#ioannes-placotomus

In the Sixteenth Century, Our Beer and Mead Were Praised in German Lands

In a German edition published in 1554, the physician Ioannes Placotomus discussed Polish and Lithuanian beers and referred to excellent “Lithuanian honey” gathered from linden blossoms. This article examines what the Latin source actually says, what “Lithuania” meant in the sixteenth century, and why the evidence is relevant to the history of beer and honey-based drinks in the lands of present-day Belarus.