Offering the first comparative survey of public houses in pre-industrial Europe and drawing on a vast range of primary sources, this study establishes inns and taverns as principal communication sites in local communities. Contested and continuously renegotiated, they catered for basic human needs as well as infinite forms of social exchange.

Autorentext
BEAT KÜMIN was born and educated in Switzerland. Following research fellowships at Magdalene College, Cambridge, and the University of Bern, he is now Associate Professor in History at Warwick University, UK. Publications include The Shaping of a Community: The Rise and Reformation if the English Parish (1996), the co-edited collection The World of the Tavern in Early Modern Europe (2002) and Local Communities in Pre-Industrial Europe (forthcoming with Palgrave).

Inhalt
Preface Abbreviations and measures Glossary Introduction PART I: THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC DRINKING Settings Types of drinking establishments Agents and interests PART II: FUNCTIONS OF THE EARLY MODERN PUBLIC HOUSE Subsistence Communication PART III: PUBLIC HOUSES IN EARLY MODERN SOCIETY Interpretations Interactions Conclusions