【简译】中世纪饮品（Medieval Drinks）

中 世 纪 饮 品

Drinks of various kinds were an essential part of the diet during medieval times. Besides various other reasons, this was also because access to clean water was not guaranteed and water-borne diseases were prevalent. Many medieval towns had a water carrier who would be available to supply fresh water to the town’s inhabitants.

          在中世纪，饮品是饮食的重要组成部分。除了其他原因外，这也是因为当时清洁水的获取没有保障，水传播疾病的情况很普遍。许多中世纪的城镇都有专门的运水工，可以为城镇的居民运送相对清洁的水。

Wine and ale were popular drinks as the water was generally considered bad for digestion. The most common medieval drinks were alcoholic which were considered nutritious and were also less prone to putrefaction because of the presence of alcohol.

          葡萄酒和麦芽酒是很受欢迎的饮料，因为当时的人们普遍认为水不利于消化。中世纪最常见的饮料是酒精饮料，它们被认为是富有营养的，而且由于酒精的存在，也不容易变质。

Additionally, milk was confined to the young or elderly and was mainly consumed by the poor or the sick. Among the nobility and royals, wine was the preferred beverage while medieval drinks of the common people were mainly beer or ale.

          此外，牛奶的饮用对象只限于年幼者或老年人，还有穷人或病人。在皇室或贵族家庭中，葡萄酒是首选的饮料，而普通家庭的饮料主要是啤酒或麦芽酒。

葡 萄 酒

The most prestigious beverage amongst medieval drinks was wine which was also considered a healthier choice. The quality of medieval wine varied, depending on various factors such as the number of grape pressings, type of grapes, and vintage. The wine obtained from the first pressing was amongst the finest of medieval drinks and was reserved for nobility.

         在中世纪的饮料中，最负盛名的是葡萄酒，它也被认为是一种更健康的选择。中世纪葡萄酒的质量各不相同，取决于各种因素，如葡萄压榨的次数、葡萄的种类和年份。从第一次压榨中得到的葡萄酒是中世纪最好的饮料之一，是贵族家庭的首选。

The quality decreased with second and third pressing and wine from these pressings went to the lower classes.

          第二次和第三次压榨后，葡萄酒的质量会下降，这些酒会流入了下层社会。

The highest quality red wine as a medieval drink was well beyond the reach of the common people as it required very expensive equipment and storage, as well as specialized knowledge. Documents on medieval drinks suggest that wine preservation was one of the main problems in the entire process.

          作为中世纪的饮料，最高质量的红葡萄酒远远超出了普通人的承受范围，因为它需要非常昂贵的酿制设备和储存器物，以及专业的酿造知识。有关中世纪饮料的文件表明，葡萄酒的储存是整个酿制过程中的主要问题之一。

Wine was also used as a medical remedy for various problems. For instance, red wine was considered good for digestion but other than red wine, spiced or mulled wine was highly recommended by physicians. It was thought of having a highly vaporizing effect on foodstuffs which was augmented with the addition of spices. Spiced wine was a very special kind of medieval drink and was particularly popular during the high medieval times.

          葡萄酒还被人们用作治疗各种疾病。例如，红葡萄酒被认为有利于消化，但除了红葡萄酒之外，香料酒或闷酒也是医生的强烈推荐。人们认为它对食品有高度的汽化作用，而加入香料后，这种作用会得到加强。香料酒是一种非常特别的中世纪饮品，在中世纪的上流社会特别流行。

Spiced wine was made by mixing the ordinary red wine with a variety of spices including ginger, pepper, cloves, and others. It was so popular during the late medieval times that bagged spice mixes specifically made for wines were available from merchants. This was just one indication of the rising demand for spices in Europe during the same period.

          香料酒是通过将普通红酒与各种香料包括姜、胡椒、丁香等混合而成。它在中世纪后期非常流行，以至于商人们可以买到专门为葡萄酒制作的袋装香料混合物。这只是同一时期欧洲对香料需求上升的一个迹象。

蜂 蜜 酒

Mead was another one of the highly popular medieval drink and was also known as honey wine. It was made by mixing honey and water through fermentation with yeast. It was common to brew mead with spices, grain mash, or fruits.

          蜂蜜酒是另一种高度流行的中世纪饮料，也被称为“honey wine”。它是由蜂蜜和水混合在一起通过酵母发酵制成的。用香料、谷物泥或水果来酿造蜂蜜酒是很常见的。

Mead was not just popular among the medieval drinks but was also well known throughout ancient Europe, Asia, and Africa. It has also been mentioned in various epics from early medieval times. For instance, the famous Old English epic poem Beowulf mentions Danish warriors drinking honey mead.

          蜂蜜酒不仅在中世纪的饮料中很受欢迎，而且在整个古代欧洲、亚洲和非洲也很有名。它还在中世纪早期的各种史诗中被提及。例如，著名的古英语史诗《贝奥武夫》中提到丹麦战士喝蜂蜜酒。

Mead-making was also common as a by-product of bee-keeping in monasteries and areas where grapes were not usually found.

          在修道院和通常没有种植葡萄的地区，作为养蜂的副产品，制作蜂蜜酒也很常见。

蜂 蜜 酒 饮 品 类 型

Just like wine and other medieval drinks, mead also has various forms depending on its ingredients. It also varied in its flavor which depended on the source of honey used as well as other additives such as fruits and spices.

