Mediæval London, Volume 1: Historical & SocialBesant, Walter
History
Mediæval London, Volume 1: Historical & Social
Besant, Walter
London (England) -- History -- To 1500; London (England) -- Social life and customs -- To 1500
Among river fish and fish of ponds or stews, carp was extremely scarce.
Dame Juliana Berners, in her _Book of St. Alban’s_, says, “And of
the carp that it is a deyntous fyssche, but there ben but fewe in
Englande.” It is said to have been naturalised by one Leonard Mascal in
Sussex about the year 1514.
“Hops and turkeys, carp and beer,
Came into England all in a year.”
This is not true so far as the hop is concerned, for it seems to have
been introduced by Edward I. Wine was made in England down to the
fifteenth century. The Vale of Gloucester produced the finest wine,
which was said to be in no way inferior to the wine of Gascony. Richard
II. planted vines at Windsor, and made a large quantity of wine, some
of which was sold, and the rest used by the Court. The reason why this
industry fell into disuse was the discovery that wine could be imported
from Bordeaux cheaper and better than it could be made at home.
London has always been well supplied with taverns and drinking-places;
its people have never taken kindly to ways of temperance. We must,
however, distinguish between an inn and a tavern. At first the
inn—hostel, hostelry—was a lodging-house only; it received the
traveller and gave him a room, but not much else; and, as we have seen,
after one day and night the hosteller must become responsible for his
guest unless he could get special license from the authorities. The
visitor was not allowed to carry a sword or any weapon, or to wear
armour in the City boundaries; and he must not go about the streets
after curfew; also he must buy his food, bread and beer, and meat and
wine, from the dealer, and not from the hosteller.
When the inn became a house that supplied food and drink to the guest I
know not, yet in Stow’s time it would seem that it did so. The point to
remember, however, is that the inn was not a tavern or an eating-house.
Of taverns Stow mentions some, as the “Pope’s Head” and the “Cardinal’s
Hat” in Cornhill Ward; certain “tippling” houses in Mountgodard Street,
and others. The ale-house and the tavern which proclaimed their trade
by the “ale-stake” had often the extra adornment of a garland or
hoop. The garland was decorated with ribbons, and was attached to the
“ale-stake” with the “bush” of ivy leaves, which dangled from the pole
before every tavern. We have seen what is said in _Liber Albus_ as to
the regulation length of the pole. The signs of the taverns were not at
first different from other trade signs; there were the Swan, the Bull,
the Dog, the Boar’s Head, and so forth. But this practice of hanging
out a garland in addition to the old sign caused the names of tavern
signs to undergo change: thus, the Swan became the Swan on the Hoop;
the Star became the Star on the Hoop. Riley enumerates many of these
signs: thus Hugh atte Cocke, Thomas atte Red Door, Walter atte Gote,
John atte Belle, the Catfethele (Cat and Fiddle), the Lion atte Dore,
Le Sonner, Le Mone, and others.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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