MamaBearTeacher Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I am ashamed to say that I did not know this until we started studying the Middle Ages. From what I understand most people did not have good water to drink and only drank wine, even the children. How did they not get dehydrated? It just seems so strange, considering that we are told to drink 8-10 glasses a day. Did the children's bodies just get used to the wine or did they get drunk? What a different time to live in with such low literacy, so little travel and so much hard physical labor for the peasants! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I understand the alcohol content of things that people drank in the past instead of water, like beer, wine and hard cider, was much lower than today. Water wasn't safe and alcohol kills germs. Simple as that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 My understanding is that the alcohol content was lower. I could be wrong, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I understand the alcohol content of things that people drank in the past instead of water, like beer, wine and hard cider, was much lower than today. Water wasn't safe and alcohol kills germs. Simple as that. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWOB Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I think they usually gave the kids small beer, which, like the previous posters stated, contained a lower alcohol content. I would have done quite well during the Middle Ages;). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 The wine was watered down. They also drank a lot of beer. Alcohol kills germs; this was much safer than drinking water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Here are some other beverage options http://mbhp.forgottensea.org/noalcohol.html Also, I don't know exactly who the "they" is -- Europeans? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 They mentioned that the beer was lower alcohol than modern beer. The interviewer asked whether everyone was drunk all the time. The historian compared it to a modern office: almost everyone is slightly hyped on caffeine, so you don't notice it. In the middle ages, everyone was slightly drunk, so no one noticed it. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoObvious Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 They mentioned that the beer was lower alcohol than modern beer. The interviewer asked whether everyone was drunk all the time. The historian compared it to a modern office: almost everyone is slightly hyped on caffeine, so you don't notice it. In the middle ages, everyone was slightly drunk, so no one noticed it. Laura HA! Love this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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