Distillation writings entered Latin Western Europe in the mid-twelfth century

Use as a knowledge-transmission milestone, not a claim that Western European distillation began at one exact moment or by one route.

The passage connects earlier Arabic and Persian work to documented Latin medical writing and the later spread of distilled alcohol in Europe.

Estreicher reports that Arabic and Persian distillation writings were translated into Latin at Salerno in the mid-twelfth century, where references to distilled alcohol used the term aqua ardens before the later aqua vitae tradition.

129

129

Distillation and Distilled Wines

Verified on 2026-09-02 against the complete official Cambridge PDF attached to the Source, page 129. The review later acknowledges more than one possible route into Western Europe.