Medieval inns and taverns?

Question

So I have been searching the internet for quite some time now and I still cannot find a good source that would describe a life of a medieval inn or tavern. How was it managed, by whom, what did it have in the storeroom or cellar, what kind of wine/ale/beer did it offer and at what prices, who were it's guests, did the owner of the inn run just the inn or did he also have a fields that he had to work on, etc. Thank you!

Answer 1

Depends VERY much on exactly when and where your prospective tavern was. "Medieval" covers all of Europe over the course of a thousand years. A tavern in 15th century Italy would be a very different proposition from one in 9th century England. Basically, the later in time and the more urban the setting, the more likely that the innkeep would be running the inn as a business exclusively. The earlier and the more rural you are, the more it's just a well-off peasant farmer with a bigger-than-average house taking in guests. It would have been family-run (like a modern bed and breakfast), but a big professional operation might have apprentices or hired hands to help out.



In many settings, what's been said about brewing beer on the premises would be true, but again, the later and more urban you are, the more likely that brewing will have been done as a separate business by professional brewers, and the innkeep will have bought his beer from them to sell in his establishment. Wine, on the other hand, really requires the work of a specialized vintner and can only be made in grape-growing areas. If your inn isn't in France, Italy, southern Germany, etc., it will have to have been imported.



We have no comprehensive guide to medieval prices, and it's unlikely most taverns had a menu and charged people item-by-item. More often you paid your shilling or whatever for the night and got a bed and a share in whatever the kitchen happened to have brewed up that day. Kenneth Hodges has pulled together a lot of the scraps of data we do have on pricing here... http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/medprice.htm . Note that his prices on alcohol are by the gallon, so they probably represent what the brewers and vintners (or wine importers) were charging wholesale, not what you'd actually pay retail at a tavern.



Guests would be anyone with cause to travel - diplomats, pilgrims, students, and merchants above all. On the tavern side, of course, it would be the people of the village or the neighborhood of the city, and the makeup would reflect it. Most would be middle-class and down; noblemen can generally find hospitality with other nobles without lowering themselves to rub elbows with commoners, but surely there would have been the occasional exception.



Other answers are accurate that churches did offer hospitality, but this was quite distinct from the innkeeping business. Church hospitality was supposed to be an act of charity that you wouldn't charge for. However, there certainly WAS an expectation that travelers with means would make donations to churches in thanksgiving, and the hospitality business could thus be a big source of revenue, especially if the church could boast some prestigious relics. "Hospitals" in the medieval sense were refuges for poor and sick travelers, especially pilgrims. They were not so much "hotels" as homeless shelters or something like the lodging side of a modern YMCA. They would offer basic nursing care to the sick, out of which grew the modern concept of a hospital.

Answer 2

I believe that "Bilbo" has great insight.

In addition:

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Social activities were important, and every citizen in a medieval town would be expected to attend. Fairs with troubadours and acrobats performing in the streets…merchants selling goods in the town square…games of chance held at the local tavern…tournaments featuring knights from near and abroad…these were just some of the ways medieval peasants spent their leisure time. Medieval weddings were cause for the entire town to celebrate.

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While inns provided lodgings for travelers, taverns were drinking houses seeking to cater for the more prosperous levels of society. The leading taverners in larger towns were themselves vintners or acted as agents for vintners. The Vintner's Company of London, for instance, secured an essential monopoly of the retail trade in the city in 1364. A tavern of the later Medieval period might be imagined as a fairly substantial building of several rooms and a generous cellar. Taverns had signs to advertise their presence to potential customers, and branches and leaves would be hung over the door to give notice that wine could be purchased. Some taverns sold wine as their only beverage, and a customer could also purchase food brought in from a convenient cook-shop. Taverns seldom offered lodgings or very elaborate feasting, such as would be expected at inns. Pastimes like gambling, singing, and seeking prostitutes were a more common part of the tavern scene.

The favorite adult recreation of the villagers was undoubtedly drinking. Both men and women gathered in the "tavern," usually meaning the house of a neighbor who had recently brewed a batch of ale, cheap at the established price of three gallons for a penny. There they passed the evening like modern villagers visiting the local pub.

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I hope this is helpful.

Answer 3

There were so many taverns and inns that there probably isn't one answer to fit all. Was the inn in a village or town? Was the tavern in a small village and cater only to locals? Or in a large town near a castle where there may be wealthier patrons? Are you writing a book?

Also, the Medieval era covered 1000 years. What time frame are you looking for?



http://writemedieval.livejournal.com/7440.html

http://www.larsdatter.com/taverns.htm

Answer 4

One of my forefathers was a publican - but he also had a farm - and I think that traditionally you had both. You also brewed your own beer on the premises - no chains in those days. Water was generally unfit for consumption but by brewing it you could produce something that was fit to drink. This was often referred to in accounts as small beer, but you also had porter or stout, depending where you were. In the days of horses, coaching inns were a vital part of the economy - as people could only go so far without changing horses so many 'public houses' really started life as hotels.



Many medieval monasteries functioned as hotels or 'hospitals' the original meaning of the word - and many monasteries brewed beer and made wine (for the Eucharist) - you certainly had storerooms for barrels - cooper was the correct name for barrel makers and plenty are listed from the period.