What is the earliest known reference to the phrase 'water of life'?
score:8
I believe there's two questions here: what is the earliest use of "aqua vitae" and when did it become synonymous with "distilled spirits". I'm going to answer the latter, when did "aqua vitae" become synonymous with "distilled spirits".
The French "eau de vie", Gaelic "uisce betha", Scandinavian "akvavit", and so on, all have their roots in the Latin "aqua vitae". The OED has the first recorded use in English as 1471.
1471 G. Ripley Compound of Alchymy in Ashm. 1652, 115 "With Aquavite ofttimes, both wash and drie."
My main source is The Quest For Aqua Vitae: The History and Chemistry of Alcohol From Antiquity to the Middle Ages by Seth Rasmussen.
While fermentation has been known since probably 6000 BCE, distillation of alcohol is much trickier. Low quality glass cannot stand the heat, and methods cooling the distillate vapor were inadequate. 13th century Italian improvements in glass making made distillation a much easier process, and higher and higher concentrations of alcohol were possible.
Earlier publications referred to "aqua ardens" (burning water) or "aqua flamens" (flaming water) referencing this thing which looked like water but which burned with a cold flame and gave a giddy sensation upon being drunk. Some thought this was Aristotle's "quintessence" or "aether", the 5th element that made up the heavens. This is also where we get "spirits", alcohol is the pure "spirit" of the wine. We're edging towards "water of life".
The earliest reference I can find to using "aqua vitae" to mean "very strong distilled alcohol" is in the late 13th century by several authors.
Taddeo Alderotti of Florence published De virtutibus aquae vitae as part of Consilia Medicinalia describing the distillation of wine in an alembic and aqua vitae as "of inestimable glory, the mother and mistress of all medicine" and that a little every morning "makes one happy, jocund, and glad". English physician Gilbertus Anglicus was recommending aqua vitae for travelers. And Arnaldus de Villa Nova who said of the name:
This name is remarkably suitable, since it is really a water of immortality. It prolongs life, clears away ill-humours, revives the heart, and maintains youth.
(European chemists have this tendency to gush about drugs.)
So there you have it. To the best of my knowledge, sometime around the late 13th century as the process of distillation became more refined and purer spirits were possible, the term "aqua vitae" became popular among European chemists.
The unrelated term "alcohol" did not come into use until the 16th century. This comes from the Greek "kohl" referring to a finely powdered form of antimony trisulphide used as eye makeup in antiquity. Arabic added their "al" prefix for "al-kohl". It then became a term for very fine powder. Then a fine part of anything. Then anything you pulverized or distilled.
In the mid-1500s, Paracelsus (Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim to his pals) is used "alkohol vini" or "the subtle part of wine" to refer to spirits distilled from wine. The "vini" (wine) part was dropped, and we have the modern "alkohol". Etymologically unrelated to "aqua vitae".
More post
- 📝 When and where arose the first civilization?
- 📝 What were contemporary Japanese views on the Taiping Rebellion and Heavenly Kingdom?
- 📝 What was Artaxerxes I ascension year?
- 📝 How effective were siege guns and gun boats compared to field artillery in the 19th century?
- 📝 Where was Arielis?
- 📝 How did Genghis Khan's army feed so many horses?
- 📝 How do numbered names work in history?
- 📝 Creating a "focused research question" for a history paper, unsure how to create a question that inspires debate
- 📝 What is the origin of these WW1 "official history" maps?
- 📝 Which countries protested against the Anschluss?
- 📝 Which "Walker" is Thoreau referring to in "A Plea for Captain John Brown"?
- 📝 Did China colonize any countries?
- 📝 The Sumatrans told Marco Polo that there was an island to the Southeast. Were they referring to Australia?
- 📝 Hunting in Armour in Medieval Europe?
- 📝 Why do people still leave flowers at the Temple of Julius Caesar?
- 📝 What does the phrase "Vietnam, the mixture of up and down" mean?
- 📝 What is the reason of Mongol Empire success conquering that huge territory?
- 📝 How and why did the Cavalry lance temporarily fall out of favour during the 16-18th centuries?
- 📝 How did the Jats come to own so much land in North West India?
- 📝 Was it possible to organize a women's uprising or feminist movement in the Middle Ages?
- 📝 What evidence is Chomsky alluding to when he states the US is preventing a settlement between Israel & Palestine?
- 📝 Before his arrival at St Helena, was Napoleon legally a prisoner of war?
- 📝 What was Texas called after gaining its independence and why was it called that?
- 📝 Was Ezra Pound a descendent of Jews?
- 📝 Jerusalem 1187: How would Saladin's army have laid siege to the walls?
- 📝 Has any (nominally) democratic government ever been domestically overthrown without military assistance?
- 📝 How did melee soldiers in the front rank of a formation fight without getting tired?
- 📝 In historical slave societies, what jobs were left over for poor free laborers?
- 📝 Why did the Zimmerman telegram upset America if it was not asking for aggression against America?
- 📝 Trying to identify this sword. Think early 20th century. Maybe ceremonial
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What is the earliest known reference to the phrase 'water of life'?
- 📝 What is the earliest known account of the modern military salute?
- 📝 What is the earliest reference to "space aliens"?
- 📝 What is the earliest known writing associating the number three with the dimension of the world?
- 📝 What is the earliest known book / novel trilogy in literature?
- 📝 What was the earliest known written constitution?
- 📝 What is the earliest reference to King Arthur being raised by Sir Ector?
- 📝 What is the earliest known "one arrow is easily broken but a bundle of arrows is not" story?
- 📝 What is the earliest recorded reference to a bubble floating in the air?
- 📝 What is the oldest known work of fiction?
- 📝 What is the earliest mention of space travel?
- 📝 What is the earliest evidence of contact between Ireland and Egypt?
- 📝 Japan is known for being isolationist, so what cultivated its history of interventionism in the 20th century?
- 📝 What was the first known war in history?
- 📝 What is the earliest recorded female name in history?
- 📝 What is known about the Ubaid lizard-people figurines?
- 📝 What is known about the possibility of a "real King Arthur"?
- 📝 What is the earliest reliably dated event exact to the year?
- 📝 What is the earliest mention of an estimate of 71% water (or 70.8%) / 29% land (or 29.2%)?
- 📝 What is the oldest known international sporting event?
- 📝 What was the earliest professional recording of "Happy Birthday to You"?
- 📝 What is the earliest evidence for the use of hearing aids?
- 📝 What was the earliest knitted sweater?
- 📝 What is the earliest recorded example of an extradition treaty or law?
- 📝 What is the earliest example of the usage of 'Nazis' to refer clearly and exclusively to the National-Socialists?
- 📝 What is the original German version of Bismarck's phrase about intentions and capabilities?
- 📝 What murals and decor might have been present in the earliest Sumerian temples?
- 📝 What are the earliest examples in history where one state/people stepped in to rescue another?
- 📝 Considering what was known about Hitler in 1933, why would German bishops declare that Catholics could cooperate with the new State?
- 📝 In Studying the peoples of pre-Roman Britain, what are our primary reference sources?