This had once been a sore point with Scott: now he had other things on his mind. Taking Lymond's letter, he remarked, "I suppose you know the men are getting restless, sir?" and was lucky to get instant backing.
"God, you've hit it." Mat, entering, yawned and eased his shoulders. "Too much intrigue, sir, and too little rape: the boys are as unnatural nervy as water fleas. ... And besides," he added practically, "we're nigh out of beer."
The Master, leaning back, crossed his legs. "Good God. I knew we were spendthrifts, lechers and soaks: can we possibly be bored as well?"
Dorothy Dunnett: The Game of Kings:
Part One, THE PLAY FOR JONATHAN CROUCH, Chapter V: Castling, 1. Capture of Some Advancing Pieces
Dec 6, A History of Beer: Beginnings
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Details of Painting by HAENSBERGEN |
Archaeologists speak of around 5000 people who gathered here in a Stone Age "Oktoberfest" and drank a kind of proto-beer made from fermented grain.
The Göbekli Tepe lies precisely in the region were the first Neolithic cereals grew. The archaeologists assume that the festivals and rituals carried out there and, ultimately, the joint erection of the monuments, gradually set in motion a change in the basis of life - from the passive consumption of natural resources by hunters and gatherers to active intervention in nature for food production by setteld farmers.
Beer culture continued to develop in Mesopotamia. The Sumerians already knew four different methods of making beer from fermented bread dough.
Beer is also mentioned in the Gilgamesh epic, one of the oldest works in literature, which was written in Babylonia around 2000 BC. It says: "Now eat the bread, O Endiku, because that is part of life, also drink the beer, as is the country's custom."
In Egypt wall paintings testify that people loved the forerunner of today's beer, too.