Inns, Taverns, & Ordinaries

For as long as people have traveled from one settlement to another, it has been necessary for those people to have a place to find food and shelter. And for as long as settlements have existed, it has been necessary to have a place where the residents could gather to share news, discuss problems, and relax. Often, these two places are one and the same.

Public houses serve as a meetinghouse for a community, where people may meet, share news, discuss various topics, and relax. Some public houses also have lodging rooms, and are required for inns and ordinaries.

A Primer on Alcohol

Before attempting to understand the differences among inns, taverns, ordinaries, and pubs, it is essential to understand the various types of alcohol, as classified by the Crown. The four groups are small beer, beer, wine, and spirits.

Pures

Pures are drinks that have either no alcohol, or so little that that it is impossible to become inebriated. Listed for clerics who have taken a vow of sobriety.

fruit juice

malt: Also new malt. A drink made from grains and not fermented

milk: Typically goat's milk, but other varieties are sometimes available

water: Unless absolutely pure and clear, it will often be served with a bit of fruit juice or flower blossoms

Small Beer

Small beer has the lowest levels of alcohol, and is not covered by the Decree on Beer, Wine, & Spirits.

small ale

table beer

sweet cider

Beer

Strong beers are those drinks with sufficient alcohol content to cause drunkenness if the imbiber drinks a reasonable quantity.

beer: Made from barley or other cereal grains

cider: Made from various fruits; apple and pear being the most common

light mead: Made by fermenting honey and water, with water added towards the end of fermentation

Wine

Drinks classed as wines generally have a longer fermentation time (months to years), and have higher levels of alcohol.

bock: A strong beer

grog: Rum diluted with water (usually 2:1)

mead: Made by fermenting honey and water

saki: A rice wine, often made in earthenware bottles

stout: Strong beer, often darker in color

Spirits

Spirits are drinks (often distilled) with the highest levels of alcohol, and are highly controlled by the Crown.

brandy: Distilled wine; with peach, apple, and pear being the most common

rum: Made from sugarcane

vodka: Made from distilled cereal grains and potatoes

whiskey: Made from distilled grain mash

Types of Public Houses

Not all public houses were originally built for that purpose. In general, if the building was built to purpose, it would be either an inn or tavern. Most roadside public houses (along larger trade routes) were constructed with at least some consideration of travelers, but places situated far from any well-used path are more likely to be a family residence.

Meetinghouses

Not all places where people congregate to talk and fellowship serve food or provide any sort of lodging. Meetinghouses exist in larger towns and cities as a place to allow citizens to get together and discuss issues as a community. Such places are generally built and maintained by the local lord, but some communities will erect these structures as a matter of civic duty and pride.

Even when no such structure exists, people will still have some place to gather. Whether this is a crossroads, the public square, or the community well, such a place will arise whenever people gather themselves together. Such places may have a bell or gong to gather everyone together in times of emergency or immediate crisis.

Ordinaries

An ordinary is a public house that serves a complete meal at a fixed price. The price must by law be posted above the main entry. Generally, no other signage exists to mark an ordinary. Ordinaries are generally prohibited from serving anything beyond small beer.

By law and tradition, any settlement with a population of fifty or more must have a place travelers may find shelter from the elements, and are able to purchase a meal. While settlements do exist where the shelter is a barn, and a thin gruel the only food available, most places have at least one family with enough spare room to house a half dozen humans. In the smallest of settlements, the "village ordinary" is in the home of the local leader. Simply establishing one's home as the village ordinary is oftentimes sufficient to elevate a person to the status of leader in many of the further places.

Inns

Any business that provides food and lodgings for travelers. Generally speaking, an inn primarily provides lodgings, and food (when available} will often be whatever the tenants are eating. Roadside inns often are limited to beer, with inns within a walled settlement being further limited to table beer. Common inns (an inn whose only lodging is a common room) are a regular sight along many trade routes far from any city.

King's Inn

Found along the High Roads, King's Inns are a fortified inn and resupply for officials of the King's Court. Catering to the wealthy and aristocrats, they also service those of modest means (such as couriers, scouts, and "minor" officials). Those on official business of the Crown may find fresh horses, craftsmen capable of making repairs to wagons and tack (and possibly even arms and armor), and often supplemental supplies. As much a Royal outpost as a roadside inn, King's Inns are overseen by a loyal subject of King and Crown.

