Further Notes on Our Pagan Spring Ritual

I previously wrote about a remarkable pagan spring ritual described by Maciej Stryjkowski, one of the early historiographers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, in the late 16th century: a vessel of beer was grasped with the teeth, the beer was drunk without using the hands, and the vessel was then thrown over the shoulder.

Another description of the ritual — from a 1700 source

I have found another account of this custom in the Latin dissertation Livonia in sacris suis considerata, published in Wittenberg in 1700.

The title page names Hermann Becker as the presiding scholar (praeses) and Christian Braunschwig as the respondent (respondens). The public disputation was scheduled for 22 May 1700, and the work was printed in Wittenberg by Martini Schulzi.

Section 5 of the dissertation is of particular interest. It discusses the sacrifices of the ancient Livonians and states that related customs were also shared by Prussians, Samogitians, Lithuanians and Ruthenians. The text then reproduces an earlier account by Johannes Menecius, a form of the name associated in the Latin printed tradition with Jan Małecki, author of a work on the pagan sacrifices and idolatry of the Prussians, Livonians and neighbouring peoples. Małecki's 1573 work is catalogued under his name and bears the title Libellus de religione et sacrificiis idolatricis veterum Borussorum, Livonum, Litauorum, aliarumque gentium vicinarum.

Beer in the ritual of Pergrubius

The text describes a rite performed on Saint George's Day in honour of Pergrubius, a deity associated in the account with flowers, plants and growing vegetation.

Here is a translation of the relevant passage:

Concerning the sacrifices of the ancient Livonians, which were shared by the Prussians, Samogitians, Lithuanians and Ruthenians, it is also worth mentioning what Johannes Menecius reports in one of his letters about the sacrifices and idolatry of the ancient Prussians, Livonians and other neighbouring peoples.
He writes that on Saint George's Day a sacrifice is made to Pergrubius, who is regarded as the deity of flowers, plants and all things that grow.
The priest holds in his right hand a vessel filled with beer (cerevisia) and, having invoked the deity by name, sings his praises, saying that he drives away the cold of winter, restores the pleasant spring, and causes the fields, groves and forests to become green.
When the song is finished, the priest grasps the vessel with his teeth and drinks the beer without using his hands and without spilling it. Still holding the vessel in his teeth, he then throws it backwards over his head. After it falls to the ground, the vessel is filled again and those present drink from it.

The Latin text itself contains the phrase “Borussis, Samogitis, Lithvanis, Rutenisque”, followed later by “obbam cerevisiae plenam”, referring to a vessel filled with beer. Both passages are visible in the surviving page reproduced above.

What this source adds

This account is particularly valuable because it records the sequence of actions in considerable detail: the vessel containing beer was held with the teeth, the drink was consumed without using the hands, and the vessel was then thrown backwards over the head.

The 1700 description therefore complements the account by Maciej Stryjkowski that I had previously examined. However, the two accounts should not automatically be treated as entirely independent evidence: Livonia in sacris suis considerata explicitly refers to the earlier account of Johannes Menecius / Jan Małecki, so it also represents the transmission of an older written tradition.

A work attributed to Jan Małecki dealing with the religion and sacrifices of the ancient Prussians, Livonians, Lithuanians and neighbouring peoples survives in a 1573 edition. The bibliographic record identifies Małecki as its author and describes the copy as an eight-leaf work.

For the history of beer, this provides another interesting example of beer appearing not merely as an everyday drink but as an element within written descriptions of ritual practice in the region.

And if, for the final sentence at least, we put scholarly caution aside — perhaps it is time to bring this custom back into modern pubs as well. Drinking beer without using your hands turns out to be more than just a party trick: it has a remarkably old historical pedigree.