Our Beer and Mead in 17th-Century Medical Literature

One of the notable medical treatises of the early modern period, Opera medica by Franciscus Joël, professor of medicine and lecturer at the Academy of Greifswald, contains descriptions of beer and honey-based drinks, their properties, and their effects on human health.

The edition referred to here was published in Amsterdam in 1663 by the well-known printer and bookseller Joannes Ravesteinius, posthumously and in a revised form.

Cerevisia — Beer

“Beer (Lat. cerevisia, Gr. zythum) is a drink exceptionally beneficial to health, almost taking the place of wine. It is brewed from water in which barley or wheat malt has been soaked and lightly roasted, with the addition of hop flowers.”

Franciscus Joël writes that in his time beer was consumed in Germany, Bohemia, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Livonia, Lithuania, and even France. He also refers to the opinion of the Italian physician Johannes Manardus (1462–1536), who maintained that regular consumption of beer strengthens the body, improves one’s appearance, and promotes longevity.

According to Joël’s classification, beers could be divided by their physiological effects:

• warming and nourishing — varieties from Danzig, Prussia, Hamburg, Rostock, Greifswald, and Pasewalk;
• refreshing and moderately cooling, when consumed in moderation — beers from Bremen, Munich, Emden, Freiburg, and Torgau;
• nourishing but burdensome to the lungs — varieties from Baden and Tribsees.

Beer therefore appears in seventeenth-century medical literature not merely as an everyday drink, but as a product to which specific physiological properties were attributed.

Hydromeli — Mead

Franciscus Joël devotes a separate section to a drink made from honey and water — hydromeli. He writes that such a drink warms and mildly relaxes the body, but provides little nourishment, promotes the production of bile, and is not recommended for people of a choleric temperament.

Another observation is particularly significant. Joël states that the finest honey drink is made in Lithuania, Poland, and Vogtland. He therefore does more than simply mention these regions: he presents them as centres of accomplished mead making, whose products could rival fine European wines.

“The best hydromel is prepared in Lithuania, Poland, and Vogtland.”

Lithuanian Mead in Daniel Sennert

Further confirmation appears in the work of another prominent seventeenth-century physician, Daniel Sennert (1572–1637), professor of medicine at the University of Wittenberg.

In Institutionum medicinae libri V (1633), Sennert writes that especially in Lithuania a drink made from honey was prepared with the addition of spices. He adds that the drink was also widely consumed by Sarmatians and Muscovites, who called it medonem.

“Today, especially in Lithuania, a drink is prepared from honey with the addition of spices; it is also frequently consumed by Sarmatians and Muscovites and is called ‘medon’. Although this drink does not have the flavour of wine, it possesses warming and intoxicating properties and may rival the finest wines.”

This testimony is particularly valuable because it not only confirms the high reputation of Lithuanian honey-based drinks but also points to their broader geographical distribution and an established vernacular name.

Lithuanian Mead in Disputatio medica de atrophia

Another important testimony appears in the dissertation Disputatio medica de atrophia, printed in Leiden in 1677. It was presented by Henricus à Bobart under the presidency of the physician and Leiden University professor Theodorus Craanen (1633–1688).

In a section dealing with foods and drinks regarded as promoting the attenuation of the blood, Lithuanian mead is presented as a drink of particularly high standing:

“…Lithuanian mead (mulsum Lituanicum) is also regarded as a noble wine…”

“…let those who suffer from weakness drink Lithuanian mead (mulsum Lituanicum) — a wine most beneficial…”

Here Lithuanian mead is presented not merely as a high-quality drink, but as something to which distinct medicinal value was attributed.

Conclusions

Taken together, three authoritative seventeenth-century physicians — Franciscus Joël, Daniel Sennert, and Theodorus Craanen (in the latter case through a dissertation defended under his presidency) — independently testify to the high reputation of mead making in Lithuania and the lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Their testimony is significant not only for the history of medicine but also for the history of beverages. It shows that beer and mead in the early modern period were regarded not simply as everyday drinks, but as products with specific physiological properties, regional characteristics, and considerable cultural status.