Greetings! You have chosen the best tavern
in town - RenTavern of the Spilled Ale. I am the owner, Jonathan
Forest. The tavern is the bar of your time. It's a place where
people gather, drink, and have a merry time. Our most popular
item is a drink called mead, made from fermented honey, and is
very sweet, and at the same time, very intoxicating. We keep our
drinks in barrels outside. You may have seen them when you came
in. Sometimes they are filled too much and when the temperature
changes or the keg is moved it may burst. It's quite a sight,
my friend. Men from all across town rush over with their mugs
to get as much of the free ale as possible. Mind you, the ale
on the ground is not drunk, but what remains in the barrel is
heartily consumed by the public. Since you're new around here,
it would be a good idea to carry your cup around if a keg should
burst.
We have come a long way since the 1400s when most of the population
had little or no leisure time. But with the breakdown of the feudal
system and the increase in travel, people are beginning to have
more money and more leisure time. This has been good for business
as people have begun to spend a lot of their extra time and earnings
in taverns. We have become the chief alternate center of social
life to the church, which doesn't sit too well with the clergy,
let me tell you! Why we even have had weddings and wakes performed
here presided over by itinerant priests. But that was before the
church passed laws making such non-church religious events illegal.
You are welcome to look around if you like. We have a common room
where you can be served food and drink. There are a few sleeping
rooms upstairs if you care to stay the night. If you want to take
your drink outside in the yard, there is a table there for you
to sit at. If you have any horses or donkeys that need tending,
you can take them to the stable out back, but watch that your
horse doesn't trample the kitchen garden or the chickens.
Oh, here comes Molly, my barmaid. Molly, take these newcomers
in to the common room and serve them some supper. You had better
explain the house rules to them as they are foreigners.
Credits:
Picture courtesy of Christine Marszalek.
References:
Lace, William W. World History Series; Elizabethan England.
Lucent Books, Inc. San Diego,1995.
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