2

I believe Vikings drank Mead as their common alcoholic drink. If that is not right it doesn't really matter. Just replace Mead with whatever is right (beer, wine ...).

The question is what material did they use for their mugs to drink this drink out of? Perhaps it might be clay, wood or horn?

Note: I need the mug commonly used while partying or just sitting together on a table. If for example the "wilderness-mug" is different, it would be nice to know but it's not necessarily object of this question.

7
  • 3
    Given that the Vikings spread from their home countries into other territories over a period of a few hundred years, I would think it's unlikely that they can be considered a homogenous culture. Therefore, it's quite likely that they used a variety of drinking vessels made from a variety of materials. Dec 27, 2016 at 10:49
  • @KillingTime That's why I used the word commonly. If we have found five times evidence for wood and three times evidence for horn the answer to this question would be wood.
    – OddDev
    Dec 27, 2016 at 10:54
  • 2
    English-speakers may be more familiar with the word "mead" rather than the German "Met"
    – bgwiehle
    Dec 27, 2016 at 13:52
  • @KillingTime - From the 9th to the 13th centuries, they all spoke the same language . For that period, they likely did have a fairly homogenous culture.
    – T.E.D.
    Dec 27, 2016 at 14:13
  • 2
    @Benjamin - The issue is that I've never seen the word "Met" before, and hadn't a clue what it was supposed to be (other than short for "The Metropolitan Museum of Art" in NYC). As a consumable, en.Wikipedia's best guess is that he was talking about Meth, which I'm pretty sure the Vikings didn't drink a lot of (although that would explain a lot).
    – T.E.D.
    Dec 27, 2016 at 14:49

1 Answer 1

7

Horn. The drinking horn, known for centuries , was documented in use in several Viking era sagas such as the Prose Edda and Beowulf.

An 1893 depiction of the Norse goddess Sif holding a drinking horn.

from wikipedia:

Horn fragments of Viking Age drinking horns are only rarely preserved, showing that both cattle and goat horns were in use, but the number of decorative metal horn terminals and horn mounts recovered archaeologically show that the drinking horn was much more widespread than the small number of preserved horns would otherwise indicate

Not to say other technologies weren't available, this one would have been readily accessible from farmer on up to king.

The other answer,of course, is that the Viking drank from whatever he plundered.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.