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Perhaps some of you have seen this map floating about, the thick blue line is an estimation of the northernmost extent of vineyards, (and, conversely, the southern border of the lands where beer-making is predominant).
The thin red line represents the political border established in the 1639 Treaty of Nancy, the treaty that established the rule of 'cuius regio, eius religio', and laid the framework for modern state sovereignty. It is also represents the border between Christian and Pagan Europe.
So is this some profound cultural signifier, is there something about the drinking of wine that inspires people to follow a hierarchical, monotheistic religion, and something about the drinking of beer that inspires people to follow decentralised, more mystical polytheistic religions? Or is it just a coincidence, and could the line that eventually divided Christian and Pagan Europe possible fallen any degree further north, or further south?