The Wine Trade in Medieval Europe 1000-1500

225 Pages·2011·2.039 MB·English

by  Susan Rose

THE WINE TRADE IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE 1000–1500
Frontispiece. Th e wine harvest in September from the zodiac section of Les
Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. Th e wine is being harvested outside the walls
of the Château de Saumur, in Anjou. Th e grapes are being collected in panniers
carried by mules and tubs on the ox cart.
Th e Wine Trade In Medieval
Europe 1000–1500
Susan Rose
Continuum International Publishing Group
Th e Tower Building 80 Maiden Lane
11 York Road Suite 704
London SE1 7NX New York NY 10038
www.continuumbooks.com
© Susan Rose, 2011.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior
permission from the publishers.
First published 2011
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
EISBN 978-1-4411-4314-3
Designed and typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India
Printed and bound in Great Britain
For my grandsons, Jacob, Rory, Gabriel and Daniel
May you all enjoy the pleasures of wine but avoid its pains.

Contents
Illustrations ix
Maps and Tables xi
Preface xiii
Acknowledgements xiv
Introduction xv
1 Roman Beginnings 1
2 Vines and Vineyards 11
3 Regulating the Wine Trade 39
4 Th e Anglo-French Wine Trade 59
5 Other Routes and Other Wines 89
6 Th e Enjoyment of Wine 113
7 Food, Drink and Medicine 133
8 Ritual and Religion 149
Conclusion 165
Notes 169
Further Reading 187
Index 194

Illustrations
Frontispiece. Th e wine harvest in September from the zodiac
section of Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. ii
Figure 1.1 Vine growing in the Bordelais. 2
Figure 1.2 A view over the vineyards near Saint-Emilion which
Ausonius felt resembled those along the Moselle. 7
Figure 2.1 Working in the vineyard, picking the grapes. An image
from a version printed in Venice of the De Agricultura by Pietro
de Crescenzi. 19
Figures 2.2 and 2.3 Treading the grapes and barrel making; woodcuts
from a version printed in Speyer in 1492 of Pietro de Crescenzi’s
Libri Commodorum Ruralium 20
Figure 2.4 Th e title page of the book on wine by Arnold of Villa
Nova printed in Germany in 1519. 23
Figure 2.5 A carved representation of the labour of the month for
February, pruning the vines, from Notre Dame, Paris. 24
Figure 3.1 A capital on a pillar in the ruined church of the
Abbey of La Sauve Majeure. 45
Figure 3.2 Th e ramparts of Saint-Macaire with the priory church
visible in the background. 47
Figure 3.3 Th e bridge over the Dordogne at Libourne. 50
Figure 8.1 Th e Drunkenness of Noah. 156
Figure 8.2 Th e Mystic Winepress. 158