Of Martyrs and Moby Dick: Weihenstephan’s Vitus Weizenbock
~Or, what do Melville’s white whale, a cathedral in Prague, and Weihenstephan’s Vitus have in common?~
I’ve been drinking Weihenstephan’s lush and expansive Vitus for years now, especially when the weather turns cool. I can’t get enough of that subtly spiced honey and orange zest layered over rich banana custard. But I hadn’t ever troubled myself with looking deeper into the beer’s namesake, St. Vitus, despite my fondness for another material object connected with Vitus’s memory: the imposing Gothic cathedral that looms over Prague.
But then I came across what was, for me, a puzzling reference to St. Vitus in Moby Dick. I immediately had to know what connected the dots between Moby Dick, a cathedral in Prague with some of the most wondrous stained-glass windows I’ve seen, and that elegant Weizenbock from Weihenstephan.
Moby Dick
Here’s the passage from Moby Dick that stopped me in my tracks, and not only for its reference to the St. Vitus Dance. The dramatic scene on the quarter-deck (Chapter 36) is one of the crucial moments of the yarn. It’s when the mad Captain Ahab exhorts the crew to join him on his wild pursuit of the white whale, Moby Dick.
Before the climactic toast — “Drink, ye harpooneers! drink and swear, ye men that man the deathful whaleboat’s bow—Death to Moby Dick! God hunt us all, if we do not hunt Moby Dick to his death!” — Ahab addresses the assembled crew thus:
“Attend now, my braves. I have mustered ye all round this capstan; and ye mates, flank me with your lances; and ye harpooneers, stand there with your irons; and ye, stout mariners, ring me in, that I may in some sort revive a noble custom of my fisherman fathers before me. O men, you will yet see that—Ha! boy, come back? bad pennies come not sooner. Hand it me. Why, now, this pewter had run brimming again, wert not thou St. Vitus’ imp—away, thou ague!”[1]
Never a bad thing, a little classic literature to go with your drink! The bold and italicized words got me thinking: What is the connection, if any, between the Vitus Weizenbock I love to drink on cold winter days, the cathedral in Prague with its sublime stained glass, and the grog spilled by the steward?
Turns out the last bit has to do with the “St. Vitus Dance.”
Vitus in Rome
How did this Sicilian saint of early Christianity come to be associated with a dance that traces its roots to the Germanic realms of the Middle Ages? As is the case with most hagiographies of early Christian saints, Vitus’s is built on sandy foundations. Legend has it that Vitus, the only son of a Sicilian senator, become a Christian when he was twelve. When the administrator of Sicily caught wind of Vitus’s conversion, he summoned Vitus and attempted to shake him of his faith. He was unsuccessful.
Vitus fled to Rome with his tutor and servant, where, in 303 CE, he freed Emperor Diocletian’s son of an evil spirit. When Vitus would not sacrifice to the gods, his cure was attributed to sorcery. Diocletian subjected Vitus and his retinue to a variety of tortures, including boiling in a cauldron filled with oil or, depending on the account, molten lead. He writhed and writhed but did not succumb. The involuntary twitching came to be known as the St. Vitus Dance.[2]
Vitus Among the Germans and Bohemians
Centuries later Vitus came to be counted among the Fourteen Holy Helpers, a group of saints venerated by Roman Catholics because their intercession is believed to be effective against a panoply of diseases.[3] These Nothelfer (helpers in times of need) were called together during the fourteenth century in the dioceses of Regensburg, Bamberg, Würzburg, and Nürnberg, largely in response to an epidemic connected with the Black Death.[4]
But how did Vitus’s influence spread from Italy northward to the Holy Roman Empire? During the eighth century, the Abbot of St. Denis is said to have brought the relics of St. Vitus from Italy to his monastery just outside of Paris. Less than a century later, the relics found their way to the Abbey of Corvey in Westphalia. From there the veneration of St. Vitus spread northwards and, eventually, eastwards to Saxony and Bohemia and southwards to Franconia and Bavaria, where Vitus became one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.[5] In 925 CE, King Henry I of East Francia (Kingdom of the Germans) presented a relic of St. Vitus to Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia, which became a sacred treasure in Prague’s St. Vitus Cathedral.[6]
The St. Vitus Dance in Central Europe
Back to Vitus’s ignominious fate and his subsequent elevation to the status of Holy Helper. During the Middle Ages, people afflicted with a disorder characterized by involuntary movements visited the chapels of St. Vitus, who, it was believed, could cure their malady. Folks also celebrated St. Vitus’s feast with dancing before his statue, seemingly in imitation of the flailing movements he made in the cauldron. Both the affliction and the celebratory dance became known as the “Saint Vitus Dance.”
Today the St. Vitus Dance is more commonly known as Sydenham’s chorea, a childhood movement disorder first described by English physician Thomas Sydenham in the nineteenth century.[7] Chorea comes from the Greek word for “dance,” and the affliction is characterized by rapid, irregular, and involuntary movements of the limbs and face.[8]
St. Vitus Today
Vitus is the patron saint of Bohemia, and the St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague is the most famous Central European landmark bearing his name. Emperor Charles IV laid the foundation stone of this majestic cathedral in 1344. The church serves as the seat of the archbishop and the repository of the relic mentioned above, and houses the tombs of Czech kings. Carved on one of the wooden doors is a relief of Vitus being tortured in a cauldron of boiling oil.[9] Vitus is also depicted on one of the many ornate stained glass windows serenely praying in a cauldron set above a raging blaze.
But it’s not just Prague’s cathedral that’s named after St. Vitus. In fact, more than 1300 churches, chapels, and altars spread across Central Europe bear Vitus’s name.[10] Various places in Austria and Bavaria are also named Sankt Veit in his honour.
In an ironic twist, not only is St. Vitus invoked against the malady bearing his name, he’s also the patron saint of dancers. Beyond that, Vitus is said to protect against animal attacks and oversleeping.[11] This latter protection is, I assume, useful if you’ve overindulged the night before.
Vitus and Weihenstephan
According to the good folks at Weihenstephan, Vitus also does duty as a patron saint of brewers, innkeepers, and good harvests.[12] He protects against storms, lightning strikes, and fire as well, all of which could wreak havoc on harvests, malt houses, and brewhouses. In short, he’s got beer covered from grain to glass — a powerful Holy Helper indeed. No small wonder, then, that Weihehstephan has claimed Vitus as the patron saint of their salvific Weizenbock.
**
Moby Dick, the St. Vitus Dance, and towns and chapels throughout Central Europe named after Vitus and Veith: that’s a whole lotta St. Vitus to think about next time you’re savouring a Vitus Weizenbock. Prost to all that!
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Notes
[1] Herman Melville, Moby Dick, (1851; Penguin Classics, 2009). Pages cited: p.181, p.180.
[2] “St. Vitus,” Catholic Online. See also Jim Carnett, “A Prayer for Those with Parkinson’s,” LA Times, 11 October 2016.
[3] Plaque in the Basilika Verzehnheiligen near the town of Bad Staffelstein (visited 25 October 2022).
[4] “Vierzehn heilige Nothelfer,” Ökumenisches Heiligenlexicon; plaque in the Basilika Verzehnheiligen.
[5] “Vitus,” Wikipedia; See also “St. Vitus,” Catholic Online.
[7] “Sydenham’s chorea,” Britannica
[8] See Carnett, LA Times, 11 October 2016, and “Sydenham’s chorea,” Britannica
[9] See Carnett, LA Times, 11 October 2016.
[10] Weihenstephan (official website).
[12] Weihenstephan (official website). See also “Veit,” Ökumenisches Heiligenlexicon. For those who can read German, this latter article on St. Veit/Vitus contains a verse of country lore that begins with the lines, “Regnet’s an St. Veit / Gerste nicht leid’s,” (which translates, very roughly, as “If it rains on the Feast of St. Vitus / The barley won’t be sorry”).
All images by F.D. Hofer.
© 2022 Franz D. Hofer and A Tempest in a Tankard. All rights reserved.
Great article, Franz! Vitus is one of my favorite beers in the world. I make it a point to always have some on hand. Glad to see others recognizing this stellar brew.
Thanks, Irving, and great to hear from you again! Vitus was one of those beers that really stood out in my early beer explorations. It hasn’t gotten old. Hope all’s well. How was your trip to Europe? If I recall correctly, you were heading over in the fall (?).
Thanks for asking, Franz. My trip to Europe was amazing. We spent a week in Berlin and divided nine days between Copenhagen and Stockholm. In Berlin, I made the obligatory stops at Augustiner Brau, Weihenstephaner, as well as Erdinger’s in the Virtualnmarkt area. They did not disappoint. In addition, I made a point of sampling a true Berliner Weisse. I hope that all is well with you, Franz! It is always great to connect with you.
What an interesting read! I could add one more topic that might qualify as a footnote. Chapter 92 of “Moby Dick” is entitled ‘Ambergris’. Ambergris is basically solidified whale vomit (or excrement) that has a potent earthy odor and can be found floating at sea or on shore. Historically, ambergris was very valuable because it was used as an ingredient in certain high-end perfumes and other concoctions. Hence, Ishmael’s interest and the reason for this chapter.
There is a recent connection of ambergris to beer (although not Weihenstephan). Several years ago, an employee at Robe Town Brewery in southern Australia found a lump of ambergris on a nearby beach. Being adventurous, he decided to use it in a beer that was named ‘Moby Dick Ambergris Ale’, an imperial amber ale. It’s apparently quite expensive, but I think Ishmael would be impressed!
Wow, I had no idea, Peter! And nice to know someone else who has read Moby Dick. What a tour de force. I can’t believe it took me so long to read it. (Then again, my bookshelves are creaking under the weight of books waiting to be read. I’ll need to live well into my 90s to put a dent in all those books — and the hundreds more I’ll acquire before then.)
As for that Moby Dick Ambergris Ale, I suppose that if I’ve had a beer with bull’s bollocks (Wynkoop’s Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout), I could probably (?) stomach something that passed through a whale’s digestive track. I’ll have to revisit Ch. 92 when I’m back Stateside.
Coincidentally, I purchased both a .5L bottle of Weihenstephaner Hefe and Vitus a day or two before reading your posted article. My Vitus is currently chilling comfortably, but I’m certain will be dancing soon enough.
Great stuff as always, Franz, especially your writings on Baden-Württemberg – a land I’d love to visit someday.
Prost!
Thanks, Ryan! Enjoy that Vitus when you crack it open. It’s the kind of beer that hits the spot in every season. Stay tuned for more on Baden-Württemberg. Prost!