Porter (of which Guinness is a variety) was brewed for the porters who moved goods between markets, docks and customers etc by handcart. They would typically drink something like 8 to 10 pints of the stuff a day while they were working.

gozunda

dttq wrote: »

Have always been somewhat of a historphile with a particular focus on and interest in medieval history. One thing about reading up about medieval European history that caught my focus is that the people drank ale as opposed to water as it was safer to drink than water which was often contaminated. I realise that during the day, the people drank a weaker ale and at night the stronger stuff. However, given this constant state of alcohol intake, would it be fair to say that our medieval ancestors were in a constant state of inebriation?

Medievel period - As population pressures rose in urban centres water quality would appeared from historical sources to have become drastically affected. People soon found out that drinking beer that had been put through a process that effectively sterilised the water used in the process rendered was much safer.

However much of the beer (beer was cheap) was what was called "small beer" and had a very low alcohol content. Ale / Beer would have been served for breakfast / mid-day meal / evening for all strata of society
Wine was generally imported, hence more expensive and drunk by the wealthy echelons of society.

It is of note that "Small beer" allowances for domestic servants lasted right up to the 19th century. Whilst "small bear" might" have given drinkers, a small buzz - it would not have had the effect of making its drinkers p*ss*d as newts.The gin problem of the 18 and 19th centuries was a different phenomenon caused by industrialised processes and extreme urbanisation. Gin was not a drink in normal usage in medieval time’s tbh...

Pride Fighter

They would have drank the volumes as outlined above in urban areas. But with medieval Europe having an urban population of 10-20% at a guess, only 10-20% would have to drink beer daily in order to get their fluid intake.

Reekwind

Fratton Fred wrote: »

It seems like it. London had a gin epidemic and the amount consumed was eye watering

Gin didn't become a popular English drink until after the 17th C 'Glorious Revolution' though. Depends on how loosely you want to interpret 'medieval'

dahamsta

Any sources for the gin epidemic? My curiosity is piqued!

Reekwind

As with every other topic under the sun, Wikipedia has a page on it

tac foley

'Drunk for a ha'penny, and blind drunk for a penny'.

tac

Ant

I'd previously read that medieval and pre-medieval society used fermentation to make water safe for drinking. However, it didn't go into greater detail and I'd be interested in learning more about this phenomenon and how prevalent it was across different demographics.

On a related note, I was recently watching a documentary on the genetic differences between different ethnic groups and they hypothesized that Europeans used fermentation to sanitise drinking water and individuals with a greater toleration for alcohol were more likely to survive and procreate and pass on their genes. On the other hand, they asserted that Asian cultures used boiling to sanitise their drinking water so there was no process of natural selection for the ability to metabolise alcohol.

I had been wondering if fermentation was a rural phenomenon as until the industrial revolution, only a very small minority of the world's population was urbanised. Thank, gozunda for the most informative post on this so far.

The gin epidemic was a separate issue and would be more closely related to our own society's alcohol (and other drugs) problems.

dahamsta

Reekwind wrote: »

As with every other topic under the sun, Wikipedia has a page on it

Thanks for that, had no idea what to search for.

gitane007

Great thread!!!!.......wish i could add to it . More please!!!

gobnaitolunacy

tac foley wrote: »

'Drunk for a ha'penny, and blind drunk for a penny'.

tac

That's what I call 'minimum pricing'.