The world of the tavern : public houses in early modern Europe

The subject of drink received a great deal of attention from early modern contemporaries, who produced a large body of literature addressing the drink problem.

Preachers railed against it, urban and rural authorities published ordinances against it, and satirists extolled it.

At the same time, the tavern was an institution central to the social, cultural and professional life of most of the male population of Europe.

The multifaceted role of inns and taverns in early modern Europe is explored from an interdisciplinary perspective in this anthology.

Scholars from England, Germany, Switzerland the USA use research on inns and taverns to shed light on such topics as communal identity, legal and fiscal practice, theological debates, gender and household relationships, and divisions between domestic and public spheres.

The result is a volume that should appeal not only to social historians of the period, but also to legal historians and cultural anthropologists.