# Tavern and Inn - what´s the difference?



## Asmo (May 21, 2004)

*Tavern and Inn - what´s the difference?*

What´s the difference between an Inn and a Tavern?
Under "Food and Lodging" in "The Speaker in Dreams" adventure it says"Seven inns and seven taverns are in the Eastgate neighborhood."
According to my dictionary it´s the same thing.

Asmo


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## Walter_J (May 21, 2004)

Asmo said:
			
		

> What´s the difference between an Inn and a Tavern?
> Under "Food and Lodging" in "The Speaker in Dreams" adventure it says"Seven inns and seven taverns are in the Eastgate neighborhood."
> According to my dictionary it´s the same thing.
> 
> Asmo




I'm guessing that an Inn includes lodging, where a tavern doesn't.  But that's just a guess.


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## Aaron2 (May 21, 2004)

Asmo said:
			
		

> What´s the difference between an Inn and a Tavern?
> Under "Food and Lodging" in "The Speaker in Dreams" adventure it says"Seven inns and seven taverns are in the Eastgate neighborhood."
> According to my dictionary it´s the same thing.




A Tavern is more like a restaurant while an Inn is more like a hotel. In fact, I was in Greece last summer and they still call all there restaurants "Taverna".


Aaron


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## 4everdm (May 21, 2004)

Tavern = Restaurant; Inn = "Hotel/Motel"; Tavern/Inn = Has Both


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## Hand of Evil (May 21, 2004)

Taverns you fight in.
Inns you sleep in.


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## Piratecat (May 21, 2004)

But I'm pretty sure that you accidentally burn down _both_ of them.


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## Ant (May 21, 2004)

Hand of Evil said:
			
		

> Taverns you fight in.
> Inns you sleep in.




Until the assassin friends of the guys you fought in the tavern make a house call.

That'll learn ya.


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## Dogbrain (May 21, 2004)

Consulting the OED, "inn" comes from the Old English "inn", which means any sort of "habitation".  It currently refers to a commercial establishment where one might lodge.  It has been used in the modern sense since AD1400.

"Tavern" comes from the Latin "taberna"--a shed made of boards, a booth, a shop.  Around AD1286, it referred to a place that sold wine (but had no lodgings).  The term "public house" didn't appear until AD1669.  "Alehouse" is at least as old as AD1000.

So, if you want a "high feudal" flavor or ealier, "tavern" should be restricted to upper-class establishments that serve wine.  "Alehouse" to the common establishments, and "inn" possibly used for any place for lodging.

"Bar" is from the 1500s.


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## Hand of Evil (May 21, 2004)

Piratecat said:
			
		

> But I'm pretty sure that you accidentally burn down _both_ of them.




Accidentally, like hell!


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## HellHound (May 21, 2004)

The tavern has less lighting and more smoke. 

---

Taverns were important for the beer, because most people couldn't have beer in their homes (after all, you have to buy it by the keg or the bucket), so they would go to the tavern to entertain their guests and offer them a beer. 

But then you go home for dinner in order to show off what fine food your servants can cook. (And maybe have a servant pick up a bucket of beer at the tavern).


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## Whisper72 (May 21, 2004)

Well, the tavern is where you meet this guy who gives you the lead for the next adventure, and the Inn is where you rest up from all the woundage you suffered....


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## Hand of Evil (May 21, 2004)

HellHound said:
			
		

> The tavern has less lighting and more smoke.
> 
> ---
> 
> ...




Interesting side note: Was watching the Three Stooges with some friends, some younger and they were wondering why Curley was carring those buckets on a pole...Had to explain to them that those were beer buckets and that workers would send someone to get beer to the local tavern at lunch.


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## Dogbrain (May 21, 2004)

HellHound said:
			
		

> Taverns were important for the beer, because most people couldn't have beer in their homes (after all, you have to buy it by the keg or the bucket), so they would go to the tavern to entertain their guests and offer them a beer.





What comic book did you get this from?  It was very common for people to BREW THEIR OWN BEER throughout much of European history.  Go read Markham's "Description of England" for a first-hand account of Renaissance homebrewing.


