The Birth of the Virgin . The drinking continued during the rituals and celebrations that followed the birth, at baptisms, at christenings, and at churchings. In some villages in France after baptism friends and relatives kidnapped the infant, took it to the nearest tavern, and held it for ransom until the parents came and purchased drinks. Alcohol was also a fundamental part of the medical pharmacopeaia. Physicians and pharmacists often used alcoholic beverages, especially wine, as a solvent or, to use the archaic term, a menstruant for ingredients in remedies.
Many ingredients dissolve more readily in alcoholic beverages than they do in water.
In addition to the use of alcohol in medicine, medical practitioners taught that periodic intoxication was beneficial to the health because it purged the body of noxious humours. Alcohol was a necessary component of most people's diet. Although some people counselled moderation in the use of alcoholic beverages, no one suggested abstention, and the consensus was that alcohol was necessary to maintain good health, while the consumption of water was absolutely dangerous. Both anecdotal and statistical evidence indicate heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages, heavy over time, heavy over space, and even heavy over social class to a certain extent, although the rich consumed more than the poor. Three examples of temperance from the sixteenth century make the exceptions that prove the rule.