by V. Kumar

Created on: June 15, 2008   Last Updated: November 07, 2008

Mead occupies a unique place in the history of alcoholic drinks. It is ancient, exotic, romantic and historical - a subject of poet's imagination and that of a lover's fantasy. No doubt then that it is the darling of historians, archaeologists, authors and poets at the same time.

Also known as 'HONEY WINE', mead is not only related to the concept of 'HONEY MOON', it is also a vital link between different ancient civilizations that prospered a few thousand years ago in the East and the West, during pre-historic era. Expectedly therefore, references to mead are often found in mythological description of ancient texts, whose historical value as a reflection of culture and tradition of those times is more easily accepted than the accuracy of events narrated therein.

WHAT IS MEAD ?

Mead is essentially a wine made by fermentation of honey using yeast. It is one of the oldest wines made by mankind, and was often associated with health generating, aphrodisiac or even magical powers in ancient literature and mythology. It is believed to have been highly popular in ancient times, but lost favour during the medieval era, though recently its popularity again seems to be on the rise.

WHEN DID MEAD ORIGINATE : MEAD IN HISTORY

The word 'mead' is said to have originated from the old English word 'medu', which is distinctly similar to the Proto-German word 'meduz' and ancient Baltic word 'midus', all of which have the same meaning, honey, and all have their roots in ancient Proto-Indo-European languages, that included Sanskrit, the ancient language of India from which all Indian languages are said to have evolved. In Sanskrit, 'madhu' means honey, 'madira' means wine and 'madhu-shala', literally meaning 'house of madhu', refers to the bar, where wine is stored and served.

In the oldest Sanskrit text, Rigveda, believed to be written between 1100 to 1700 B.C., there are several references to mead. Similar references, in greater detail, start appearing in ancient Greece from the period of Aristotle in fourth century B.C. He described mead in his text, 'Meteorologica.' Later in first century A.D., Naturalis Historia written by 'Pliny the elder' described mead, which was called 'militites' and described as an entity which is different from wine mixed with honey. There is a mention of mead in Ethiopian literature as well, where it is called 'Tej.' It is referred to as the toast wine between the queen of Sheba and king Solomen in tenth century B.C. and after drinking which they got united.

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