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## HellHound (May 21, 2004)

My bad then, Dogbrain. It was my understanding that most persons in a medieval setting didn't have the time nor the equipment for the brewing of beer, and would instead purchase it at the tavern on the rare occasion when they had guests to entertain. I also understood that this changed in the early renaissance and that there was more home-brewing at that time than prior.

But, then again, this is all stuff I've never researched and thus I've been basically spreading hearsay instead of fact.


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## der_kluge (May 21, 2004)

I don't consider a campaign complete unless at least one tavern or inn is burned to the ground at least once.


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## dogoftheunderworld (May 21, 2004)

*Imc*

In most of my campaigns:

-  An Inn is primarily a place to sleep, which may have a kitchen/bar attached.

-  A Tavern is primarily a place to eat/drink, wich may have a place to sleep (common room, sometimes private rooms).

A good adventurer knows which is which (and which ones to avoid ).

Peace,

Brian
<><


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## Piratecat (May 21, 2004)

die_kluge said:
			
		

> I don't consider a campaign complete unless at least one tavern or inn is burned to the ground at least once.




Underachiever. Aim low, and you'll shoot low.


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## Dogbrain (May 21, 2004)

HellHound said:
			
		

> My bad then, Dogbrain. It was my understanding that most persons in a medieval setting didn't have the time nor the equipment for the brewing of beer, and would instead purchase it at the tavern on the rare occasion when they had guests to entertain.




Beer was safer than water and very often the most common beverage  (Bennett, J., Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England (Women's work in a Changing World, 1300--1600), 1996 Oxford University Press, New York, ISBN 0-19-507390-8).  It was also the primary beverage of the northern medieval monastaries.  Now, whether or not the product of medieval brewing would be considered worth drinking today is an entirely different matter.  Records show that poorer households made weaker beer.

The method was far simpler than modern.  There was no sparging, and mashing was the pure infusion method.  The mash would be held with hot water, and the liquid run off into a tun for fermentation.  Then more hot water would be added to run off for a second, much weaker ("small") brew.  The Vikings and Saxons certainly drank a great deal of beer on a daily basis.


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## der_kluge (May 21, 2004)

Piratecat said:
			
		

> Underachiever. Aim low, and you'll shoot low.




ROFL!

You're right, we should include marketplaces, brothels, and orphanages in our list.


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## Sejs (May 21, 2004)

A Tavern is a place to get drinks, and occasionally food or lodging for the night.

An Inn is a place to get lodging for the night, and occasionally food or drinks.




> You're right, we should include marketplaces, brothels, and orphanages in our list.



A marketplace is a place to purchase goods, occasionally purchase services, and to get robbed.

A brothel is a place to purchase services, occasionally purchase goods, and to get robbed.

An orphanage is a place to visit after being robbed in a marketplace, or to avoid after purchasing services in a brothel.

^_^


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## Wombat (May 21, 2004)

Dogbrain said:
			
		

> Beer was safer than water and very often the most common beverage  (Bennett, J., Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England (Women's work in a Changing World, 1300--1600), 1996 Oxford University Press, New York, ISBN 0-19-507390-8).  It was also the primary beverage of the northern medieval monastaries.  Now, whether or not the product of medieval brewing would be considered worth drinking today is an entirely different matter.  Records show that poorer households made weaker beer.
> 
> The method was far simpler than modern.  There was no sparging, and mashing was the pure infusion method.  The mash would be held with hot water, and the liquid run off into a tun for fermentation.  Then more hot water would be added to run off for a second, much weaker ("small") brew.  The Vikings and Saxons certainly drank a great deal of beer on a daily basis.




"Small beer" was the breakfast of choice in most households -- essentially brewed just enough to wipe out the problems with drinking unfiltered, questionable quality water, with the alcoholic content of most modern "Near Beer" -- notably less than 1%.  This drink remained popular well into Colonial times.  This also explains the fact that many monestaries were limited to 1 gallon of beer per person per day -- we are not really talking about alcohol, but something safer to drink than water.


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