The Savannah morning news., 1900-09-23
WINES ENGLAND DRAM
swEETENED AND SLICED MIXTURES
Of THE MIDDLE AGES.

by explorers from the graves are Of small
capacity and Of the most delicate glass.
The graceful stringed and lo5od vases
the spirally sringed cups-perhaps the
'hroden ealo woege"-the twisted ale
cups" of Beowulf-the trumpets. beakers
paim cups ana bowls. are oil distinguish
- by total absence OF feet. signifying
that they should not DO st down unempt-
led, and Implying rapid aud dangerous tip
ping out OF small "tumblors." a. con
tradistinguished from coplous draughts
from horns and portly wooden goblets.
The latter vessels were for the primitive
hydromel or mead. for the Anglo-saxon
'beor.' the "eala" Of the Danes and FOR
'braggot.' mixed beverage which 90
one would drink now. The little glasses
served for the more potent varieties Of
hluor the hcady metheylin. humming in
the hthd OF me reVeller. ami speaking as
the oid saying went. 800 much OF the house
y came from, for "melhcratum." 'iuome,-
iun, ana for the rough, red and white
vino OF home growth. mingled with sweet
N'Tt' or with methegiin. stuck with herbs
'ha noiied With spices. md recalling the
"aN"d. resined and spice-stuck classical
cups OF heechwood introduced by the Re
mans INTO northern regions Bur from
the period OF the sheitering graves TO tn.
niddle Of the sixteenth century there =
@" almost total absence Of tanQlblo evi
o'nee concerning glass drinking vessels
y. i-,A''hd' ana the history OF their man
u.ae'nte u wrapped in much obscuritv.
Tho Vocabulary OF Archb,shon AGA.
or the tenth century mentions 'gewvrtoa
win tspiced winel. win gemenRed mia
thsfran wine mixed with mvrrhl "eeh
iuttrad win" Gedned winel. "gehlvttroa
win 'pure winel. aud "gesweted win
VsWee'eheh Winel. These. the choices,
ahd strongest productions Of that age
49, cettainiy drunk from the glass palm
cups ana small bowls such as from the
picture IN tho stitch work OF the con
Puer"r's banquet after the arrival Of tho
army az Hastings We know were SIN in
use ~ the middle OF the eleventh century.
mo treatise DE Utensllibua' OF Alcxan-
Der Neckam Of the twelfth century men
lions clare and nectar as proper 20 be
Iound IN the cellar or IN the storehouse
care was a mixture OF the clear red wine
tne pest OF which came from Guvenne
with honey. sugar and spices as als.
1nguiahed from pimeut or nectar. an
hmaigam or much the same kind but with
some substance being founded on the red
Wine OF Bourgogne. Dauphine, SC. These
were the two principal sweetened ana
spiced wines made I'm England in the MID
de Ages.
Inc household accounts OF Eleanor
Countess Of leicester. sister OF Henry III
ana wife OF the great Simon de Mont
toit. show clearly that the wine drunk in
England during the thirteenth century
came CHIEFLY from Aniou. Poitou Guv-
enne Gascogne and Auvergne Il Is Ger
tain that the bulk OF French wine IN the
time OF Henry III. and for nearly three
centuries after arrived very immature.
rough and hard and very different in
character from the Bordeaux ana Rur-
gundy OF the present day. brought as
they have been to the utmost limit OF per-
tection Accounts have come down from
the Middle Ages Of the poor wine dlstri-
huied In liveries. and I'm the hall. even In
royal households: much OF a. however
was translated here into the popular con.
coctious Clarete and Pyment. and into
spurious Bastard. not infrequently helped
oy boiling. ana called, IN later times
"soddc wyne"-the vinum coctum Of the
ancients. Ia the fifteenth century tho
wine from Bordeaux was known as 'cie-
ro;e ~yne' 10 distinguish IL from that OF
Bourgogne.
The two principal saccharine wines were
Bastard from Spain. and Malvoisey from
the Greek Archipelago and Italy. Both
were "apparclled" In England IN varioils
ways. aud with no question OF refinement
OF palate The mixture OF Bastard and
Aalmsey produced true Muscadlne. AZ
with the cookery la the Middle Ages. the
wines were strengthened and stimulated
with spices and aroma tics the sacks mar
ticulariy. from their first appearance In
England la the second quarter OF the six
teenth century, being burnt sweetened
I with honey. and thickened nv boiling
Thus was compounded hppocras. aud
"Ninum garioiiiauum." the "claretum''-
The "potus delicatus"-speclall ordered
I ON the Close Rolls" by Henry Ill In the
I middle OF the thirteenth century In this
way Bastard. Algrade. Granarde. al
\ sweet Spanish wines. a. well as Malvolsev
and the blended Muscadine. We're disguis-
I ed until their fine original characteristics
/ were quite overpowered. and "Ypocrasse''
I AMI "Basturdef became mere generic
I terms for multitude OF spiced nectarious
compounds. By the slow INTRODUCTION into
I England 81 the process Of distillation.
/ early to- the sixteenth century. the VIE
I lous aud iudigestibe mixtures that had
/ been 60 long and 50 highly esteemed were
| gradually operated upon and driven out.
\ while Imperial Water. Aqua Vitae. Aqua
/ Composite and world OF other waters"
| cordial and ardent. took their places by
degrees in the public taste.
1 In the meantime Here's Sec the nat
ural dry wine Of Heres. as distinguished
] HUN AiAE hiffh atHh eAidttnN raNfNaNAhN
! wiucs-the "sherris sack" and fertile
/ sherries" OF Falstan. made It's appear
/ ance somewhat later in the same century
I 4 hundred years later came that mar
/ vellous searching wine Canary" and by
/ the cunning OF the winner brewers there
/ was soon. as the accomplished jams
I Howell has recorded In 1884, "a hAidrcd
times more drunk under the name OF ca
\ nary wine than-atnere Is brought in"
when sacks and canaries were first
/ brought in among us they were used 10
\ be drunk IN aQua-vitae measures. but now
I they go down every ones throat, both
\ young and old. like milk" Following the
I fashion OF the time the sacks were al
I ways sWeciened. and Falstaff truly
I puts 20. III sack and sugar he fault
I God help the wicked Household dOcu-
ments and the litarature OF the severn
I tccnth century show the progress OF sack
/ In public estcom. special glasses IN cloud
I Ell calesdouia" and "speckled enameid'
! being made In Venice for the English
I market in the time OF Charles II. for the
fine sack laid down IN bottles. such IS
/ Pcpys speaks OF.
French wines had not yet been much
| shaken Ia public esteem by Spanish sack.
I The blow which was to befail them came
\ from an unexpected quarter. Howell. in
his letter to Lord CLIFFORD OF 1884. speaking
OF wines from the Spanish Rivieras- Ma
lagas gherries Tents ana Allcants-says
thai fHte OF the last named whine r.