[Sca-cooks] early european 'beverage'? / pear juice

[sera piom]

<< On another List, a scholar mentioned this:
"Fortunatus in the sixth century describes the abstemious 
Radegund as drinking only water sweetened with 
pear juice." >>

As far as I can see, he mentioned two different drinks. 
Venantius Fortunatus (see Patrologia Latina vol. 88,504) 
wrote:
"potum vero praeter aquam mulsam, atque [NOTE m] piratium 
non bibit; [NOTE n] vini vero puritatem, aut [NOTE o] medi 
decoctionem, cervisiaeque turbidinem non contigit."

That is: she drank nothing else apart from sweetened water 
and pear juice. "Piratium" is a noun referring to 
pear juice. 

The note m says "Pyratium, seu pyraticum, erat 
succus expressus e pyris, qui pro vino adhibebatur. 
S. Hieron., lib. II contra Jovin. 'Paulus', inquit, 
'Timotheo dolenti stomachum, vinum suadet bibere, non 
piratium'."
Roughly: Pyratium is juice that has been 
pressed from pears. It is used instead of wine. Hieronymus
reports, that Paul recommended to Timotheus, who had a bad
stomach, to drink wine instead of pear juice.

In another Vita S. Radegundis, Hildebertus Cenomanensis
(PL 171.976) wrote: 
"Sitim, quam nimia panis accendit ariditas, vel aquae mulsae, 
vel piratii haustu mitigavit. Nam vini, seu cervisiae nullam 
fecit omnino mentionem."
Roughly: She mitigated the thirst, aroused by the strong 
dryness of the bread, by drinking either sweetened water 
or pear juice.

In one of the Capitularia Caroli Magni (PL 97.355), the people
producing pear juice are even mentioned:
 
"45. Ut unusquisque iudex in suo ministerio bonos habeat artifices, 
id est fabros ferrarios, et aurifices, vel argentarios, sutores, 
tornatores, carpentarios, scutarios, piscatores, aucipites, 
id est aucellatores, saponarios, siceratores, id est qui 
cervisam vel pomatium, sive piratium, vel aliud quodcumque 
liquamen ad bibendum aptum fuerit, facere sciant; pistores, 
(...)". 
Roughly: the siceratores [brewers], that is the people
who know to make beer, apple juice, pear juice or any 
other fluid which one may drink.

Serafina Piomba





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