Crime and Conviviality: The Social Space of Urban Drinking-Houses in Medieval England

Crime and Conviviality: The Social Space of Urban Drinking-Houses in Medieval England

By Samantha Sagui

Published Online (2007) – winner of the 2007 Loomie Prize for Best Seminar Paper at the History Department of Fordham University

Introduction: Arnald and John were drinking together in the Moyses, a London tavern, when somehow the conversation turned to John’s concubine spurring a heated argument. Enraged, John attacked Arnald, pursuing him with a knife to the tavern door where he fell upon his prey. Trapped, Arnald drew his own dagger and stabbed John in the chest killing him. While taverns could be the scenes of violent and criminal behavior, they also hosted a range of convivial events. For example, Robert Jonson witnessed a marriage being contracted as he sat by the door in a London tavern on a January morning in 1470. After exchanging vows, the couple, the bride’s brother and their friends celebrated by drinking red and white wine. Drinking-houses, therefore, did more than serve wine and ale; they were also the sites of a wide range of criminal, convivial and economic activities. They were the principal public meeting place in the middle ages.

Given the importance of drinking establishments in the medieval England, it is surprising that scholars have not provided a sustained investigation of their role in the urban environment. Instead, they have focused on related issues including the importation, brewing and consumption of alcoholic beverages. Some antiquarians have surveyed inns and inn signs. Most recent studies concerning taverns and alehouses focus on the early modern period and give limited treatment to their medieval counterparts. Other modern accounts are more specialized, dealing exclusively with the role of women or with the tavern in literature. None of these works has explored the medieval drinking-house as a social space.

Click here to read/download this article (PDF file)