It has long been said that people in past generations – and especially in the Middle Ages – avoided water and drank only alcoholic beverages like beer and wine because water was too contaminated. Is there any truth to that?
Water Was Always the Most Popular Drink
For medieval people, just as with most people today and in any era throughout history for that matter, water was the most popular drink. For the simplest of reasons: it is free. Even when it has to be paid for, water is still significantly cheaper than booze. So just from an economic perspective, cost alone would make water the most popular drink. Of course, people in the Middle Ages did not have the kinds of purification treatments that the water coming out of our faucets nowadays usually goes through. However, people back then were able to use their brains just like we do today.
While contamination was a problem, medieval people – like all humans since our species first walked upright – knew enough to spot and avoid obviously contaminated water. They had enough common sense and common knowledge to know that swampy, muddy, and cloudy water that looked sketchy was not good for drinking. They even knew that water was healthy. Middle Ages health manuals and medical texts positively praised water as being good for you – so long as it came from good sources. Additionally, they grew up drinking their era’s water, so those who survived infancy would have developed resistance to most of their environment’s waterborne pathogens.
Medieval People Drank Alcohol Because They Wanted to, Not Because They Had To
The authorities in the Middle Ages went to great lengths to supply people with clean drinking water – or as clean as they knew how, without obvious contaminants. For example, the City of London was granted permission to in 1236 to bring in water from Tyburn Springs outside the city walls. So it constructed ‘The Great Conduit’ in the 1200s, an underground channel that transported water to the heart of London, where residents had free access to it. It remained in operation until 1666.
Although people in the Middle Ages did not avoid water, many preferred beer and wine. Provided, of course, that they had access to and could afford such alcoholic beverages. People did drink a whole lot of beer and ale and wine in those days. However, they did not do so because they had to, for reasons having to with bad and contaminated water. They drank booze because they wanted to. Same as with people today, people in the Middle Ages liked both the taste and effect of alcoholic beverages. As seen below, the authorities knew and catered to that preference.
Medieval Drinking Patterns
On at least two occasions, the return of King Edward I from the Crusades and the coronation of King Richard II, the authorities in London celebrated with free booze for the public. They stopped the flow of water in the city’s pipes, and replaced it with wine for a day. Wine was the alcoholic beverage of choice of the upper classes and those who could afford it. However, like the ancient Greeks and Romans before them, Europeans in the Middle Ages did not drink their wine neat. Instead, they usually mixed it with water to dilute its power.
For those who could not afford wine on a regular basis, beer and ale were plentiful and cheap. It should be noted, however, that beer and ale back then had a significantly lower alcohol content than beer and ale today. Also, in light of the long days and hard labor medieval workers put in, whether in the fields or shops or other employment, beer and ale were not just thirst quenchers. They furnished a significant amount of calories throughout the day to keep them going.
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Some Sources & Further Reading
Myths and Realities – Were the Middle Ages as Drab as Depicted by Hollywood?
Medievalists – Did People Drink Water in the Middle Ages?
Slate – What Was the Drink of Choice in Medieval Europe?
