Metheglin: the king's brew

Courtier, privateer, diplomat, swordsman, theologian, alchemist and incurable romantic, Sir Kenelm Digby was the sort of character you simply couldn’t make up. Oddly enough though, these days Digby is most revered among home brewers... 

Image by Jesse Wild

Sir Kenelm Digby  (1603-1665) was a noted foodie, and he kept extensive notebooks of recipes encountered both in London and on his travels. These were published after his death by an enterprising steward under the title The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened (1669).

Among dishes with fantastic names like “a good quaking bag pudding” or “pease of the seedy buds of tulips”, there are no less than 115 different booze recipes, mainly for metheglin – or flavoured mead.  Kenelm got this brew from “Master Webbe, who maketh the King’s Meathe”. I’ve scaled it down considerably (Webbe’s recipe makes 300 bottles, but eight is probably enough to start with), and switched most of the fresh ingredients for dry ones. It’s strong and sweet, with a rather medicinal flavour.

1. Bring 10 litres of water to the boil. Add 5g of dried hops (I used East Kent Goldings) and boil for half an hour. Putting your ingredients in muslin bags will save you straining them off later.

2. Remove the hops, and stir in 1.6kg of honey. Boil for an hour, skimming occasionally.

3. Add 5g dried rose petals; 2 teaspoons each of dried rosemary, thyme and marjoram; 1 teaspoon of mint; 5g fresh ginger ; a stick of cinnamon and 4 tablespoons of oloroso (sweet) sherry. Webbe liked it with cloves and mace too, but “the King did not care for them”.

4. Boil for half an hour, then strain off the liquid into a sterilised fermenter and let it cool. If you want to check the specific gravity with a hydrometer (or an egg), it should be around 1075.

5. Whisk vigorously, then pitch half a teaspoon of yeast nutrient and 2 teaspoons of wine yeast. By the next day it should be fizzing nicely.

6. Leave it to ferment out and clear (mine took a few weeks), then siphon it off into sterilised wine bottles (corks rather than screw tops). Kenelm reckoned it would be ready to drink in a month or two, but it will keep much longer. 

Joly Braime is a writer and home brewer. He spends his leisure time tramping the moors or filling his coal shed with homemade alcohol.
 

jolybraime.co.uk

 

 

 

 

To learn more about Sir Kenelm Digby, pick up a copy of issue 7, on sale now.

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A skin read

It’s widely said that everyone has a book inside them, less common is the knowledge that some people have actually had books made from the outsides of them. Duncan Haskell enters the dark world of anthropodermic bibliopegy

Anthropodermic bibliopegy, the process of binding books in human skin, reached its macabre peak in the 19th century and was of particular interest to medical professionals who had access to cadavers. Some examples include the infamous Edinburgh murderer William Burke (of Burke and Hare fame) who was turned into a small pocket book after his execution in 1829, and John Horwood, the first man to be hanged at Bristol Gaol in 1821, whose skin now envelopes an account of his crime. The Historical Medical Library in Philadelphia houses the largest collection, with five such grisly tomes.

A twist to this tale is provided by The Anthropodermic Book Project. Suspecting that some of these alleged skin-bound volumes were nothing more than a tall story, they’ve begun testing specimens using a process known as peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF). Of the 31 tested, only 18 have been confirmed as human.

It remains uncertain whether the practice was sheer vanity, a deterrent to criminals or an unusual reminder of our own morality. What is clear though is that it’s definitely okay to judge these books by their covers. 

Words: Duncan Haskell

Delve into the findings at anthropodermicbooks.org

Anthropodermic bibliopegy features in issue 7 of Ernest Journal, on sale now.

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The Mail Train

Not so long ago, any letter or parcel landing on a doormat in London would have just disembarked from a surprising journey... underground.

