piretum, vinum rosetum, vinum feretum, vinum falernum, vinum girofilatum.” Some old scribe has noted this work in the same way as the annotator of the Treatise of Walter de Biblesworth, and taking up the hints he has given, the passage may be translated:—“In the cellar are barrels, leather bottles or wine skins, tuns, beakers, baskets, . . . wines, cyder, ale, new wine, claret, piment, meed or ydromellum, perry, Mount Rose wine, Falernian, garihofilac, &c. . . .” Not a bad assortment of liquors for an Early Englishman! Our cut, taken from the Roxburghe ballads, represents a well-stocked cellar of the olden times.
[28] Utres is noted ‘coutreus.’
[29] Ciphi = anaps, cophini = anapers. On this word anaps, or hanaps, see page [395.]
[30] Nectar or Piment was a luscious kind of drink compounded of wine, honey and spices; it was called after the pigmentarii, or apothecaries who prepared it, and was in fact a liqueur.
[31] Ydromellum is explained in the Ortus as potus ex aqua et melle, Anglice mede or growte (Growte = wort in an early stage of the brewing). In Alfric’s Colloquy, however, it is said to be beor, or mulsum. The true explanation of this discrepancy seems to be that ydromellum, while properly signifying an inferior sort of mead, was also used by analogy to denote the sweet liquor wort.
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The requisites of a brewhouse of the fourteenth or fifteenth century are described in a Latin-English Vocabulary of the period:—
- Brasiatrix, a brewster (a female brewer).
- Cima, a kymnelle (a mash tub). Fornax, a furnasse.
- Alveum, a trogh. Brasium, malte. Barzissa, wortte.
- Dragium, draf (grains). Calderium, a caldron.
- Taratantarum, a temse (sieve). Cuvella, a kunlion (small tub).
- Ydromellum, growte. Mola, a quern (handmill).
- Pruera, ling (a broom made of ling).