Today, depictions of the proverbial drunkard are shaped by well-known images of a stumbling, bumbling, red-faced drinker. Appearing as a popular trope in cartoons, films, or in other mediums, we can often spot the 'drunkard' with ease. But how did such an image come into being? In this episode, we discuss some of the stories that left an enduring mark on the way people came to perceive who the drunkard actually was. This episode also digs into the history of alewives, or brewsters - the women responsible for brewing un-hopped ales, but instead came to face increasing vilification in literary tales. Through a study of literature and religious tracts, we can see the increasing association between the drunkard and the devil, and the ways the drunkard steadily turned into an unwanted outcast.

Sources:

An Act for repressinge the odious and loathsome synne of Drunckennes,” 1606. HL/PO/PU 1. The Statues of the Realm, 1586 to 1624, 1142. The Parliamentary Archives, London, United Kingdom.

Edward Buckler, The sin and folly of drunkenness considered (London: 1682).

Edward Bury, England’s Bane, or The Deadly Danger of Drunkenness (London: 1677).

Samuel Clarke and Samuel Ward, A Warning-piece to All Drunkards and Health-Drinkers (London: 1682).

Thomas Heywood, Philocothomista, or the Drunkard, Opened, Dissected and Atomized (London: 1635

William Langland, The Book Concerning Piers the Plowman, edited and translated by Donaled and Rachel Attwater (New York: E.P. Dutton & Co. Inc., 1957).

R.M Lumiansky and David Mills, eds, The Chester Mystery Cycle, Vol. I. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1974).

Samuel Sewall, Diary of Samuel Sewall: 1674-1729, Volume 6 (Massachusetts Historical Society, 1879).

John Skelton, John Skelton Selected Poems, edited by Gerald Hammond (Manchester: Fyfield Books, 1980).

Voltaire, The Works of Voltaire: A philosophical dictionary, edited by Tobias George Smollett, John Morley, William F. Fleming, Oliver Herbrand, George Leigh (E.R. Du Mont, 1901).

Judith Bennett, Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995).

John Bickerdyke, The Curiosities of Ale and Beer: an Entertaining History (London: Spring Books, 1965).

Peter Clark, The English Alehouse: a Social History, 1200-1830 (New York: Longman, 1983).

James Nicholls, The Politics of Alcohol: A History of the Drink Question in England (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2011).

Richard W. Unger, Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004).

Written and recorded by: Kenyon Payne

Theme music: "Southern Gothic" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Outro music: “D´vil,” anrocomposer

Additional featured music:

“Church Choir,” NNChannel

“Baroque Pop,” alanajordan

“Legacy Begins,” DayFox

“Medieval Dance,” Ebunny

“The Tavern,” Ehved

“Into the Darkness, Cello Version,” Onetent

“Steampunk Victorian Orchestra,” Luis_Humanoide

“Danse Macabre,” Saint Saens (version by Abydos_Music)

“Tavern Celebration,” Table Top Audio

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.