Images courtesy of the Postal Museum

Stretching for 6.5 miles in a tunnel deeper than the Tube, the Mail Rail transported post between Whitechapel and Paddington for 75 years until its closure in 2003. Since then, the stalactite-filled
tunnels and abandoned platforms have lain dark and empty. Until now.

The Postal Museum in Clerkenwell has opened part of the Mail Rail to the public; running battery-powered passenger trains on a 20-minute subterranean tour. While the Mail Rail is undoubtedly the star attraction, the museum is a thigh-rubbing joy to wander itself, for its interactive displays (you get to sort post and put your face on a stamp) and fascinating insights into what has kept this great British institution ticking for so long. 

Open everyday (except 24-26 December) from 10am to 5pm. Last train departs at 4.30pm. Journey lasts 15 minutes. For more info, visit postalmuseum.org

The Mail Train features in issue 7 of Ernest Journal, on sale now.

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Timeline of the far future

Impending asteroids, interchangeable North Stars and rings around Mars, what do future astronomical events have in store for the universe (and for planet earth)?

Image courtesy of NASA

The north star swap

When undertaking peregrinations into the wild, we often seek guidance from the celestial arbiter Polaris, commonly known as the North Star. However, due to the effects of ‘precession’ (like when you nudge a spinning top) the earth’s ‘spin axis’ changes and with it, our North Star. In 3000 B.C.Alpha Draconis was the North Star and 13,000 years from now it will be Vega.  

Impending asteroid

For centuries, soothsayers have predicted our cosmic extinction. But your 26 times great-grandchildren (in about 800 years) may have genuine cause for concern. In 2880, there’ll be a 1-in-300 chance of Asteroid (29075) 1950 DA colliding with earth, the only asteroid considered to have a PalermoTechnical Impact Hazard Scale above the background level. 

The longest eclipse

On 16 July 2186, earth will be plunged into darkness for seven minutes and 29 seconds. This will be the longest eclipse in a span of over 12,000 years (4000 BCE to 8000 CE). Astronomers speculate this might be, or is at least close to, the theoretical maximum duration of a solar eclipse based on current astronomic conditions. 

Harvest moon

The Florida based Moon Express has already raised $45 million to launch three expeditions to the Moon, with the final mission ending in an exploratory mining excursion, aptly named Harvest Moon. With the maiden flight of their Lunar Scout shuttle set for this year, we might all have our own lunar artefact as early as 2020. 

Mars gets rings (or explodes)

The red planet has two satellites: Phobos and Deimos. Phobos has a shorter lunar orbit than any other in our solar system. This close proximity to the surface, together with tidal interactions, means that in eight million years, one of two things will happen. Either it will break apart and form rings or it will crash into the surface like a giant nuclear bomb. 

Words: Matt Iredale

This features in issue 7 of Ernest Journal, on sale now.

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Remapping the frozen continent

In issue 7 of Ernest Journal, writer and humanitarian Carol Devine shared the story of her mission to compile a list of female place names in Antarctica – some old, some new, some lost to a rapidly changing climate – and chart them on a new map of the frozen continent. To accompany her words, we commissioned map-maker and illustrator Aidan Meighan to create Carol's vision. It's fair to say we were stunned by the result...

'Mapping Antarctic Women', illustrated by Aidan Meighan, © Carol Devine. 

Aidan, when we first approached you to illustrate Carol Devine's map of Antarctic women, what was your initial reaction? 

I eagerly await all of my Ernest briefs and this one from Carol was particularly exciting! I loved having the opportunity to involve myself in all her incredible research. Maps are often snapshots of history; changing landscapes, politics and territories – this map not only shows history but amends it. It was a joy to map the success of these inspirational women explorers, scientists and innovators. 

What are your feelings towards this remote, frozen continent at the bottom of the world? 

