As one who is not a fan of books on history, I found this one fascinating. Most likely it was the subject matter, but i think Mansfield did a great job on organizing his thoughts.
I was first struck on how alcohol, even beer, had such a strong presence in the church. St. Bartholomew was the patron sait of mead drinkers. St. Arnold was the patron of saint of beer. The term ‘bridal’ comes from the two words Bride’s Ale, when the bride would serve her guests with the house ale. Martin Luther was known for joking, “Do not suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused. Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we then prohibit and abolish women?”
The rest of his book does a great job surmising the life and legacy of the Guinness family. I learned, I laughed.
A great read.
I was first struck on how alcohol, even beer, had such a strong presence in the church. St. Bartholomew was the patron sait of mead drinkers. St. Arnold was the patron of saint of beer. The term ‘bridal’ comes from the two words Bride’s Ale, when the bride would serve her guests with the house ale. Martin Luther was known for joking, “Do not suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused. Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we then prohibit and abolish women?”
The rest of his book does a great job surmising the life and legacy of the Guinness family. I learned, I laughed.
A great read.
