Holinshed Chronicles: England, Scotland, and Ireland. Volume 1, CompleteHolinshed, Raphael
History
Holinshed Chronicles: England, Scotland, and Ireland. Volume 1, Complete
Holinshed, Raphael
Great Britain -- History -- To 1485; Great Britain -- History -- Tudors, 1485-1603
Otes they haue verie plentifullie, but greater store of
barleie, wherof they make a nappie kind of drinke, and such indéed, as
will verie readilie cause a stranger to ouershoot himselfe. Howbeit
this may be vnto vs in lieu of a miracle, that although their drinke
be neuer so strong, & they themselues so vnmeasurable drinkers (as
[Sidenote: If he speake all in truth.]
none are more) yet it shall not easilie be séene (saith Hector) that
there is anie drunkard among them, either frantike, or mad man, dolt,
or naturall foole, meet to weare a cockescombe.
This vnmeasurable drinking of theirs is confessed also by Buchanan,
who noteth, that whensoeuer anie wine is brought vnto them from other
soiles, they take their parts thereof aboundantlie. He addeth
moreouer, how they haue an old bole (which they call S. Magnus bole,
who first preached Christ vnto them) of farre greater quantitie than
common boles are, and so great, that it may séeme to be reserued since
the Lapithane banket, onelie to quaffe and drinke in. And when anie
bishop commeth vnto them, they offer him this bole full of drinke,
which if he be able to drinke vp quite at one draught; then they
assure themselues of good lucke, and plentie after it. Neuerthelesse
this excesse is not often found in the common sort, whom penurie
maketh to be more frugall; but in their priests, and such as are of
the richer calling. They succour pirats also, and verie often exchange
their vittels with their commodities, rather for feare and want of
power to resist (their Ilands lieng so scattered) than for anie
necessitie of such gains as they doo get by those men: for in truth,
they thinke themselues to haue little need of other furniture than
their owne soiles doo yéeld and offer vnto them. This is also to be
read of the inhabitants of these Ilands, that ignorance of excesse is
vnto the most part of them in stéed of physicke; and labour and
trauell a medicine for such few diseases as they are molested and
incombred withall.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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