Call for Papers
Drinking in the Ancient, Medieval, and Early Modern World
29–30 October 2026
Tampere University, Finland
Alcoholic drinks played a vital role in premodern societies. People have gathered around drinks for centuries, conveying social meanings and creating cultural customs. The trade in beer, wine, and mead created economic opportunities for many. Although alcoholic drinks were important for nutrition, the economy, and social life, non-alcoholic drinks such as water and milk also carried various social and cultural meanings. During the early modern period, new non-alcoholic drinks like coffee, tea, and chocolate profoundly changed conceptions of intoxication and alcoholic beverages. You are what you drink—and who you drink with.
The workshop “Drinking in the Ancient, Medieval, and Early Modern World” focuses on the social and cultural meanings of drinking in premodern societies—the eras before the scientific revolution and industrialization. The program consists of individual presentations focusing on different eras and themes, as well as a keynote presentation by Dr. Mark Hailwood. He is an Associate Professor in Early Modern History at the University of Bristol, and he has studied the sociability of alehouses and the experience of work in early modern England.
Presentations should focus on topics broadly understood as social or cultural history. Tentative topics for proposed presentations include, but are not limited to:
- practices of social drinking and sociability
- cultural customs and meanings connected to drinking or different types of drinks
- religious uses of drinks and drinking
- alcohol production, trade, and the selling of drinks (from a social or cultural historical viewpoint)
- inns, taverns, and alehouses (from a social or cultural historical viewpoint)
- group identities and prejudices connected to drinking
- limits of moderation
- abstinence, prohibition, and regulations of drinking in the premodern world
Please submit an abstract of 300 words for a twenty-minute paper, together with your name, title, academic affiliation, and e-mail, via this link by 3 July 2026. Notification of paper acceptance will be made shortly thereafter, and the program will be published in August. The workshop web page can be found here.
An edited volume based on the papers presented at the workshop is being planned. If you would like your paper to be included in the volume, please indicate this in your abstract.
The registration fee depends on the funding received for the workshop. It will be confirmed before registration begins. The fee will, however, be less than 100 euros, not including the optional conference dinner. Registration will begin after the program is published.
The workshop is organized by Dr. Jenni Lares, a postdoctoral researcher at Tampere University, as part of her project “Sociability and Work in Early Modern Finnish Taverns,” funded by the Jalmari Finne Foundation, and in cooperation with Trivium – Tampere Centre for Classical, Medieval, and Early Modern Studies.
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Uutisen välitti: Jenni Lares