          就像葡萄酒和其他中世纪饮料一样，蜂蜜酒也有各种品种，这取决于它的成分。它的味道也各不相同，这取决于所用蜂蜜的来源以及其他添加剂，如水果和香料。

Additionally, the fermentation and aging processes also had an impact on the flavor of the drink. Mead which contained different kinds of spices and herbs was called metheglin and the one that contained fruits was known as melomel.

          此外，发酵和陈酿过程也对饮料的味道产生了影响。含有不同种类香料和草药的蜂蜜酒被称为metheglin，含有水果的蜂蜜酒被称为melomel。

Finally, the kind of mead that was obtained through fermentation with grape juice was called pyment mead. The taste of meat varied from beer-like bitter taste to semi-sweet or sweet.

          最后，通过与葡萄汁发酵得到的那种蜂蜜酒被称为pyment mead。味道从啤酒般的苦味到半甜或甜味不等。

啤     酒 （Beer）

In the northern regions of Europe, grape cultivation was almost non-existent which made access to wine very difficult, even for the nobility. Not many people could afford to drink imported wine anyway as it was far too expensive. Thus, in the northern region, beer was one of the most popular medieval drinks even among the nobility.

          在欧洲北部地区，几乎没有葡萄种植区，这使得获得葡萄酒非常困难，即使是贵族也是如此。反正没有多少人能够喝得起进口葡萄酒，因为它太贵了。因此，在北部地区，啤酒是中世纪最受欢迎的饮料之一，甚至在贵族中也是如此。

Beer is also known as lager today was not given much importance among the medieval drinks and was also not considered medically worthwhile. In fact, many physicians attributed various harmful effects to beer such as bad breath, rotting teeth, and stomach fumes. But there were also certain advantages associated with beer as a medieval drink. For instance, it was thought to facilitate urination and make one’s flesh smooth.

          中世纪的啤酒也被称为今天的拉格啤酒，在中世纪的饮料中并不被重视，也不被认为在医学上有价值。事实上，许多医生认为啤酒有各种有害的影响，如口臭、牙齿腐烂和胃炎。但是，作为一种中世纪的饮料，啤酒也有某些好处。例如，人们认为它能促进排尿，使人的肉体变得光滑。

During the early medieval times, it was common to brew beer in monasteries as well as individual homes. During the high medieval times, however, breweries began to be established in various towns and became the primary source of production.

          在中世纪早期，修道院以及个人家里酿造啤酒是很常见的。然而，在中世纪鼎盛时期，各个城镇开始建立啤酒厂，并成为主要的生产来源。

麦 芽 酒 （Ale）

Ale was another common beverage amongst popular medieval drinks. The main difference between ale and beer was that the former was brewed without hops and the latter with them. Its ingredients were grain, water, and yeast with which it was fermented. Ale was generally considered a special type of beer and was also known as godale, which was derived from two German words god and ale, meaning ‘Good Beer’.

          麦芽酒是中世纪流行饮料中的另一种常见饮料。麦芽酒和啤酒的主要区别是，前者在酿造时没有啤酒花，后者则有啤酒花。它的成分是谷物、水和酵母，它是用酵母发酵的。麦芽酒通常被认为是一种特殊的啤酒，也被称为godale，它来自两个德语单词god和ale，意思是 "好啤酒"。

Following the crusades, the use of spices became widespread during the high medieval ages and spices began to be used in beer and ale as well. Some of the common spices used were juniper, sage, gentian, cinnamon, and others. During medieval times, ale was generally brewed at home by women and was meant for domestic as well as small commercial purposes.

          十字军东征之后，香料的使用在中世纪鼎盛时期变得非常广泛，香料也开始被用于啤酒和麦芽酒中。一些常用的香料有杜松、鼠尾草、龙胆、肉桂等。在中世纪，啤酒一般是由妇女在家里酿造的，用于家庭和小型商业目的。

其 他 中 世 纪 饮 品

Other than these common medieval drinks, various other non-alcoholic drinks were also in vogue. For instance, fruit juices of various types were drunk by all social classes. Other than drinking fresh fruit juices, fruits were also fermented to produce less common alcoholic medieval drinks such as cider or perry.

          除了这些常见的中世纪饮料外，其他各种非酒精饮料也在流行。例如，所有社会阶层都喝各种类型的果汁。除了喝新鲜的果汁，水果也被发酵以生产不太常见的中世纪酒精饮料，如苹果酒或佩里酒。

Apples were used in the case of cider while perry was produced from pears. Similarly, blackberries or black mulberries were used to make Murry, and prunelle was made from plums.

          苹果用于制作苹果酒，而梨子则用于制作梨酒。同样，黑莓或黑桑葚被用来制作Murry，而李子被用来制作prunelle。

Other than these drinks, tea and coffee were also well known, although these were less common compared to alcoholic drinks. Herbal infusions were generally reserved for patients and for medical purposes. Both tea and coffee became more popular by the end of medieval times and the beginning of the modern era.

          除了这些饮料外，茶和咖啡也很有名，尽管与酒精饮料相比，这些饮料不太常见。草药输液一般是为病人和医疗目的而保留的。到中世纪末和现代初，茶和咖啡都变得更加流行。

原文网址：

https://www.medievalchronicles.com/medieval-food/medieval-drinks/