Definition: mead

An alcoholic beverage obtained by fermenting honey in water, with an alcohol content of around 10 to 12%. As its production is not regulated in all countries, it is often made from alcohol, water and honey. The result is not always of high quality.

When mead is distilled, it is called honey brandy. Depending on the concentration of honey in the initial mixture, the result is a dry, semi-dry or sweet mead, which is produced using the same techniques as white wine. Just as the grape variety influences the bouquet of wine, the type of honey used will influence the taste and colour of the mead. No serious studies seem to have been conducted on the fortifying properties attributed to this nectar.

See Chouchen (Brittany) and Metheglin (Wales).

The website of specialist Jean Irubetagoyena in the French Basque Country, from the Kirikino ILARGIAN Society, which you will find linked at the end of the article, served as our source for improving the definition of meads.

Origin of the word mead

The word mead actually comes from the Latin "hydromeli", which in turn is thought to derive from the older Greek word "hudromeli: hydro+meli" = water+honey.

The Anglo-Saxons differentiate between unfermented "hydromel" (or "ydromel") and "mead": a fermented drink made from honey and water, a word also derived from the Greek "methu": fermented drink.

However, the origins of the word hydromel are undoubtedly even older and are thought to come from Indo-European.

On this subject, I would like to quote Alain de Benoist's work on the relationship between the main European languages, and in particular the following passage:

" The Indo-Europeans practised spinning, weaving and also beekeeping: there are no common words for 'bee', but there is one (melit) for 'honey', (...) from which derives in Balto-Slavic an intoxicating honey-based drink, medhu (cf. English mead)."*

* Source: Alain de Benoist, "Indo-European: In Search of the Original Home".

The virtues of mead

Known since the dawn of time, mead has been recognised since ancient times for its beneficial properties. Indeed, the works of authors of the time are full of references to this drink.

It was believed to have fortifying properties and to promote "long life".

"Pythagoras believed it had the power to extend human life. (...) Medon and melikraton were fortifying drinks made from fermented honey."*

Pliny the Elder, in his work "Historiae Naturalis", makes numerous references to it and recommends its consumption.

Finally, let us quote Hippocrates, who considered mead to have cleansing and diuretic properties:

"Mead, when drunk during anacute illness for as long as it lasts, is generally less suitable for bilious conditions or those involving inflammatory congestion of the viscera than for conditions that do not present such symptoms. It is less harmful than sweet wine, because it softens the respiratory tract, moderately activates expectoration, and calms coughs, possessing cleansing properties (...).

It also has sufficient diuretic properties, unless there is some obstacle to the administration of honey in the viscera (...)."**

It is hardly surprising, then, that traditional pharmacopoeia often refers to it.

* Source: "Les animaux dans l'Antiquité grecque" (Animals in Ancient Greece), page 258, by Jacques Dumont / Éditions L'Harmattan /2001.

** Source: Complete Works - Hippocrates (Page 339), Émile Littré - 1840.

Since the dawn of time, man has known how to make mead, an ancestral liqueur, the drink of the gods of Olympus in Greece and of the druids in Gaul. The Gauls considered mead to be the drink par excellence, creating strength and cheerfulness. In Asterix the Gaul, the druid uses it for his magic potion. The Franks believed that in their paradise, Valhalla, they would eat wild boar and drink mead to excess, poured by virgin nymphs, the Valkyries. The Greeks called mead "ambrosia", meaning immortal. The honeymoon is said to come from mead, according to the custom in Northern Europe that young married couples drink mead every day during the first moon after their wedding.

It should be noted that in France, these products are subject to legislation (decree of 2 May 1911) which specifies in Article 1: "No beverage may be held, transported for sale, offered for sale or sold under the name 'mead' unless it is derived exclusively from the fermentation of a solution of honey in potable water."

The legislation leaves no room for ambiguity, and in the case of any other product that may be incorporated into the beverage, it should not be marketed under the name of mead. We can therefore certify that mead is indeed "a honey wine", produced with all the care that a good winemaker would bring to a quality wine.

Mead in English: mead.

Further information is available on the website at the following link: