Barley has a long association with human society because of its uses for food, drink and medicine that goes back some 12,000 years. Used for animal feed and to make bread for human consumption, it is also used to make popular alcoholic drinks such as beer, barley wine, whisky and other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
Beer is the oldest and the most common of all alcoholic drinks and after water and tea the third most popular beverage. With its ancient importance, barley has given rise to many myths and is the source of much folklore and many people think that hidden in an old traditional folk song of the British Isles called John Barleycorn, lies the story of barley.
Barley – Public Domain Image
The Ballad of John Barleycorn
A traditional British folk ballad, called John Barleycorn, depicts the lead character as the personification of barley and its products of bread, beer and whisky. The song is very old and there are many versions from all around the British Isles. The song does have strong connections with Scotland with possibly the Robert Burns version the most well-known though the song goes way back to before the times of Elizabeth 1st.
Different Versions
In the song, John Barleycorn is subject to many violent, physical abuses leading to his death. Each abuse represents a stage in the sowing, growing, harvesting, malting and preparation of barley to make beer and whisky.
In many versions there is confusion because it is brandy that is consumed even though brandy is made from grapes, rather than whisky or beer made from barley. John Barleycorn is also a term used to denote an alcoholic drink that is distilled such as a spirit, rather than fermented like beer.
In some versions of the song there is more emphasis on the way different tradesmen take revenge on John Barleycorn for making them drunk. The miller grinds him to a powder between two stones. However John Barleycorn often proves the stronger character due to his intoxicating effect on his tormentors and the fact hat his body is giving sustenance to others making humans dependent upon him.
Through the savagery inflicted upon John Barleycorn the song metaphorically tells the story of the sowing, cultivating and harvesting cycle of barley throughout the year. The ground is ploughed, seeds are sown, and the plant grows until ready for harvest. It is then cut with scythes, and tied into sheaves, which are flayed to remove the grain.
Pagan and Anglo-Saxon Associations
Wikipedia says that some scholars think that John Barleycorn has strong connections with the pagan Anglo-Saxon character of Beowa also known as Beaw, Beow, or Beo or sometimes Bedwig. In Old English ‘Beow’ means ‘barley’ and ‘Sceafa’ means ‘sheaf.’ From Royal Anglo-Saxon lineage, Beowa is the son of Scyld who is the son of Sceafa in a pedigree that goes back to Adam.
Many scholars also think that there are strong associations with Beowa and Beowulf and the general agreement is that they are the same character. Some scholars also think that Beowa is the same character as John Barleycorn while others disagree.
The Golden Bough
Wikepedia says, Sir James George Frazer, in his book, ‘The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion’ asserts that many of the old religions of the world were derived from fertility cults which had at their core the ritual sacrifice of a Sacred king who was also known as the Corn King, who was the embodiment of the Sun god. Each year he went through a cycle of death and rebirth in a union with the Earth goddess, dying at the harvest time to be reborn in the spring.
The Corn King
The Corn King was chosen from the men of a tribe to be the king for a year. At the end of the year he would then dance, or perform thanksgiving and fertility rituals in the fields before being ritually killed. So that the soil would be fertilised his body was dragged through the fields to enable his blood to run into the soil. It may be that he may then have been eaten by the tribe in completion of the ritual.
As well as other uses, the barley was made into cakes which would be stored for the winter and were thought to hold the spirit of the Corn King. Around the time of the winter solstice when the sun was at its weakest and as it started to strengthen, the cakes would be fed to children giving them the spirit of the corn king.
Christianity
There are also theories that possibly an earlier form of John Barleycorn represented a pagan rite before the rise of Christianity. There are suggestions that the early Christian church in Anglo-Saxon England adapted this to help the conversion of the pagan population to Christianity. This is a tactic that was used with Yule and other pagan festivals and traditions. In some versions of the song, John Barleycorn suffers in a similar way to Christ, especially in the version by Robert Burns.
After undergoing ritualistic suffering and death, his body is ground into flour for bread and drink. Some scholars compare this with the Sacrament and Transubstantiation of Christian belief though not all agree.
Popular Culture
We will probably never know the true origins and meaning that are hidden in the story of John Barleycorn but the song and its mysteries still have a powerful effect on people today. Many popular musicians and folk artists have performed versions of the song in the recent past and it is still a popular song today.
In 1970, the progressive rock group, ’Traffic’ made an album entitled, John Barleycorn Must Die, featuring a song of the same name which went on to become a classic.
The song is popular with recording and performing artists and a favourite with audiences. Folk rock bands Fairport Convention and Steel-eye Span and many other rock and folk artists have recorded versions of the song ensuring the story of John Barleycorn is still sung and celebrated, so that even though the meaning may be lost in time, the story lives on.
References and Attributions
File:Hordeum-barley.jpg From Wikimedia Commons Read the lyrics HarvestFestivals.Net - John Barleycorn AudioEnglish.org -John Barleycorn The Golden Bough - from Wikipedia Sacred king from Wikipedia Frazer, Sir James George - The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion
Mainly Norfolk: English Folk and Other Good Music
Under the influence! 