It sounds like something out of science fiction – a continent made of 99% ice, with temperatures reaching −89.2 °C! I've always been a keen environmentalist and I think it's of paramount importance that we look after our frozen friend down south. Global warming and the world's biggest lump of ice... what could possibly go wrong? I've always been interested in the people brave enough to explore this hostile part of the world. But it wasn't until creating this map that I realised so many of them were women. We've been seeing Antarctica through male-tinted glasses for many years – so many maps of the past have neglected to mention the inspirational women explorers, scientists and innovators who journeyed there.

Tell us about your design process when it comes to illustrating a map.

With all maps I start by thinking of the most effective way to display the key content. From there I think about its message and how it should look and feel. Then I begin to harmonise the content with the design – it begins to get really satisfying, polishing it up until it becomes something special. In this case I thought it was important for Carol's research to do the talking. I wanted to draw influence from classic maps of the continent, while shifting the perspective to highlight those underrepresented in the past. 

You also illustrated a few other maps and images for issue 7 – tell us a bit about them. 

I LOVED illustrating for issue 7 – I could really get my teeth into it. One of my favourites was the little map of Doggerland for the East Anglia special - it's such a fascinating place and I was pleased with its aesthetic. It's really nice to get into multiple illustrations on a theme, such as East Anglia, partly because you can get into a groove from a design perspective, but also I love learning about new places. My head is full of hundreds of bizarre facts and stories, including the Orford Merman!

What's your favourite map (not one of yours!) and why?

Hmm, that is tough! There are so many to choose from and in so many styles.  Maps I love range from Ptolemy's world map, to modern maps such as Grayson Perry's A Map of Days and the extremely practical and classic design of the OS maps. Right this very minute though I'd probably go for Walter Goodacre's Map of the Moon (below), a hand drawn map of the moon's surface, drawn in 25 segments, with the total diameter measuring 77" (1910).

Where would you most like to travel?

Iceland, Japan or New Zealand. The landscapes in Iceland look otherworldly – I'd love to go there and do some drawings of the mountains, lava fields and geysers.

You're currently redesigning your website - how's that going? Any other exciting developments/projects you'd like to tell us about?

Actually we are a tad behind schedule trying to get it just right, but it will launch in May sometime, which is very exciting. As well as editorial maps for the likes of Ernest, I also draw customised maps of people's homes and favourite places. The new website seeks to marry the two a little bit and basically become a map extravaganza. The page I'm most excited about introducing is 'Maps by Aidan', which will showcase the eclectic range of maps I've drawn for Ernest and other publications, such as the map of Brutalist buildings in London, bothies in Scotland and the new maps in issue 7.

Tell us a bit about your work space. What do you like to have around you? Do you listen to music or a particular station?

I've just moved house from Bristol (an incredible place to have spent the last 12 years and started my illustration career) to the green and tranquil Quantock hills in Somerset. Right now from my studio window I see a shed, a few ancient oak trees and about 20 cows that come up to our garden fence to say hello every morning. I like to be surrounded by greenery. In Bristol, without a garden, the number of houseplants in our collection got a bit out of control. My desk is usually pretty tidy, but here's an inventory of what's on it today!

A History of the World in Twelve Maps by Jerry Brotton
A hakisak
Two yoyos (a pro yo and an X brain)
A tin of earl grey tea
Three pots of Quink ink and 1 Windsor and Newton (3 black, 1 blue)
A spirit level
A hammer
A tile with a crude painting of a man riding a horse
Some big old headphones
Two terrariums and two potted succulents
Two tea-dregged 'Habitat Connor' orange mugs
...and of course my computer

I flit between podcasts (RadioLab, Ear Hustle, etc) and get my music fix on BBC 6 Music.

Photo by Poppy French, Studio Grabdown

You can see more of Aidan's work, in issue 7 of Ernest Journal, on sale now. 'Mapping Antarctic Women' is an ongoing project and Carol is keen to add to her map. Join the conversation on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtags #ernestjournal and #MappingAntarcticWomen

Follow Aidan on Instagram @whereabouts_maps, on Twitter @whereaboutsmaps and at whereaboutsmaps.com