By law, the distance between one King's Inn and the next is supposed to be no more than a three-day's ride. In practice, the further one travels from the capitol, the more it seems to be a suggestion than a decree.

Pubs

A business which serves food, small beer, and (often) wine. Most pubs do not include lodgings among their offerings, although rural pubs often allow travelers to sleep in the common room at night.

Taverns

Any establishment allowed by law to serve spirits. In general terms, it refers to any place that serves alcohol as it's primary business. By law, disturbances of the piece by patrons of a tavern can be levied against the tavern owner. This means most tavern owners are more capable of dealing with unruly clientele, or have staff on hand sufficiently capable.

Most taverns have at least one common lodge. Many of these common lodges are locked from the outside, and are used to allow drunken revilers to sleep off their drink, and are charged their lodging fee before being released. Wise proprietors will relieve those who stay in such lodgings of weapons, foci, and component pouches before laying them down to sleep.

All legal taverns will have a benefice and charter from the Crown. Often this charter will be given in the form of a bronze or copper plaque that will be publicly displayed in the common room.

Hostels

A hostel is unlike pubs, taverns, and ordinaries in that their main objective in not to provide an income to its proprietor; it's sole purpose is to provide simple food and shelter to those upon a pilgrimage. Occasionally, a roadside inn will be supplemented by the House to provide service to pilgrims, and likewise, a few hostels will defray their operating costs by charging a "rent" for non-pilgrims. Hostels seldom have the amenities of an inn, often only having a simple dining area, little to no entertainment, and separate common sleeping areas for men and women.

Hostels are only listed here as a convivence to the traveler, as sometimes they are the only shelters available in some of the remoter regions.

Typical Layout

While every public house is different, many tend to follow a similar layout. Not every house will have all the features listed here, and some will include amenities not listed.

Common Room: All public houses will have at least one common room (commonly at the front of the building), and some may have more (either public or private). Part of the room may be devoted to different games (darts or daggers, cards, backgammon, checkers, etc.). It is not uncommon to find a common room with either a podium or stage, where performers may play music, perform skits or small plays, etc., or speakers may give speeches or lead discussions.

Notice Board: All commercially operated public houses are by law required to have a space where notices, decrees, and postings may be displayed, and must have someone on staff able to read such handbills for any who requests they be read. Tradition dictates that a crier will publicly read all postings at least twice a day. If a crier is called for, it is customary for the person requesting the reading to pay the "crier's fee" (often a pence (1cp), but a crier may by law request as much as a shilling (1sp)).

In addition to a notice board, many rural public houses will accept letters and small posts. Such letters may be kept in a basket near the notice board, or kept within the bar window.

Bar Window: A place where food and drink may be passed out to servers from the kitchen and/or buttery. The window may or may not have bars, and often has a lockable shutter. It is exceptionally rare for a public house that also serves the owners as a personal residence to NOT have locked passages between the public areas and the rest of the building.

Buttery: A storeroom for beverages. Larger houses may even have a second buttery (often a cellar) used for storage.

Kitchen: The place where food is prepared.

Living Quarters: The apartments of the owners, often behind or beside the kitchen.

Lodging Rooms: Generally located above the common room on the second floor. In some places, the common room will be the only lodging available.

Gaming Yard: An open area behind the building, used for archery, fisticuffs, foot races, pissing contests, and other open-air games.

Stables: Place to shelter and feed horses. Occasionally, a public house will only have a paddock.

Typical Foods and Meals

Food made to order is uncommon in most public houses. Often, food is made for breakfast, lunch, and supper; and some places will have latemeal, which is often prepared shortly after sunset. The food normally available in a public house depends more on the wealth and regularity of its customers than any other factor. Houses in a wealthy city are far more likely to have meat and other expensive foods. Rural inns not sitting on a regular trade route will be lucky to have anything beyond bread and perhaps table beer.

Skilligalee: A common fixture of the hunter's and trapper's camp, skilliglaee is simply a covered cookpot that recieves all the clean loose bits of game - heads, tails, wings, feet, large bones, etc.; as well as any leftover vegatables, pasta, or bits of stale bread. The pot is always kept hot, and serves to provide a meal for those who arrive to the camp at odd hours, or those who want a bite between meals. Most common houses keep a similar pot simmering, only having less meat.

Inns, Taverns, & Ordinaries