Background Information on Viking Mead

Image source: http://insiderspassport.com/mead-ancient-elixir

We seem to have jumped into our experiment without providing a little more background information on some crucial information. Please read on to learn more about the importance of mead to the Viking people, who participated in the process of making it, and what evidence is available to support these assertions.

Mead is a fermented mixture of water and honey (sometimes referred to as "honey wine") with a long history dating back to ancient civilizations, such as Mesopotamia (Your Shout, Mate 2012). In the Old Norse language, this alcoholic drink was referred to as "mjöð" (Ward 2013), and it was typically made in the home by women (Graham-Campbell 1980, p. 122124; Your Shout, Mate 2012; Kaland and Martens 2000, p. 45). In fact, this role is said to have been reserved for the "lady of the house" (Your Shout, Mate 2012). Mead was not your average beverage: it was often served at celebrations as well as ceremonies (Pollington 2011, p. 20) and considered "sacred" (Your Shout, Mate 2012). Mead was likely held in such high regard as it was difficult to acquire (Your Shout, Mate 2012). Ward (2013) states that honey was even used as a form of currency, and therefore often fell into the hands of the elite as a way of paying taxes or other debts. A more common alcoholic drink would have been an ale, likely made from barley which was a staple to the Vikings in many areas (Ward 2013). Though, as will be covered later, barley was a scarcity in some places thereby raising its value in that context (Zori et al. 2013).

Due to limited material evidence, textual sources—such as Viking sagas and mythology (Ward 2013) as well as records and poems from nearby regions during the Viking Age (Your Shout, Mate 2012)—are key to understanding the role of mead (and alcohol more generally) in Viking life. For instance,Ward (2013) references "Hávamál (Sayings of the High One)" which relays Óðinn's (a major Viking god) advice on drinking etiquette, specifically to avoid drinking too much. Whether or not this was followed is another story. Ward (2013) also cites a historical document discussing Germanic peoples and alcohol, which alludes to feelings of indifference toward frequent intoxication. In addition, Beowulf, a famous Anglo-Saxon poem, mentions the presence mead specifically and another poem entitled Maxims I even discusses how it was served: much like the production of mead, women were assigned to this role (Ward 2013). This is further supported by the presence of items used to serve mead in the graves of Viking women (Ward 2013).


Check back on Monday for some more information on how mead was traditionally made and served, an update regarding our first (slightly problematic) batch of mead, a review of our peers' Viking experimental archaeology projects, as well as our next "experiment day" which will focus on extracting honey from honeycomb and making a few types of bread.

- Jo

*This blog post is based on information from our project's proposal, which was also written by B and J.*

Bibliography

GRAHAM-CAMPBELL, J., 1980. Home Life. In: The Viking World. USA: Ticknor & Fields, pp.113-129.

KALAND, S. H. H. and MARTENS, I., 2000. Farming and Daily Life. In: FITZHUGH, W. W. and
WARD, E. I., eds, Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga. Washington: Smithsonian Books, pp. 42-54.

Pollington, S., 2011. The Mead-Hall Community. Journal of Medieval History, 37(1), pp. 19-33.

Unknown, 01/01/2012, A True Viking-Style Mead (Mjöð), Your Shout, Mate. Available: http://yourshoutmate.blogspot.ca/2012/01/truevikingsytlemeadmjo.html [Oct 9, 2013].

WARD, C., 10/09/2013 last update, Alcoholic Beverages and Drinking Customs of the Viking
Age, The Viking Answer Lady. Available: http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/drink.shtml [Oct 9,
2013].

ZORI, D. et al, 2013. Feasting in Viking Age Iceland: sustaining a chiefly political economy in a marginal environment. Antiquity, 87(335) pp. 150-165.