Drinking water in the Middle Ages

The idea that medieval people drank ale or beer in stead of water because the water sources in Medieval Europe were usually polluted is a stubborn myth.
In reality Medieval people had relatively easy access to clean water and drank lots of it.
Ale was a cheap and tasty way to consume grain and provide drinkers with nutrients, carbs and proteins.
But they didn’t just drink it as a replacement for dangerous water.

Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well, from Speculum humane salvationis, Austria, AD 1432

On this page I will simply share what historians have written on the topic in their books & papers but also a bunch of links and videos on the topic.

So you don’t have to take my word for it, just check out what I’ve gathered for you:

Books:

‘Life in Medieval Europe, fact and fiction’ by Danièle Cybulskie (2021) (read my review here):

‘Water technology in the Middle Ages’, by Roberta J. Magnusson (2003) has a lot of information about how cities, towns & villages made sure they had access to clean water (read my review here):

‘Community, Urban Health and Environment in the Late Medieval Low Countries’ by Janna Coomans (2021) also mentions a lot about how medieval people made sure they had access to clean water (read my review here):

‘Urban Bodies: Communal Health in Late Medieval English Towns and Cities’ by Carole Rawcliffe (2013) debunks lots of myths about hygiene & health in the middle ages (read my review here):

‘Water and society in early medieval Italy, AD 400-1000’ by Paolo Squatriti:

I myself wrote a whole chapter on the subject in my book ‘Fake History: 101 things that never happened’:

Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well, from Cod. Pal. germ. 432
‘Spiegel menschlicher gesuntheit’ — Mittelrhein, 1420-1430

Other related Books:

Evolution of Sanitation and Wastewater Technologies through the Centuries by Andreas N. Angelakis; Joan B. Rose
Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England by Judith M. Bennett

Links: