(or how the stereotypical Wicked Witch is based in part on female brewsters*)Ā
Women have been brewing beerĀ for nearly 10 thousand years!Ā
Thatās right! Beer is traditionally a womanās drink, in that it was invented, produced, and drunk by women (and children) for all of recorded history. (src)
Beer only recently became associated with men (around the time it was commercializedĀ of course!)Ā Ā How did this happen?
Like many things, it involved the Church and a Witch Hunt.
(Note: this post is about a western stereotype; the action takes place in Europe.) Around the 11th cent., the Church realized that brewing alcoholĀ was a greatĀ way forĀ monasteriesĀ to generate revenue.Ā At the time, brewing was the domain of Germanic tribal woman,Ā and was importantĀ bc:
there was a huge demand for ale, due to its cheapness and the lack of potable waterĀ in most households
it allowed women to generate their own income at home.
That first part smelled like profit to the Church. That second part meant female independence, which they didnāt like at all.Ā The solution was to get women outĀ of brewing, and monasteries in. What better way than a witch hunt?
Of course, to have a good witch hunt, first you have to invent a witch.
Inventing the Wicked Witch
As female brewsters were pushed out of their fields (being denied licenses and guild membership), the Church set up shop. Monasteries & nunneries were sort of the perfect place to manufacture, what with their land & resources & free labor.Ā Women were still the main brewers in many communities, but this would change over the centuries as the Church waged a War of DefamationĀ against alewives & brewesses.Ā
The association between woman and sin has always been an easy argument to make, biblically. As women, alewives were ridiculously easy to defame. The rhetoric went something along the lines of:
women use beer to spread their sinful ways & take money from men
Alewives, who ran alehouses, were cast asĀ treacherous, deceitfulĀ women who cheated menĀ by luring them into playgrounds for the devil, ruled by the sins of gluttony and lust.Ā Ā
Alewives in hellĀ became a popular Church-spread trope:Ā Ā
āThe Church specifically taught that alewives would be the only people left in hell after Christ freed all the damned.ā (src)
Thus, female brewers became easy target to associate with the devil, and with witchcraft.Ā
Whether or not brewsters were outright accused of consorting with the devil, the implication was there. And later, so was the imagery.
The Churchās centuries-long smear campaign worked too, helped by the fact that as brewing became more lucrative, more men entered the field, and were happy to help push women out. By the 17th century, the (European) brewing industry was male dominated, for the first time in human history.Ā
Witchcraft & Brewing: Symbology
The lifestyles, clothing, and tools of real women brewers were taken and used as iconography for witchcraft.Ā
Many of the props associated with the stereotypical Wicked Witch were just common objects alewives used to denote the brewing trade.
CALUDRONS & CATS:Ā The image of a woman standing over a boiling cauldron once had a very different connotation: ale brewing. Cats, of course, were kept around to protect the grain supply.
BROOMSTICKS: these symbols of domestic trade were used as advertisements.Ā AĀ broom or ALESTAKE hung outside a home or alehouse was an easy-to-recognize sign that ale was available to buy. (Keep in mind that before literacy was common, most signs would be symbolic, not written.)
THOSE BIG, DISTINCTIVE HATS: This was a marketing thing too!Ā Wearing a large hat to stand out in the market crowdĀ was a symbol of a brewster with wares to sell. (src)
An Alewife, in her innocent witchy attire. Simple advertising like theseĀ allowed women to sell brews that they were already often making for their families at home.
The more you know! A shoutout to all those ladies brewing throughout history, from priestesses to alewives to homemakers alike. For thousands of years, generation after generation of families were fed & watered & kept healthy by women brewing at home. Thank you ladies, for your service.
if you enjoy my posts, i have a ko-fi! (this post took about 2 hours to research/write. links below)
