- 期刊
Medieval Drinking Motives Revealed by Different Alcoholic Beverages in Beowulf
《貝爾武夫》之不同酒類所展現的中世紀飲酒動機
摘要
More academic research on drinks in Beowulf can be conducted. Some critics focus on a character analysis of this Old English epic poem. Other researchers emphasize such motifs as monsters and oral tradition. However, a contextualized study of alcoholic drinks in Beowulf may substantially reveal different medieval drinking motives. In Beowulf, different alcoholic drinks are served at different banquets, such as welcoming banquet, pre-battle banquet, after-battle banquet, and homecoming banquet. Though alcoholic beverages are forbidden in some religions, they have been existing in human history as fermented drinks since the sixth century in which Beowulf is set. This study aims to reveal medieval drinking motives through an exploration of mead, wine, beer, and ale that are mentioned in Beowulf. Moreover, the study focuses on the origin of these four alcoholic beverages, the ingredients for making them, where the ingredients grew in the Middle Ages, and especially in Beowulf who consumes them at different occasions. To strengthen the argument, the study draws on relevant resources to discover the facts about these inquiries. In this story, King Hrothgar builds a mead-hall named Heorot for his warriors to gather to drink. He authorizes Beowulf to be in charge of mead-hall during a feast before the latter fights Grendel. In conclusion, relevant archaeological evidence, and the prefixes (i.e., mead, wine, beer, and ale that are added to the beginning of a noun in Beowulf) can provide clues to these inquiries to help us understand the reasons why alcoholic beverages were consumed in the Middle Ages. The findings can be associated with part of the United Nations’ sustainable development goal 6, which is to promote the importance of ensuring availability and sustainable management of safe drinking water.
並列摘要
《貝爾武夫》史詩中提到之酒類飲品需要有更多的學術文獻研究。對於這首最古老的英國口傳史詩，某些評論家專注於角色分析，其他研究學者則是強調怪物和口傳文學等主題研究。然而，《貝爾武夫》在歡迎宴、戰前宴、戰後宴、返鄉宴飲用之不同酒類的研究可揭露中世紀時期的飲酒動機。儘管酒精飲料在某些宗教中是被禁止的，但自《貝爾武夫》故事背景設定在六世紀以來，發酵過的酒精飲料就一直存在於人類歷史之中。本研究旨在探索《貝爾武夫》史詩中提到之蜂蜜酒、葡萄酒、啤酒和麥酒的製作成分、這些成分在中世紀的生長地點、這些酒精飲料在《貝爾武夫》中供應的場合與飲用的對象，藉此探討中世紀飲酒動機。本研究利用相關資料、歷史事實與考古證據、研究本篇史詩中加上酒類前綴詞的名詞，藉此揭露中世紀時期的飲酒動機，以了解為什麼人類在中世紀就有飲酒。本研究結果可聯結聯合國永續發展第六項目標之部分項目，即宣傳確保安全飲用水之供應與永續管理的重要性。